As a lifelong Utahn, former National Park Service ranger and advocate with the National Parks Conservation Association, my connection to our state and country’s incredible national parks runs deep.
I’ve visited the national parks in Utah countless times over my life — as a kid on family trips, as a college student with friends and as a professional leading groups of all sorts. I’ve noticed significant changes visiting Arches National Park over the years, particularly in the last 15 as crowds ballooned.
As I drew on my well of experience to plan good trips to Arches with my own family, my sense of certainty evaporated. Would the park entrance be open? Would we be able to park at the trailhead? Could we go on the hike that we planned?
Visitation to Arches National Park increased by a whopping 74% between 2011 and 2021. The visitation surge caused parking lots to overflow and created dangerous traffic back-ups outside the park, compelling staff to close the park entrance 118 times during the summer of 2021. The visitor experience was suffering.
Fortunately, the Park Service relied on its strengths of research, resilience and adaptability to tackle this uncertainty with a timed-entry reservation system, which was introduced as a pilot program in 2022. After three successful summers and recently announced plans to adapt and return the program in 2025, it’s time to make timed-entry permanent.
Utahns and all who care about Arches are encouraged to participate in its draft Visitor Access and Experience Plan, which is open for public comment through Nov. 23. The plan includes the necessary framework towards making seasonal timed-entry permanent.
The reservation system at Arches takes the guesswork out of whether you’ll be able to visit, and it helps Arches use its limited staff and resources for more national park protection and less traffic management. Our national parks are revered as “forever places,” and with that important title comes the responsibility to support commonsense improvements today that ensure these incredible places stay protected for future generations.
For decades, park managers have conducted extensive studies and outreach to Tribal Nations, gateway community members and advocates to explore solutions to crowding and congestion. Prior to piloting timed-entry, Arches expanded parking, redesigned the park entrance and hardened trails. Yet, crowding and congestion persisted and worsened.
Timed-entry is the strategy that has worked best — and not just from my perspective. Research conducted at Arches by Utah State University in 2022 found that, for a vast majority of visitors, crowding variables (such as traffic congestion and availability of parking) were not a problem under timed-entry. Additionally, 84% of respondents surveyed expressed wanting a reservation system in place for future visits.
The City of Moab, Grand County and many local business owners have repeatedly voiced support for timed-entry, as they see the benefits of certainty that this system also provides to their employees and bottom lines.
Ashley Korenblat, who co-owns Western Spirit Cycling in Moab, has revered the system for the quality national park experience it provides, and may have said it best: “Before, we were in real danger of losing a key economic driver for both Grand County and the state. Now, we have a program that will work long into the future and continue to bring revenue to Utah and awe to our visitors.”
As Utah park-lovers, we’d do well to learn and adapt alongside Arches. Let’s act now and choose a lasting, visionary future for Arches National Park.
(Cassidy Jones) Cassidy Jones is the Senior Visitation Program Manager for the National Parks Conservation Association. She lives in Midway, Utah.
Cassidy Jones is the Senior Visitation Program Manager for the National Parks Conservation Association. She lives in Midway, Utah.
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