At the condo in Moab Spring is right around the corner. The days are getting longer and now that we are turning the clocks forward one hour it’ll be nice to have daylight during the evening hours. Photographers really appreciate the low angle of the sun this time of year. The colors in the red rock scenery are at their most brilliant right around sunrise and shortly before sunset.
Visitors to Arches National Park will find that some of the best opportunities for picture taking occur after 5 PM. The way that this particular park is situated it catches the late afternoon sun lighting up many of the rock formations just before it drops below the horizon. A couple of places that are worth the wait include the Fiery Furnace and Delicate Arch. Both of these formations are situated in a way that the colors are most extraordinary under the setting sun.
It’s a short drive of about 15 minutes from Arches to the condo in Moab. Once you enter the park you go up a few switchbacks before leveling out and the dramatic scenery begins. Initially you’ll just see a lot of interesting rock formations. However, once you go past the parking turn-out for Park Avenue and the Courthouse you’ll start to see the beautiful natural arch formations.
One of the great things about Arches National Park is that you have lots of turnouts and easily accessible parking close to the road. There are a number of short hikes that you can do to get up close to many of the individual arches. Picture taking without getting other people in your photos can be a bit of a challenge unless you arrive very early or stay until dark. Since it’s a quick ride back to the condo in Moab after you leave Arches we recommend staying as late as possible to enjoy the last rays of sunlight.
During the busy season some of the smaller parking lots fill up quickly. No worries, many people just hop out of their car for a quick view and a couple of pictures before heading on to the next stop. However, it’s very important that you do not stop in the middle of the main park road or block the entrance to any turnouts or parking areas.
If one of the viewpoints you wish to visit has every parking space filled just continue onto the next one and visit the places you miss on the way back. The main road through Arches National Park goes in and out so it’s easy to stop and see anything that you bypassed initially.