View List On MapMore Top 10 Lists
- Active Things to Do
- Cool Activities
- Fun Things to Do
- Places to Hike
- Nature & Wildlife
- Unusual Things to Do
- Outdoor Activities
- Outdoor Attractions
- Historical Things to Do
- Romantic Things to Do
- Things to Do Around Arches National Park
- Things to Do Near Balanced Rock
- Things to Do Near Delicate Arch Viewpoint
- Things to Do Near Devil's Garden Campground
- Ask a Local
- Ask Arches National Park Locals
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1. Junior Ranger
- Kids can learn to become stewards of the land in this innovative program
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- Nature & Wildlife
- In the park
- Nile Expert Tip: Gets kids involved and learning about the park in a way that's fun
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2. Sand Dune Arch
- Short, shady hike to a unique arch is popular with kids
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- Hiking
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3. Delicate Arch Viewpoint
- Quick .5 mile walk to viewpoint of famous icon
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- Hiking
- In the park
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4. Delicate Arch Trail
- Mostly slickrock trail to world-famous icon Delicate Arch.
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- Hiking
- In the park
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5. Balanced Rock
- A good hike for kids; impressive rock formation
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- Hiking
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6. Landscape Arch
- Easy, some elevation gain. Possibly the world's longest natural arch. 2 miles roundtrip.
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- Hiking
- In the park
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7. Broken Arch
- Easy 1.3 mile hike through grassy meadow
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- Hiking
- In the park
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8. Skyline Arch
- Easy .4 mile trail to impressive arch
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- Hiking
- In the park
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9. Devils Garden Primitive Loop Hike
- 5-mile strenuous loop through and around Devils Garden area. Features 8 arches
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- Hiking
- In the park
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10. Fiery Furnace
- Exciting labyrinth of sandstone. Permit required. Best for over 5 years of age.
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- Hiking
- In the park
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The Best of NileGuide
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Some of the best things for kids to do in Arches are just as much fun for the adults in the family. Along with fun and easy hikes in this very kid-friendly landscape, Arches also offers several great ranger-led activities. We've made a tough choice in narrowing down the selections to our top ten favorite things to do with kids in Arches.
For 6-12 year olds, the Junior Ranger program is a genuinely interesting, hands-on activity choice. They can follow the activity booklet to learn about Arches' over 2,000 natural arches, the most famous of which is Delicate Arch. This hike might be a little long for really young ones, in which case we recommend the Delicate Arch viewpoint trail, which is only half a mile. Sand Dune Arch makes the cut because it's short, shady, and jut has as really fun arch to see and play beneath.
Balanced Rock is super, super easy. As in, you can take your toddling toddler on it. Landscape Arch is simply a must-see, since it's likely the longest natural arch in the world, plus the trail to it is simple. Broken Arch is another simple one to get to, as is Skyline. Skyline is unique within Arches in that it's the only arch to have only the skyline as its backdrop, from your vantage point.
Devils Garden has a simple loop that most visitors do, plus the primitive loop that fewer see because it's more rugged, but which is probably one of the best hikes in all of southern Utah.
