This post is also available in:
Nederlands (Dutch)
Arches and its Garden of Eden
Walking around among the Giants
We obediently did all the viewpoints in Arches, but my favorite is by far the Garden of Eden, where you just walk around among the giants, without a preformed path and where there was no one else.
The park is full of naturally formed arches, one more beautiful and larger than the other.
Most make the climb to Delicate Arch, high on the rocks, but I stayed in the valley, at Wolfs Ranch, where the river was gently babbling.
You imagine yourself here as a pioneer woman who comes to fetch water by the river, among the cows. It seems quite an idyllic place to me if you don’t take the heat into account. Although, for the homesteaders in the past it will not have been so idyllic.
From here you can see the hikers climbing steadily up the slope to Delicate Arch like small dots.
When we were there in June 2026, no time slots were needed to enter the park. The queue at the entrance was not too bad.
The surprise only came at the end of the Scenic Drive, where the parking lot was already completely full.
Apparently everyone had the same plan as us: first drive to the furthest point and return step by step from there.
In hindsight, we would take a different approach and start somewhere haphazardly halfway.
By the afternoon, the crowds in the park will decrease and space will become available again in the car parks.
We remember Arches with warm feelings, especially because we had an honest conversation with people from Poland, who have lived in America for 30 years. And are thinking about returning to Poland.
Emma
Continue to Bryce Canyon and its Gaudi Towers. Discover our next story