7 Best PHOTOGRAPHY LOCATIONS in ARCHES National Park (+Useful Photo Tips)

Hands down, Park Avenue Viewpoint and Trail are my favorite photography location in Arches National Park. The view of the canyon surrounded by jagged walls is absolutely stunning.

Park Avenue Viewpoint and Trail are located about 2.5 miles north of the Visitor Center on Arches Scenic Drive.

The Three Gossips, the Courthouse Towers, Queen Nefertiti and Queen Victoria Rock, the Organ, and the Tower of Babel are all visible from the viewpoint. You will be able to take awesome photos right from the viewpoint.

However, it makes a big difference if you take the trail down to the canyon and photograph these huge formations up close. Park Avenue Trail is a 1-mile one-way easy/moderate trail with a steep decline into the canyon. Once you are at the bottom of the canyon, the trail levels off. However, you will have a fairly strenuous climb on the way back.

Park Avenue is a great place to photograph at any time of the day, however, my recommendation is to get there in the early to mid-afternoon when the setting sun lights up the canyon and brings out the colors of red and orange.

Delicate Arch is one of the most famous geologic features in the world. It has become the symbol of Utah appearing on many of its license plates.

There are two options to photograph it: you can either take a Delicate Arch Trail (3 miles roundtrip) or you can go to Upper or Lower Delicate Arch Viewpoint (at the end of the road).

Honestly, nothing beats hiking to Delicate Arch and photographing Delicate Arch from the trail and then up close.

To get to Delicate Arch Trailhead follow Arches Scenic Drive. At 9.2 miles from the park entrance, you will get to a junction in the road. Turn right at the junction and follow the signs for Delicate Arch Trail.

The trail to Delicate Arch is fairly strenuous with an elevation gain of 480 feet. For the first half-mile, it is a well-defined trail. Then, it starts to climb at a sharp incline before it levels off toward the top. Just before you get to Delicate Arch, the trail traverses a narrow rock ledge for about 200 yards. Once you are past this last section, you will have the most stunning view of Delicate Arch standing alone in a large natural sandstone bowl at the top of one of the park’s famous fins against the multitude of horizontal planes around it.

Delicate Arch is best photographed during the Golden Hour, when the daylight is redder and softer.

With that being the case, you will have plenty of company at this popular spot before and at sunset. So, arrive early and secure the best place. Make sure to hang around after the sunset for the Blue Hour, when the sun is significantly below the horizon and the remaining sunlight takes on a blue color.

Courthouse Towers Viewpoint is another one of my favorite photography locations in Arches National Park.

Located on Scenic Drive in Arches, just past Park Avenue Viewpoint and Trail, Courthouse Towers Viewpoint is the best photo spot to not only photograph the massive Courthouse Towers jutting out of the desert and flanking the western side of Park Avenue, but also several other famous rock formations like Three Gossips, Sheep Rock, the Organ, and the Tower of Babel.

While Park Avenue is the best to photograph in mid-morning or mid-afternoon, Courthouse Towers, Three Gossips, and surrounding rock formations are the best to photograph shortly after sunrise. They are all in an open area and the first sun rays beautifully illuminate the yellow and orange colors of these rock formations.

Balanced Rock is another famous rock formation in Arches National Park that is very popular to photograph.

The viewpoint and trail are located on Arches Scenic Drive right before the junction leading to the Windows Section.

First of all, it is difficult to capture a good image that shows how precariously balanced this rock is. So, give yourself some time to catch the right angle. Second, hike a short trail that circles the base of the rock. It will provide different views of Balanced Rock.

The best time to photograph Balanced Rock is at sunset when the setting sun brings out all the colors.

The Windows Section in Arches National Park has several arches that you can photograph from different angles and distances.

To get to the Windows Section, follow Arches Scenic Drive and when you get to the junction right past Balanced Rock turn right. Next, follow the road to the end. Here, you will have several trailheads leading to Double Arch, South and North Windows, and Turret Arch.

There is no doubt that the most famous composition of arches is the Turret Arch framed by the North Window. The best time to photograph Turret Arch framed by the North Window is early in the morning. First of all, take the trail leading to the North Window and scramble through the window to a small section located on the left-hand side. From this small perch, you will be able to photograph Turret Arch beautifully framed by the North Window.

Also, if you want to take some great photos of Turret Arch, then take the short trail that runs on the western side of Turret Arch. The best time to photograph Turret Arch from this location is late in the afternoon.

Another great photo that you can capture is of both the North and South Windows inside the single fin. The best way to do it is to take the primitive trail that runs in the back of the two windows.

Finally, make your way to Double Arch. It is one of the most dramatic arch formations in Arches National Park. The best time to photograph Double Arch is probably in the early to mid-morning.

At the end of Scenic Drive in Arches National Park are the Devils Garden parking lot and the trailhead that leads to Devils Garden Trail, the most spectacular hike in Arches National Park.

The entire Devils Garden Trail is 7.2 miles long. However, if you are not up to hiking the entire trail, it can be broken down into more manageable sections. If you can only do one section, then hands down, hike to Landscape Arch. It is one of the most spectacular arches in the park.

It is about 1.9 miles from the trailhead before you will reach Landscape Arch and it should take you about 50 minutes. It is a relatively flat section of Devils Garden Trail.

Landscape Arch is 290 feet long and it is believed to be the longest natural rock span in the world.

The best time to photograph Landscape Arch is in the morning. There are no shadows and the arch is pretty much in full sun. However, my favorite time to photograph Landscape Arch is at or right after sunrise when the sun rays illuminate the arch.

Once you reach Landscape Arch, the Devils Garden Trail becomes a bit more difficult. You will have to do some rock scrambling, and pass by some narrow ledges.

In 4.1 miles, you will reach another stunning arch, Double O Arch. It’s a great location to photograph in the early morning as well as late afternoon since both sides of Double O arch are accessible.

Sand Dune Arch is located right before Devils Garden Trail and can be accessed from either Sand Dune Arch Trailhead or the Devils Garden Campground.

The arch is not easy to photograph because it sits in the shade for most of the day. However, it is a pretty stunning location to photograph since the arch is flanked by two large sandstone fins and surrounded by sand at its base.

Right next to Sand Dune Arch is Broken Arch. It is not as photogenic as Sand Dune Arch, but still worth checking out.

Sunrise is a great time to photograph in Arches National Park. However, sunsets can be as spectacular!

Actually, to be specific, the best light is about 15-30 minutes before sunrise or 10-15 minutes after sunset. It is the proverbial “golden hour” during which the daylight is softer and redder. Needless to say, it is the time during which the arches start to glow.

So how do get the best photos of the stunning rock formations at sunrise or sunset in Arches National Park? Here are some recommendations:

•  Choose a Low to Mid-Range ISO

When shooting a sunrise or sunset, you’ll generally want to use a low to mid-range ISO setting, like 200, 400, or 800.

During sunrise or sunset, there’s less available light than in the middle of the day, so going with one of these ISO settings rather than the lowest possible (which is typically 100 on most cameras) will give you some leeway when choosing your aperture and shutter speed while still providing a high-quality image.

• Choose a High Aperture

Most people will choose to use a high aperture, such as f/11, f/16, or higher when taking sunset photos. This allows for greater depth of field (the zone within a picture that appears in focus) so that everything from the foreground to the background will be sharply in focus.

However, there’s no rule against lowering the aperture to achieve a certain creative effect.

• Determine a Shutter Speed

With your ISO and aperture set, it’s time to choose the shutter speed that will give you the proper exposure.

Keep an eye on your light meter while adjusting the shutter speed and when it reads “0,” it’s telling you the exposure is correct. To make this really simple, put your camera in aperture priority mode (if it has it) and your camera will automatically select the shutter speed that will work best for proper exposure.

Also, consider that if your shutter speed gets too low you may need a tripod to prevent blurring caused by the shake of your hands. The general guideline for determining the lowest usable handheld shutter speed is to look at your lens focal length and use a tripod for any shutter speeds lower than that number.

For example, if your lens has a focal length of 50mm, you should be able to shoot at 1/50 of a second without getting handshake blurring, but you’ll want to use a tripod for speeds slower than that.

• Bracket Your Exposures

Relying on your camera’s light meter to get the best shot can sometimes produce mediocre results, especially during sunrise or sunset when you’re trying to expose the bright sun on the horizon and darker subjects in the foreground.

To get the best exposure, try a technique called bracketing. Bracketing involves taking several pictures exposed above and below what your camera suggests.

• Expand Your Subject Matter

When you’re out taking pictures of a sunrise or sunset, it’s natural to be captivated by a vibrant horizon line and let that be the only thing you include in your photo. But, when you look at the photos later, you might find that while the colors cast by the sun are stunning, the images lack the splendor of the scene that you saw with your own eyes. This is often because the images don’t include elements that provide a sense of scale, depth, and originality.

Next time, try taking a step back and incorporating things like trees, people, rocks, water, or other natural features in the foreground and middle ground. Also, consider that sometimes a beautiful photo of a sunrise or sunset doesn’t even include the sun itself. While you’re shooting, take a moment to look around and notice how the golden light of sunrise spreads across the valley below or how the pink hues of sunset are painted on the surrounding peaks. Force yourself to look beyond the burning orb in the sky and find creative ways to add interest to your images.

Source: REI