The Devils Garden area of Arches National Park, including access to area hiking trails, is scheduled to reopen on Friday, June 16, at 7 a.m. after having been closed for several weeks during road construction work. Devils Garden Campground remains closed through Nov. 30.
The Fiery Furnace and Salt Valley Overlook areas are scheduled to close on Sunday, June 18, at 7 p.m. for up to 28 days. During the closure period, these parking and hiking areas will be inaccessible and self-guided permits and ranger-led tours of the Fiery Furnace will not be available.
Work along and around the park entrance road will soon be complete, and work crews plan to be out of the area by Friday, June 23. At that time, the night closure barricade will move from the junction of the main park road and U.S. Highway 191 to an area near the visitor center.
Visitors waiting for the park to open at 7 a.m. must park and wait in the visitor parking lot and not on the roadway. Beginning Friday, June 23, the park’s visitor center hours will increase to 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and park rangers will present nightly evening programs at the visitor center at 7 p.m. Evening program topic information can be obtained in person at the visitor center.
On Sundays through Thursdays, visitors must arrive at the park before 6:30 p.m. Visitors arriving after 6:30 p.m. on those days will not be able to travel past the visitor center. All vehicles must be out of the closure area no later than 7 p.m. on Sundays through Thursdays.
The park reopens at 7 a.m. on Mondays through Fridays, and is open weekends from 7 a.m. Friday until 7 p.m. Sunday during this road construction project. There will be no nightly closures during holiday weekends, including Independence Day and Pioneer Day, although visitors can expect major traffic congestion on those days.
Other areas of Arches National Park, such as The Windows Section, will be closed for up to four weeks once work begins in each of those areas. The park will reopen roads and trails once area construction work is completed. Given the many variables that can impact road projects of this type and scope, work dates are subject to change.
The road work is scheduled to last through November, and limited daytime road closures may still occur even with nighttime work.
Construction crews will use pilot cars and flaggers to control traffic during the day. When partial daytime road closures are in effect, crews will limit traffic delays to 30 minutes or less per work zone. While construction crews say they will make every effort to minimize disruption to visitor daytime travel and activities during this project, visitors should expect frequent delays and closures.
The park will post road construction updates on its official website as they become available. However, construction work schedules are subject to change. Visitors to the Moab area can find a wide variety of spectacular scenery and hikes in other public lands around the region.
Campground remains closed through November
Information about these other travel and hiking options can be found on the Moab Area Travel Council’s website at: www.discovermoab.com/profile.htm. General information about Arches National Park can be found at www.nps.gov/arch or by calling 435-719-2299.
