In 2022, following a massive uptick in visitation to Arches National Park, the park implemented a timed entry system from April to October. The system required park visitors to reserve a time slot to enter between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. until October 3; timed entry continued in 2023, but with new times, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., through October 31. Anyone who wished to enter the park outside of those times could do so without a reservation.
Park officials say timed entry will continue next year. Time slots for 2024 will look similar to those in 2023. When visitors enter the park during their reserved time slot, they can spend the rest of the day in the park.
“So far, I think it’s fair to say they’ve [timed entry in 2022 and 2023] demonstrated initial success in reducing congestion, improving visitor experiences, and distributing visitation throughout the day,” said Brendan Bray, the acting superintendent for the Southeast Utah Group of National Parks. Bray discussed the timed entry system during a city council meeting on November 14.
Popular national parks across the country are implementing similar systems: Rocky Mountain, Yosemite, Glacier, Acadia, Grand Canyon, and Zion (though many of those parks require reservations only to drive certain roads; Zion also utilizes a shuttle). Reservations are made through the website recreation.gov.
In 2021, visitors to Arches National Park during peak seasons were often turned away, as the park closed its gates due to capacity limits within the park. In October 2022, after the timed entry system ended, the gates still had to close some days. When the timed entry system is in place, Bray said, all visitors with a reservation will be let into the park—but some will still have to wait in a line outside of the gates.
Bray said only 4% of visitors arrived at park gates without a reservation, and were turned away.
“What we’re seeing is that a very high percentage of people are able to obtain a ticket,” Bray said. Eighty-three percent of visitors said they were able to obtain a ticket for their desired time and day.
If the timed entry system becomes permanent, the park will have to go through a NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) process.
Mayor Joette Langianese asked that park officials reach out to both the Moab Chamber of Commerce and the Utah Office of Tourism. When the timed entry pilot was first established in 2022, local businesses worried it would cause less people to travel to Moab. Langianese said that she discussed the 2024 program with the Chamber of Commerce and said there was still “a lot of misinformation.”
“One of the questions that kept coming up was capacity—and I know, from working with you all, that capacity was a big part of the process to come up with the numbers for timed entry,” Langianese said. “I think that there needs to be some better education with our businesses in town so that they know that some of the issues they have, have been addressed.”
Councilmember Jason Taylor brought up the idea of creating a traffic lane specifically for buses or guide companies: Bray said anyone in support of that idea could submit their support, or other ideas, in a public comment.
A public comment period on the timed entry pilot system is open now until December 1, and can be accessed at www.ParkPlanning.nps.gov.
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Read the rest of this week’s edition:
Cultivating community during Women’s Wall Street Wednesdays
Trail Ambassador program receives LNT Gold Standard Designation
Cranksgiving only comes once a year
City parks master plan moves forward
Meeting at a glance: Moab City Council, November 14, 2023
Opinion: How do we remember Thanksgiving?
Opinion: Letter to the Editor—”Don’t let the Beaver Shaft uranium mine reopen in La Sal”
Moab History: Sufferage in Utah
Or, read through a pdf of this week’s print edition
