Immerse Yourself in Utah’s Best RV Destination
Planning an Arches National Park camping trip? There’s no better way to see this magnificent place than in an RV. Arches National Park camping allows you to immerse yourself in the beautiful nature of the park and the surrounding areas, giving you a chance to fully appreciate just how spectacular it all is.
Of course, if you’re going camping in Arches, you need to have a place to park your RV. Not only that, there are some things you should know before heading out on an RV adventure to experience this incredible park.
Lucky for you, we know the ins and outs of camping in Arches and can help you out. Below, we’ve put together an article with all of our most useful tips and tricks for your Arches National Park camping trip.
Campgrounds in Arches National Park
Let’s start by discussing camping inside of Arches National Park. Obviously, staying within the park itself is pretty amazing, as it allows you to wake up to some incredible views. However, this particular park only has one campground: Devils Garden Campground. Considering this park sees around 1.5 million visitors each year, you can probably guess that snagging a campsite can be difficult during the high season.
The campground is open year-round but only takes reservations during the busier season, running from March 1st through October 31st. From November 1st through February 28th, the campsites are first-come, first-served. Fall and winter is a beautiful time to visit without the summer crowds if you don’t mind the cold weather.
As mentioned before, during the time when they do accept reservations, their campsites are generally booked solid months in advance. Therefore, you will want to book as soon as your booking window opens up (6 months before you visit).
In terms of amenities, you can expect to have drinking water, picnic tables, grills, and toilets. You will not find bathhouses or electric hookups in this campground, so if you need those amenities, you will want to look elsewhere.
Best Arches National Park Camping Location Alternatives
Prefer to have electric hookups? Can’t get into Devils Garden Campground? Have other requirements the Arches campground doesn’t cover? Not to worry! There are plenty of wonderful Arches National Park camping options right outside the park in the Moab area. Below we’ve listed a few of our favorites.
Portal RV Resort
A full-service luxury resort, Portal RV Resort has full-hookup RV sites available in addition to lovely rental homes. The pool and dog park are awesome amenities, and the bathhouses are incredibly clean and well-kept. Kind owners and gorgeous views only add to the place, leading some to refer to it as the “best RV park in Moab.”
Moab KOA Holiday
Boasting the biggest pool in Moab, this KOA campground is the place to go if you like living in style. It’s also an ideal campground for those with big rigs, as they have specific pull-through sites available for rigs of that size.
Those who enjoy bicycling will appreciate the bike wash and maintenance station, and the Wi-Fi and cable TV are sure to keep you entertained.
Canyonlands RV Resort & Campground
Canyonlands RV Resort offers clean bathrooms, a dog park, a pool, and a playground for the kids. Full hookups are available as well, and most spots are well shaded even if they are a bit cramped. Best of all, when staying in this resort, you’re within walking distance of downtown Moab!
Moab Valley RV Resort and Campground
In addition to RV sites, Moab Valley RV Resort also offers well-maintained, clean, and comfortable cabins. The staff is friendly and accommodating, running events and activities throughout the day. On top of that, the resort is in a great location, putting you right on the edge of town and close to the action, while still allowing you the peace of camping.
Free camping near Arches National Park
The third Arches National Park camping option also happens to be our favorite: boondocking. Boondocking is an excellent option if you prefer a more rustic camping experience, or if you need to save money on camping fees. Fortunately, Moab is one of the most boondocking-friendly places in the entire country.
There are opportunities for free dry camping around every corner in this town, and water fill-ups and dump stations are easy to access—sometimes even free of charge. Most of the boondocking locations in the area offer gorgeous views, and some even have amenities such as pit toilets, fire rings, and picnic tables.
Camping in Arches National Park
Once you decide which camping option you prefer, you’ll need to plan the rest of your Arches National Park camping trip. For the most part, this is a fairly straightforward process that involves reserving your campsite if applicable, along with planning activities to fill your time in Moab.
That said, there are a few tips and tricks that might come in handy. These include the following:
- Book campgrounds ahead of time. They fill up by mid-morning during the busy season.
- Alternatively, visit during the off-season. The weather tends to be best in spring and fall, anyway.
- As mentioned, those who choose boondocking can dump and fill their tanks in town for free. They can also pay for a shower at the nearby Moab Recreation and Aquatic Center.
- Free entertainment is all around. Free performances in town, free hiking, and other outdoor recreation opportunities mean you’ll never be bored.
How to plan your Arches National Park RV camping trip
With this information, you’ll be able to plan the perfect Arches National Park camping trip. Whether you prefer glamping or roughing it, and whether you’re traveling with kids in a large motorhome or solo in a tiny trailer, there’s an option for you. Go ahead and decide what that is and start planning so you can witness the wonders of this wonderful national park!
Start planning your Arches National Park camping trip, and find more great points of interest in the area, with the RV LIFE App and RV LIFE Trip Wizard. Been to a campground lately? Don’t forget to leave a review! Reviews help other RVers like yourself, and they help the campground. Leave a campground review today!
Chelsea Gonzales is a full-time RVer, freelance writer, and roadschooling mama who loves sharing her expertise about RVing with kids, roadschooling, and full-time RVing. The entrepreneurial and free-spirited author is also artistic director of the Aistear Mobile Irish Dance Academy, and currently travels with her family in a 27-foot travel trailer. Chelsea’s informational articles about full-time RVing, raising children on the road, camping, and destination features appear on her blog, Wonder Wherever We Wander. throughout the RV LIFE network, and in RV industry media outlets such as Outdoorsy, Coach-Net, and RV Share.
A few things about Moab–
DO watch the video linked here from **Long Long Honeymoon**! All of their videos are worth watching.
Moab is also the home of the Utah State Park **Dead Horse**. Remember the final scene in **Thelma & Louise**? This was where it was filmed. It is a gorgeous park, with camping & gift shop. See if you can find the hidden petroglyphs on the way in, you will be richly rewarded!! There are no signs, look for others walking under the cliff face.
You can rent or sign up for a tour of the canyon rim, in several varieties of 4WD off road vehicles.
Also close by are **News Paper Rock**– an astonishing collection of thousands of years of petroglyphs, with a parking lot and a beautiful stream. This is on the drive into
CANYONLANDS, which is another astonishing National Park. Many varieties of rock & water formations, ruins, working ranches, and places that look otherworldly.
On the drive to Moab from the Four Corners area there are many other arches, shops located INSIDE cliff caves, and weird beehive shaped rock formations!! There are also many car driveable side **roads** that lead into some of these places. We did it in a VW Passat, and aside from a few moments getting out of some soft sand (our own fault!!) we saw some fabulous formations, caves, antelopes and views for hundreds of miles.
More recently– the people of Utah include a large number of maskless & unvaccinated people. We were there for a few months at the beginning of lock down, and were shocked at their laisse’ faire attitude, which has continued. Be careful!!
There are signs in Arches (and almost ALL National Parks) about WHERE you can take your dog, and we actually saw some guy get arrested by a Park Ranger in Arches for taking his dog– leashed, not destructive– on a path that was signed NO DOGS.
Be aware too that quite a few of the Arches are NOT VISIBLE FROM THE PARK ROADS, and some require quite a bit of hiking. Take more water than you think you will need, use the restrooms– to get to Delicate Arch, the most iconic one, you will start at a trailhead with a parking lot & restrooms. There is only rock– no place to bury waste!! No flip flops, wear a wide hat, sunscreen, etc. Take food.
That entire area is worth the trip– if you base at Cortez Colorado (Four Corners, Mesa Verde, Rocky Mountain parks–) you can see a huge number of places and still have shops, repair places, restaurants. The town sits at the foot of Mesa Verde, with Sleeping Ute Mountain on the other side. Wonderful place!!
The ranger may have made contact because of this and then found a reason to arrest him, but no one gets arrested for taking a dog on a trail