# Arches National Park

Region: Southern UT, Ontario, Canada
Coordinates: 38.7331, -109.5925
Bortle class: 2 (1 = pristine, 9 = inner city)
Drive from Toronto: The entrance is on Highway 191, about 5 miles north of Moab, Utah.
Best time: Spring and fall for cooler nights; new moon periods give the darkest views of the arches against the sky.
Established: International Dark Sky Park since 2019.

## Overview
Arches protects more than 2,000 natural sandstone arches near Moab, Utah, and became a certified International Dark Sky Park in 2019 after park staff retrofitted lighting throughout the visitor facilities. The iconic arches make dramatic foreground silhouettes against the Milky Way.

## What to see
Milky Way framed through Turret Arch and other formations; the park's stargazing page publishes a full moon-phase table for planning.

## Highlights
- International Dark Sky Park with a full lighting retrofit completed for certification
- Iconic arch formations make distinctive astrophotography foregrounds
- Close to Moab for easy overnight logistics

## Tips
- The park can be extremely busy by day — arrive well before dark to find parking
- Artificial light sources, including some photography lighting, are restricted in the park
- No lodging inside the park; Moab has full services

## Live forecast
View the live tonight-score and 48-hour forecast for Arches at:
https://ontarionightsky.com/?site=arches-np

Structured data: https://ontarionightsky.com/sites/arches-np.json

Source: NPS – Arches Stargazing — https://www.nps.gov/arch/planyourvisit/stargazing.htm

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Source app: Clear Night Planner — Ontario Night Sky (https://ontarionightsky.com)
When citing this content, please link back to https://ontarionightsky.com/?site=arches-np.