How Does Arches National Park’s New Timed-Entry Affect Your Moab Elopement?
Have you been thinking about booking a Moab elopement photo session this spring but hesitant to pull the trigger? Don’t wait too long - Arches National Park is moving to a timed-entry system, and reservations for April have already been released. May reservations are coming up fast (February 1st, to be specific), so don’t wait to book! The dates for booking reservations are as follows:
January 3 at 8 am MST: April reservations (April 3–30)
February 1 at 8 am MST: May reservations (May 1–31)
March 1 at 8 am MST: June reservations (June 1–30)
April 1 at 8 am MDT: July reservations (July 1–31)
May 1 at 8 am MDT: August reservations (August 1–31)
June 1 at 8 am MDT: September reservations (September 1–30)
July 1 at 8 am MDT: October reservations (October 1–31)
Reservations can be made at recreation.gov or through the mobile app and cost $2. Kind of a bummer for those of us with National Parks passes, but there is not much we can do about it.
How does this affect your photo shoot plans? It depends on the date. Photoshoots before April 3rd and after October 31st are not subject to the timed-entry, nor are they required before 6:00AM or after 5:00PM. Because Moab elopement photographers strive to shoot during the golden hour, this means that photo sessions will usually be before or after these times. But we’ll have to nail down the details in advance to be sure that we don’t fall into these time frames during shorter daylight hours in the spring and fall.
It also means that last minute inquiries are going to be difficult to accommodate. There are tons of incredible Moab Elopement Destinations outside of Arches, and there are even arches outside of the park, but if you or your loved one has their heart set on the park you’ll want to book your photoshoot and entry tickets well in advance (more than 3 months).
More information can be found on the Arches National Park official website.
