Day Trippin' › Utah › From Salt Lake City › Arches National Park
The drive from Salt Lake City to Arches National Park takes about 3 hr 51 min (southeast of Salt Lake City), by real roads from ZIP 84101. Along the way we found 43 stops within a short detour: 7 coffee shops, 3 bakeries, 6 ice cream and treats and 11 places to eat.
The list below is the best few of each kind, in driving order, with how far into the drive you reach each one (counted from Salt Lake City) and the detour it adds. Stops marked Our pick are chosen by us; the rest come from OpenStreetMap listings, so confirm hours before you count on them.
Photo: Palacemusic, CC BY-SA 3.0
National park
More than 2,000 natural stone arches, balanced rocks and fins along a paved road just north of Moab.
Heads-up: No timed-entry reservation needed in 2026; enter any time the park is open. Fiery Furnace hikes still need a reservation. Dogs only on roads, parking, campgrounds and picnic areas, not trails or overlooks.
First third Middle third Last third Arches National Park
About 3 hr 51 min by road, heading southeast from the middle of ZIP 84101. Traffic and weather change that.
Good ones to start with: Black Sheep Cafe (Provo) and Bombay House (Provo). The page lists 30 in all, in driving order.
Boba Bee in American Fork, The Dessert Collective in American Fork, Da Cloud Boba Shoppe in Pleasant Grove and Black Rifle Coffee Company in Spanish Fork. Check hours first; they come from OpenStreetMap listings.
Edna's Market & Grille in Lehi, Sol Agave in American Fork, Black Sheep Cafe in Provo and Bombay House in Provo.
Old Locomotive 453 in Sky View, Castle Gate Mine Number 1 in Royal, The Helper Museum in Helper and Nine Mile Canyon Kiosk in Wellington.
Drive times are by road on a typical day from ZIP <class 'zip'> (OpenStreetMap data with the OSRM route planner). Stops come from our own picks and OpenStreetMap listings; hours and detours change, so check before you go. We do not store anyone's location.