My wife and I camped in site #31 the night of August 12th. I scheduled our stay to coincide with the Perseids meteor shower and we were not disappointed. Our campsite was backed by impressive rock formations, we enjoyed a campfire in the supplied fire ring, and we saw more stars and meteors than we've ever been able to see back home.

Our only gripe was trying to find a level spot to set up our tent. After setting up the tent in one location, I discovered a very active ant colony just a foot away. We relocated to another area, only to discover the ground was too hard to drive in the anchoring stakes (a requirement with the winds at the time). The only other spot we could find was about 30 feet back from the fire ring. Not bad, but it was a little unlevel and we fought rolling down hill all night.

However, this was a minor issue, and other sites we walked past seemed to have more level areas than ours did. Of course, it wouldn't be a concern for folks in an RV. I think we just got the one site better suited to RV's than tents.

We hadn't been camping in 20+ years and Devils Garden was an amazing location to pitch a tent after so many years. It was quiet, clean, bathrooms were just a short stroll down the road, and we were within walking distance of the arches over in the Devils Garden area. We had a great time and wouldn't hesitate to camp there again.

Picturesque campsites. Surrounded by rock. Cost $20 in advance, made reservations. Highly recommend site #51. It is close to a less traveled trail that will take you to 2 arches. No showers, but plenty of places to shower in town. We went to a campground off Main Street called Up the Creek. Tent only campground with $6 showers. If no campsites available check out BLM lands off Highway 191. There are several first come first serve sites off that road. Stayed at one right by the river. It was amazing.

we spent 3 nights here around the 3rd week of September. we had site #7 which is built for a RV. campground is the only one in Arches and it's beautiful. the visitor center told us that starting next year, all the sites will be reservable online. we recommend site #46-- very private and ducked behind a rock.

how to get a 1st come 1st serve site (while they still exist):
go to Arches visitor center no later than 0700--there is usually a line out the front door at the visitor center by 0730. visitor center opens at 0730. they'll give you a tag and fee envelope. drive 18 miles up to the campground and pick your site and place your tag inside the site box. you know the site is vacant if there is a smiley face in the box. then place $20/night in the fee envelope they give you and place it inside the fee box near the entrance of the campground. they take personal checks or cash.

they have water spigots at the bathrooms along with a dishwashing sink. water spigot at the dishwashing sink is drinking water. bathrooms are nice. for both men/women: 4 private toilet stalls- flush and 2 sinks. the only problem was that there are no paper towels or handblower. there is a soap dispenser. i don't think there was an outlet.

sites are relatively private and quiet, depending on your neighbors. our site had neighbors whom we can hear very clearly but couldn't see. those we could see on our other side were quiet. go figure! there are boulders and rock formations throughout this campground. the further you drive into it, the prettier it is.

campground is located at the end of the 2-lane paved road in Arches park. it is 18 miles up from visitor center and an additional 2 miles into the town of Moab. if you're planning on driving to canyonlands, i recommend camping inside one of several campgrounds in canyonlands. it's a loooong drive back to Arches.

the closest place to shower is Riverside Oasis camp park which is just south/outside of Arches entrance on 191. they charge $5 for unlimited shower-- hot, good pressure, outlets. there are other private campgrounds that allow you to pay for showers-- visitor center has a list. gas, ice, food, can all be found as you drive into Moab. denny's, pasta jays, chinese, shopping, etc. all found in town of Moab.

weather-- summer weather in september-- 70-80s. high 50s at night/early am. sun is intense so bring a hat, sunscreen or umbrella, camelbak, and comfortable hiking shoes with GOOD traction. be prepared to do lots of hiking to see the arches in this park. you need 2 full days or 2.5 days to see everything in this park. it took us 2 full days to see everything, minus fiery furnace and tower arch. fiery furnace is a guided tour and it usually fills up quickly. you need to book this at least 4 days in advance. we couldn't get in.

must sees arches - delicate arch (most famous, 3 mile roundtrip hike, climbing up slick rock), landscape, double O, double, windows, turret, partition, sand dune, broken, skyline.

double O is the longest hike in the park (4 miles roundtrip), also involves climbing rock.
unfortunately, you have to share these arches with tons of europeans/tourists. it's hard to get good photos when you have people standing under the arches!

delicate arch is best during sunset. recommend hiking to delicate arch around 5:30pm for sunset photos. beware--the parking lot there is very limited, on purpose! this is the most famous arch so expect to share it with many people, especially those who want to be photographed under the arch!!

landscape arch is best early in morning. double O best early in am. you can just walk 1/2 mile to the trailhead from devil's garden. parking can be difficult to find there since this is probably the second most famous trailhead. from the landscape arch, you hike further in to see double O arch.

skyline is best during sunset.
sand dune was cool, literally! fine sand, cool sand because you're in the shade the whole time! kids will love it. arch is inside/between tall fins.

definitely pack lunch/sandwich and plenty of water for the hikes. we always ran later than we thought so we'd get back to our campground way after lunchtime!! what was great about the campground was NO mosquitoes!!!! night sky is beautiful. sites all have a separate bbq grill AND a fire ring with grill plate.

i highly recommend camping here if you're doing Arches. just wish they had a store in there for ice, etc. it was a pain having to drive 30 min each way to go to town for ice. campground host sells firewood. no fire restrictions. City Market is right in town.

oh and you can use your cell phones inside the campground but you have to drive to the amphitheater for best reception. it's very spotty elsewhere. Wifi is available at most hotels/private campgrounds in and around town of Moab.

make sure to stop by the visitor center regardless for info, map, etc. it has a souvenir shop in there as well. it's $10/vehicle for park entrance and good for 7 days. they take credit cards at the entrance booth. $5 for walk-ins/bicyclists.

We went to Arches as part of a month long trip to the southwest and up the California coast in May, 07.

Arches & Canyonlands were a fantastic experience and we spent 3 days exploring this area. We used the Devels Garden CG as our base camp. We reserved a site which was smart as the CG filled up each day.

The campground was unbelievably beautiful, set among the rock 'fins' and trails thru the area. The CG was cozy, having only 53 sites and didn't feel like the average NP massive campground.

We will definitly be back.