Arches Voted Prettiest National Park in Winter

When The Wilderness Society released its list of top 20 national parks to visit in the winter, Arches National Park came in first.

The park’s stunning snow-dusted red-rock formations framed by the blue sky led the organization’s staff to place Arches at the top of the list. With more than 2,000 natural stone arches, numerous balanced rocks and pinnacles that reach toward the sky, Arches is an awe-inspiring lesson in geology. It also has an incredibly long human history, stretching back 10,000 years.

When you pack for your trip to Arches, bring a copy of Edward Abbey’s Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness with you. Abbey’s stories about his days as an Arches park ranger for two seasons in 1956 and 1957 reveal how much has changed in the park during the last 50 years as well as underscore how special this land of red rock and sky is.

Other parks in the top 10 include Bryce Canyon National Park (3), Yosemite National Park (4), Grand Canyon National Park (6), Yellowstone National Park (7), Rocky Mountain National Park (8) and Zion National Park (10).

See all the park’s that made the top 20 list.

Related: Utah Winter Journey in Pictures | Bryce Canyon Winter Photo Gallery