Biking in Arches National Park

Exploring Arches National Park by E-Bike: The Ultimate Hack

We’ve been dreaming about riding e-bikes through Arches National Park for a long time — and let me tell you, it did not disappoint. Instead of dealing with hills, timed entry and reservations, traffic jams, and crowded parking lots, we cruised past it all on two wheels, soaking up every view at a chill pace. If you’re even a little curious, here’s why you should be stoked to give it a try.

Why E-Bikes Are the Hack for Arches

Here’s the real beta: hopping on an e-bike totally changes the way you see Arches. Instead of being stuck in a car, fighting traffic, and waiting for a parking spot at every trailhead, you’re cruising with the wind in your face, pulling over whenever a view stokes you out. It feels way more natural and immersive — you’re in the park, not just passing through it.

Even better, you don’t need a timed-entry reservation if you’re rolling in on two wheels. That alone is huge. Entry is also cheaper than bringing a car, and you’re not pumping more fumes into a place that already sees heavy traffic. It’s healthier for the ecosystem and just a great way to reduce cars in the park.

Picking Up Your Ride in Moab

E-bikes are easy to rent in Moab. Shops are all centrally located in town, and most will set you up with a battery that’s got plenty of juice for the full loop inside the park. We picked ours up first thing in the morning from Pedego Moab, so we could beat the heat and get rolling before the sun really cranked up.

Insider Benefits of Going Electric

• Skip the suffering. Arches has some sneaky hills, and an e-bike makes them way less brutal.
• A faster pace made it feel safer as we were going closer to the speed of car traffic many times. Cars didn’t get as annoyed with us and stayed behind as many times on downhills as we were all going the speed limit.
• Flexibility. You can stop wherever you want, whenever you want. Trailheads, overlooks, roadside arches — nothing’s off-limits.
• Eco-friendly. Fewer cars means cleaner air and a healthier park ecosystem.
• Accessible. Even if you’re not a hardcore roadie, e-bikes open up the experience to way more people.

Power Modes, Battery Use, and Speed

One of the biggest questions folks have about e-biking through Arches is: Will I run out of battery? Here’s the beta from our ride:

• Modes we used: We mostly rode in mode 1,2 (out of 5), occasionally bumping up to higher assist (3) for the steeper climbs.
• Battery usage: By the time we wrapped the ride, we’d only used a little over 2/3 of the battery — with 1/3 left. We did pedal a lot as we wanted a good workout.
• Speeds: In mode 1, it’s easy to cruise at 7-8 mph, mode 2, I could easily climb hills at 10-11 mph, mode 3 allowed me to pedal uphill at the same effort at 14 mph. The higher you go on the modes, the more battery you use for the same effort, just higher speeds. We generally cruised comfortably around 12–15 mph. In Tour, it bumped us closer to 18 mph on flats, and the higher assist modes made the climbs feel smooth instead of grindy.

The key takeaway: unless you’re hammering higher power mode all day or using the throttle, you’re unlikely to drain your battery on a standard loop through the park.

A Word of Caution

E-bikes aren’t for everyone. There are no dedicated bike lanes inside Arches, so you’ll be sharing the road with cars, RVs, and occasionally buses. You’ve got to be a confident rider to feel comfortable with that. If you’re not stoked on road riding, this might not be the move for you.

Another important note: if you run out of battery inside the park, the rental shops aren’t allowed to come “rescue” you. You’ll need to pedal the heavy e-bike out on your own or figure out another way out. Plan ahead, manage your power modes wisely, and don’t count on a bailout.

That said, we had an awesome experience. Drivers were super respectful — no sketchy close passes — and the timed entry system means way fewer cars on the road to begin with. Plus, there are tons of pull-outs where you can stop, grab photos, or let traffic pass if it’s stacking up behind you.

And if you want to ride but aren’t up for the in-park traffic, there’s also a paved bike path outside the national park that still dishes out killer views.

Our Route Through the Park

We rode the main park road, hitting all the iconic spots like Balanced Rock, Sand Arch, and Devil’s Garden. The e-bikes made the rolling terrain fun instead of punishing, and we had plenty of battery to cover it all.

👉 Check out the video overview of our ride map and elevation breakdown