The Fiery Furnace
A one-square-mile labyrinth of sandstone fins with no trail, no signs, no cairns and no working GPS. You cannot walk in. There are exactly two legal ways to enter, both booked seven days out through recreation.gov, and both sell out.
On 18 February 2026 the park announced it will not require advance timed-entry reservations this year — you can drive in at any time during operating hours with a valid entrance pass. This does not apply to the Fiery Furnace. Reservations are still required for both self-guided permits and ranger-guided hikes, and a lot of third-party pages have not caught up with either change. Check the park conditions page before you travel.
Fees, booking windows and pickup times on this page verified against nps.gov and recreation.gov on 25 July 2026. The NPS permit page was last updated 19 March 2026. Details change — confirm before you book.
The short version
The Fiery Furnace is a maze of narrow passages between towering sandstone fins in Arches National Park, about 15 miles inside the park entrance. To protect it — and because getting lost in there is genuinely easy — the Park Service restricts entry. Your options are a Self-Guided Exploration Permit at $10 per person or a Ranger-Guided Loop Tour at $16 per person. Both are booked on recreation.gov and released seven days ahead at 8:00 am Mountain Time.
Both of those are hikes, not technical descents. No rappels, no rope, no harness — but a demanding hike involving scrambling, squeezing, jumping small gaps and pushing yourself up between two walls. Once you are in, you finish: the terrain makes turning back impractical. Technical canyoneering does exist here on two established routes, but it needs a second permit on top of the first.
Access
The two legal ways in
There is no third option. No walk-ups, no first-come tickets, and no commercial operator can take you. Every figure below comes straight from the Park Service and recreation.gov.
| Self-Guided Exploration Permit | Ranger-Guided Loop Tour | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | $10 per person |
$16 per person |
| Season | Year-round | Roughly mid-April to early fall |
| Duration | Day use, sunrise to sunset | About 2.5 hours |
| Group size | 6 people maximum | Set by the park, per tour |
| Booking window | Max 7 days ahead, and at least 2 days before your date | Up to 7 days ahead |
| Release time | 8:00 am Mountain Time, 7 days before the date — both ticket types | |
| Where to book | recreation.gov only, or 1-877-444-6777. No permits can be reserved in person. | |
| Ticket pickup | Arches Visitor Center, day before or day of. Everyone in the party must be present. Slots: 8, 8:30, 9, 9:30, 10 am and 2, 2:30, 3, 3:30 pm. Arrive 5–10 minutes early. | |
| Orientation | Required video and ranger talk at pickup — everyone watches, no exceptions | |
| Where you meet | Fiery Furnace trailhead, on your own schedule | Fiery Furnace Viewpoint, 15 miles past the visitor center, 10 minutes early |
| Minimum age | 5 years | 5 years · one adult per child aged 5–6 · under-13s accompanied |
| Pets | Not allowed | |
| Commercial groups | Prohibited — permits are for private use only | |
| Cancellation | By midnight the night before for a refund, less the non-refundable reservation fee. No refund for late arrival. | |
Swipe sideways on mobile to see both columns.
Take the ranger tour
The Park Service says it plainly: first-time visitors should go with a ranger or with someone who has been before. A ranger knows the route, reads the terrain for your group, and explains what you are actually looking at — the geology, the cryptobiotic soil, the reason for the restrictions. Six dollars more than the permit is not the deciding factor.
Or go self-guided
You get the place largely to yourself and as long as daylight allows. There are small markers for one counter-clockwise route, but many other paths branch off it and the Park Service is explicit that getting lost is a real possibility. Groups are capped at six, and permits sell out fast in spring and autumn.
Step by step
How to actually get in
The seven-day window catches people out constantly. You cannot book this three months ahead with the rest of your trip — you book it while you are already on the road.
Count back seven days
Work out the date you want, subtract seven days, and be on recreation.gov at 8:00 am Mountain Time that morning. Set an alarm. In spring and autumn the good slots go within minutes.
Book the right ticket
Ranger-guided and self-guided are two separate listings under the same recreation.gov facility. Self-guided also has a minimum — you must book at least two days before your date, so the real window is days 7 to 2.
Collect the ticket in person
Day before or day of, at the Arches Visitor Center, in one of the nine time slots. Everyone in your party has to be there to watch the orientation video. Build this into your itinerary — it is a second trip to the visitor center.
Turn up early
Ranger tours meet at the Fiery Furnace Viewpoint, 15 miles into the park, ten minutes before the start. Late arrival can forfeit your place with no refund, and the drive in takes longer than people expect on a busy weekend.
Cancellations do get released, so check again the evening before and the morning of — the refund deadline is midnight the night before, which is exactly when other people give up their slots. Failing that, the Devils Garden trail system gives you fins, arches and some scrambling without a permit, and there is real canyon country outside the park that needs no reservation at all.
Reality check
What the terrain is actually like
"Moderately strenuous" undersells it for anyone expecting a national park trail. This is the Park Service's own description, and it is accurate.
You will be climbing
Walking and climbing on irregular, broken sandstone, along narrow ledges above drop-offs, and through loose sand. Hands and feet, not just feet.
You will be squeezing
Narrow places you have to pull yourself into and up through. In some spots you hold yourself off the ground entirely by pushing against both walls.
You will be jumping
Gaps you have to jump across. Nothing enormous, but enough that hesitation and a heavy camera bag are both liabilities.
You cannot bail
Because of the maze, everyone who enters completes the route. There is no shortcut back to the trailhead if someone decides they have had enough.
There are no trails, signs or cairns, and the fins block satellite reception well enough that GPS is unreliable. Small markers indicate one counter-clockwise route, but plenty of other passages branch off it and dead-end. This is why the permit exists.
The part most pages get wrong
Is the Fiery Furnace canyoneering?
The hike is not. But there are two established technical canyoneering routes inside the Fiery Furnace, and doing them legally requires two separate permits — which is the detail almost every third-party page misses.
The hike — no technical gear
- Hiking, scrambling and route finding
- Stemming and squeezing between fins
- Day use only, sunrise to sunset
- No rope, harness or helmet needed
Both the $10 self-guided exploration permit and the $16 ranger tour cover this and only this. Nothing in the Park Service's description of either involves a rappel. It is the closest thing to canyon movement you can do in Arches without technical gear, which is exactly why canyoneers enjoy it.
The technical routes — two permits
The Park Service lists Krill and Lomatium as established canyoneering routes in the Fiery Furnace. To descend either one you need both of the following, for every person in the party:
- An Arches canyoneering permit — free at the self-register kiosk outside the visitor center or at the Backcountry Permit Office, or $6 per permit online, released 8:00 am MT the day before
- A Fiery Furnace Self-Guided Exploration permit — $10 per person, released 8:00 am MT seven days ahead, and these sell out
Groups are capped at six people in the Fiery Furnace and Lost Spring Canyon, against ten elsewhere in the park. You must carry the canyoneering permit with you on the route.
Two separate rules point the same way. Fiery Furnace permits are for private use only and commercial groups are not permitted; and the park's canyoneering regulations state plainly that guided canyoneering services are prohibited. So no company can legally take you through the Fiery Furnace, on foot or on rope. The only guided option anywhere in it is the park's own ranger-led hike at $16 per person. If you want a guide and rappels, that exists in abundance outside the park boundary.
Every established canyoneering route in Arches
These are the only routes the park has approved. Establishing anything else with fixed gear needs a special use permit, and the park reserves the right to strip unapproved hardware.
| Area | Approved routes | Group limit |
|---|---|---|
| Fiery Furnace | Krill · Lomatium 2 permits needed | 6 |
| Lost Spring Canyon | Lost and Found / Undercover · MMI | 6 |
| Park Avenue | Tierdrop · Not Tierdrop · U-Turn | 10 |
| Great Wall | Bighorn | 10 |
| The Windows | Elephant Butte | 10 |
| Petrified Dunes | Dragonfly | 10 |
Source: NPS Arches canyoneering regulations. Also worth knowing before you go: rappelling off any arch with an opening greater than three feet is prohibited, as are deadman anchors, pitons and highlining, and any webbing left in place must match the colour of the rock. Full rules and permits →
Preparation
What to bring, and what is not allowed
Required
- Sturdy hiking shoes or boots with gripping soles
- At least one quart or litre of water per person
- A backpack, so your hands stay free
These are stated requirements, not suggestions. There is no water at the viewpoint or inside the Furnace.
Strongly advised
- More water than the minimum in summer
- Sun protection — much of the route is exposed
- Long sleeves and trousers for the squeezes
- Salty snacks and electrolytes
- A small first aid kit
Leave behind
- Sandals and heeled shoes — explicitly not allowed
- Pets, on both permit types
- Tripods — not recommended, and awkward in the squeezes
- Anything you cannot carry hands-free
- Children under 5, who cannot enter at all
The name is not decorative. This is exposed sandstone with limited shade and no water source, and summer highs in Arches regularly exceed 100 °F. Rangers run tours in the morning for a reason. If you are self-guided in July or August, start at sunrise and be out before midday. Season by season conditions →
Getting there
The Fiery Furnace Viewpoint is about 15 miles along the main park road from the Arches Visitor Center, which itself sits five miles north of Moab on US-191. Allow 30 to 40 minutes from town, and more on a busy weekend when the entrance station backs up.
There are restrooms at the viewpoint but none inside the Furnace, and no food, water, fuel or services anywhere in the park. Fill up in Moab.
A valid park entrance pass is required and can be bought online or at the entrance station. As of 2026 no separate timed-entry reservation is needed.
Why the restrictions exist
Two reasons, both real. The first is that people genuinely get lost in here — the passages branch and dead-end, and the fins defeat GPS.
The second is the ground itself. The sand and drainages between the walls support cryptobiotic soil crust and specialist plants that take decades to recover from a single footstep. The orientation video you are required to watch is mostly about this, and it is worth actually watching rather than enduring.
Walk in washes and on bare rock wherever you can, keep your group tight rather than spreading out to find your own line, and take nothing.
Answers
Fiery Furnace FAQs
Do you need a permit for the Fiery Furnace?
Yes. Entry is only possible with a Self-Guided Fiery Furnace Exploration Permit or on a Ranger-Guided Loop Tour, and both must be reserved in advance through recreation.gov. There are no walk-up tickets and no permits can be reserved in person. Self-guided permits cost $10 per person and ranger-guided tours cost $16 per person, plus the park entrance fee.
How far in advance can I book the Fiery Furnace?
Seven days, no more. Tickets for both the self-guided permit and the ranger-guided tour are released at 8:00 am Mountain Time exactly seven days before the hike date. Self-guided permits also carry a minimum: you must book at least two days before your date, so the usable window is between seven and two days out. This is the single most common planning mistake — you cannot book the Fiery Furnace months ahead with the rest of your trip.
How much does the Fiery Furnace cost?
A Self-Guided Fiery Furnace Exploration Permit costs $10 per person. A Ranger-Guided Fiery Furnace Loop Tour costs $16 per person. Recreation.gov adds a small non-refundable reservation fee. These are on top of the Arches National Park entrance fee, which is charged per vehicle and can be bought online or at the entrance station.
Are ranger-guided Fiery Furnace hikes running?
Ranger-guided hikes are normally offered spring through fall, typically starting around mid-April and ending in early fall, with several departures per day during the main season. They do not run in winter. Availability has varied in recent years with park staffing, so check the current listing on recreation.gov and the Arches conditions page rather than assuming. When ranger tours are not running, the self-guided permit remains available year-round.
Can I book a commercial guided tour of the Fiery Furnace?
No. Two separate Park Service rules prohibit it: Fiery Furnace permits are for private use only and commercial groups are not permitted, and the park's canyoneering regulations state that guided canyoneering services are prohibited in Arches. The only guided option is the park's own ranger-led hike, booked directly through Recreation.gov at $16 per person. Any company advertising a guided Fiery Furnace trip is offering something that cannot legally run as described. Commercial canyoneering and hiking tours do operate widely elsewhere in the Moab area, outside the park boundary.
How hard is the Fiery Furnace hike?
Moderately strenuous, and harder than most national park trails. You will walk and climb on irregular broken sandstone, traverse narrow ledges above drop-offs, cross loose sand, jump small gaps, and squeeze through narrow places you have to pull yourself up and through. In some spots you hold yourself off the ground by pushing against both walls with hands and feet. Because of the maze-like terrain, everyone who enters must complete the route — there is no easy way to turn back.
Is the Fiery Furnace canyoneering?
The hike is not — the $10 self-guided permit and the $16 ranger tour both cover hiking, scrambling and route finding, with no rappels and no rope, harness or helmet required. However, the Park Service does list two established technical canyoneering routes inside the Fiery Furnace: Krill and Lomatium. Descending either requires two separate permits for every member of the party — an Arches canyoneering permit (free in person, or $6 online, released the day before) plus a Fiery Furnace Self-Guided Exploration permit ($10 per person, released seven days ahead). Groups are limited to six people in the Fiery Furnace, and guided canyoneering services are prohibited throughout the park.
What is the minimum age for the Fiery Furnace?
Children under five are not allowed on either the self-guided permit or the ranger-guided tour. Children aged 12 and under must be accompanied by a responsible adult, and on ranger tours one adult is required for each child aged five or six. Pets are prohibited on both options.
How long does the Fiery Furnace take?
The ranger-guided loop tour runs about two and a half hours. Self-guided permits are valid for day use from sunrise to sunset, so you set your own pace, though most parties spend two to four hours inside. Budget extra time on both options for the drive — the viewpoint is 15 miles inside the park — and for the separate visitor centre trip to collect your ticket.
Do I still need a timed-entry reservation for Arches?
Not in 2026. Arches announced in February 2026 that it will not require advance timed-entry reservations this year, so you can enter at any time during operating hours with a valid entrance pass. However, reservations are still required for the Fiery Furnace and for Devils Garden Campground. Expect entrance lines and full car parks at popular spots during peak periods.
What happens if I get lost in the Fiery Furnace?
It is a small area, roughly a square mile, so people who lose the route generally find their way out eventually — but it can take hours, and hours in exposed sandstone with a litre of water in summer is a genuine emergency. There are small markers for one counter-clockwise route, but many other passages branch off and dead-end, and GPS units do not work reliably between the fins. If you are unsure of your navigation, take the ranger tour.
Can I see the Fiery Furnace without a permit?
Yes, from the outside. The Fiery Furnace Viewpoint is open to everyone with a park entrance pass, has parking and restrooms, and gives a good look across the fin system — it is worth the stop even if you cannot get a permit. You simply cannot walk down into the passages without one.
Book and verify with the Park Service
We are not affiliated with the National Park Service and we cannot issue permits. Everything on this page comes from these sources — go to them directly to book, and to confirm details before you travel.
Keep planning
Around the Fiery Furnace
Accuracy note: fees, booking windows, pickup times, age limits and seasonal availability on this page were verified against nps.gov/arch and recreation.gov on 25 July 2026. The Park Service changes these details, sometimes mid-season. Confirm on the official pages linked above before you travel. We are an independent resource and are not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the National Park Service. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.