Arches National Park
The Fiery Furnace: tickets, permits and the rule nobody mentions
A maze of sandstone fins where the trail stops being a trail. It is the most controlled place in Arches, the hardest ticket in Moab, and the one hike here you genuinely can get lost on.
The short answer
A ranger led tour at $16 per person, about two and a half hours, booked seven days ahead on Recreation.gov. A self guided permit at $10 per person for groups of up to six, reserved two to seven days ahead. Or you do not go.
There is no fourth option, and this is the part that catches people out: you cannot hire a private guide for the Fiery Furnace. The National Park Service states that the permits are for private use only and that commercial groups are not permitted. No Moab outfitter can legally take you in, whatever a booking site implies.
Orientation
A maze, not a trail
The Fiery Furnace is a dense collection of narrow sandstone fins, standing close together with slots and dead ends between them. From the viewpoint on the main park road it looks like a jumble of rock. From inside it is a genuine labyrinth, and the reason it is permit controlled is not crowding. It is that people get lost in there.
There is no marked path. You navigate by reading the rock, squeezing through cracks, and scrambling up and along ledges. Two passages that look identical will take you to completely different places, and one of them ends at a drop. The name, incidentally, comes from the way the fins glow at sunset rather than from the temperature, though it is also genuinely hot in there in summer.
- Ranger tour
- $16 pp
- Self guided permit
- $10 pp
- Tour length
- About 2.5 hrs
- Permit group cap
- 6 people
- Minimum age
- 5
The comparison
Ranger led or on your own
Both options require advance booking and both sell out in season. The real difference is not price, it is whether you want the navigation handled for you.
| Ranger led tour | Self guided permit | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | $16 per person | $10 per person |
| Length | About 2.5 hrs | Sunrise to sunset on your date |
| Group size | Set by the park | Maximum 6 per permit |
| Booking window | 7 days ahead, 8am Mountain | 2 to 7 days ahead |
| Minimum age | 5. Ages 5 and 6 need one adult each | 5 |
| Before you go | Collect the physical ticket at the visitor centre | Whole party watches the orientation video and talk |
| Navigation | Handled. A ranger leads the route | Entirely yours. No marked path |
| Season | Roughly April to September | Year round |
| Best for | Almost everyone. First visit, families, anyone unsure | Confident route finders who have been in before |
Fees and rules from the National Park Service, checked August 2026. Ranger tour season dates shift year to year and tours may finish in September. Confirm on Recreation.gov before planning around a date.
Take the ranger tour unless you have specific reason not to. Six dollars is not the difference between a good day and a bad one, and the interpretation is the actual value. A ranger who works this maze daily will show you things you would walk straight past, and you will not spend the afternoon worrying about whether you can find the way out.
The hard part
How to actually get a ticket
Ranger tour tickets release on a rolling seven day window and go quickly in peak season. There are no walk up tickets. This is the drill.
- Work out your date, then count back seven days. That is your release morning.
- Be logged into Recreation.gov before 8am Mountain time with your payment details already saved. Not at 8am. Before.
- Know which departure you want. Deciding while the page is live is how people lose the slot.
- Collect the physical ticket at the visitor centre before your tour. The reservation is not the ticket, and this trips up people who assume a phone screen is enough.
- Self guided permits work differently. Reserve between two and seven days ahead, then bring the whole group to the visitor centre for the required video and orientation talk. Everyone has to be present, so build the time in.
Booking flights and lodging around a Fiery Furnace tour you have not got a ticket for. The seven day window means you cannot secure it when you book the trip, so treat it as a bonus rather than a fixture. Plenty of people arrive in Moab having missed out entirely, which is why the last section of this page exists.
The rule nobody states
You cannot hire a private guide
Search for a Fiery Furnace guide and you will find Moab outfitters, booking platforms and listing sites that all seem to suggest it is possible. It is not, and the position is not ambiguous.
The permits are for private use only, and commercial groups are not permitted in the Fiery Furnace. The park's list of commercially authorised activities covers road based tours, backcountry hiking on established trails, photography and art instruction, and transport. Guided trips into the Furnace are not among them.
So the ranger tour is not merely the best guided option. It is the only one that exists.
This is worth knowing before you spend an evening ringing outfitters. It is also worth knowing if you see a listing that appears to offer it, because that listing is either out of date or describing something else, such as a guided hike elsewhere in the park with a Fiery Furnace viewpoint stop.
Commercial guiding does happen inside Arches, legitimately, on established trails under a Commercial Use Authorisation. Several Moab companies hold one. The Furnace is simply carved out of it, as is canyoneering, which is prohibited commercially throughout the park.
What you are signing up for
Harder than it looks from the road
The National Park Service describes the ranger tour as difficult and strenuous, and that is not boilerplate. Over roughly two and a half hours you will be scrambling through narrow cracks, climbing over rock using your hands, and walking along ledges with drops beside them. It is not exposed in a mountaineering sense, but if narrow spaces or edges bother you, this is not the hike to test that on.
You will be fine if
Most reasonably active people
- You can pull yourself up onto a waist high ledge
- You are comfortable in spaces narrow enough to touch both walls
- You can walk two and a half hours over uneven ground
- You have proper hiking shoes with grip. This is required, not advisory
Think again if
Genuinely worth sitting out
- Confined spaces are a real problem for you
- Knees or hips make climbing down awkward
- You are visiting in July and heat is already hard work
- You want a gentle scenic walk, which this is not
The Devils Garden and Windows trails give you Arches scenery without any of this.
Bring at least a quart of water per person, which the park specifies as a minimum rather than a suggestion. In summer bring considerably more. The fins hold heat and there is little moving air in there.
Families
Going with children
The Fiery Furnace has firmer age rules than anything else in Arches, and they are enforced.
- Under five is not permitted, on either the ranger tour or a self guided permit. There is no exception and no discussion at the visitor centre.
- Ages five and six require one adult per child on the ranger tour. Two adults cannot take three small children between them.
- Twelve and under must be with a responsible adult throughout.
- Beyond the rules, judge the scrambling realistically. A confident nine year old will love it. A reluctant one will have a miserable two and a half hours with no way to leave early, because the group moves as a group.
The realistic outcome
If the tickets are gone
This happens to a lot of people, and arriving in Moab without the ticket you had planned around is not the end of the trip. Three genuine substitutes, in the order we would suggest them.
Guided canyoneering
The closest feeling available
The same enclosed sandstone maze, except you rappel through it and someone qualified is managing the rope. Beginner canyons run four to six hours and need no experience. This is the only substitute that improves on what you missed rather than merely replacing it.
Grandstaff Canyon
Free, and shaded
Fifteen minutes from town, five miles return, with a stream and real shade for much of it. Not a maze, but the best non technical canyon walk near Moab and a far better use of a hot afternoon than queueing for a viewpoint.
Tower Arch
The quiet corner of Arches
Off in the Klondike Bluffs at the far end of the park, reached by a rough road. Cairned rather than trailed, so it gives you a taste of route finding, and you may well have it to yourself while the main road is full.
One last thing. The Fiery Furnace viewpoint on the main park road is open to everyone, needs no permit, and is genuinely worth the stop at low sun. It is where the name comes from.
Before you go
Common questions
Can I hire a private guide for the Fiery Furnace?
No. The National Park Service states that Fiery Furnace permits are for private use only and that commercial groups are not permitted. Canyoneering and Fiery Furnace trips are both excluded from the park's list of commercially authorised activities. The ranger led tour is the only guided option that exists.
How much does the Fiery Furnace cost?
The ranger led tour is $16 per person. A self guided exploration permit is $10 per person. Both are in addition to park entry, which is $30 per private vehicle for seven days, or $55 for an annual pass covering Arches, Canyonlands and two nearby national monuments.
How far in advance can I book the Fiery Furnace?
Ranger led tickets are released seven days ahead at 8am Mountain time on Recreation.gov and often sell out the same morning. Self guided permits must be reserved at least two days before your date and no more than seven days ahead. Neither can be booked months in advance, so do not build a trip itinerary around having one.
Can you hike the Fiery Furnace without a permit?
No. Entry requires either a ranger led tour ticket or a self guided exploration permit, and the area is signed and monitored. Self guided permit holders must also bring their whole party to the visitor centre beforehand to watch a required video and hear an orientation talk.
How hard is the Fiery Furnace hike?
The National Park Service rates the ranger tour as difficult and strenuous. It runs about two and a half hours and involves scrambling through narrow cracks, climbing with your hands and walking along ledges above drop offs. Proper hiking shoes are required and at least one quart of water per person is the stated minimum.
Can children go into the Fiery Furnace?
Children under five are not permitted on either option. On the ranger tour, children aged five and six require one accompanying adult each, and anyone twelve or under must be with a responsible adult. Beyond the rules, the scrambling suits confident children and is a long two and a half hours for reluctant ones.
Do I still need a timed entry reservation for Arches to visit the Fiery Furnace?
Not in 2026. The park ended the timed entry requirement, so you can drive in at any time during operating hours with a valid entrance pass. Fiery Furnace tours and permits, and Devils Garden Campground, still require their own reservations. Our Arches entry guide covers what changed.
Next step
Plan the rest of the day
Fees, permit rules and season dates checked against the National Park Service and Recreation.gov in August 2026. Park rules change by the year and tour seasons shift with staffing. Confirm current details before you travel.