Arches or Yellowstone Nat'l Park - which is better . . .

for the tourist experience?

Yellowstone has "Old Faithful" and bison.
Arches has the incredible, dramatic red rock and majestic arches.

Does one or another offer a better tourist experience?

Any recommendations on where to stay around those parts?

Mahalo.

Joshua Tree... I was absolutely stunned on my trip there a few years ago!

http://www.nps.gov/jotr/

Having never been to Arches, I can't make a comparison but I stayed in Yellowstone for several days in September after Labor Day in 2003 and loved it. I can't recommend it before Labor Day though because I hear the crowds are massive. There were still some traffic backups (mainly caused by idiots that just stop dead in their tracks in the middle of the road to take pictures of wildlife) when I went so I couldn't imagine it in peak season when one might spend the whole day stuck in traffic waiting for some bison to cross the road.

Wildlife abounds, and the geysers, pools, and other geothermal features have to be seen in person as pictures can't really capture them. The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is a spectacular sight.

It's a must to stay at the Old Faithful Inn. Get a room in the original lodge building. They are small and have thin walls and doors (and just a sink) but they have such historic atmosphere. Just bring earplugs and a bathrobe for your trips to the bathroom down the hall. The original rooms are reasonable in price. The larger rooms in the new wing are nice but have not much character.

The dining room and bar in the Old Faithful Inn are beautiful. The food isn't bad either.

There are also other nice old lodges in the park but they have more of a restored victorian atmosphere instead of the rustic charm of the Old Faithful Inn.

Other options are cabins and camping. Or you could get a motel room on the edge of the park but you will spend much of the day driving. It's a big park - it takes almost a whole day just to drive the circular road around the park, without stops.

I stayed a couple of nights in Cody, WY, on the Eastern edge of the park. It's a nice old Western town with a daily rodeo in Summer and some great old hotels. I stayed in the Pawnee Hotel, an inexpensive old hotel in the center of town, and recommend it very much. There is also the historic Irma Hotel (with a great old bar) and lots of old motels on the outskirts of town. The Buffalo Bill Historical Center is a must see - allow about 4 hours. It's 5 museums in one - an amazing museum of Buffalo Bill's life, a good natural history museum, the museum of the Plains Indians, the Cody Firearms museum, and a gallery of western art. Just west of town is Trail Town, a collection of historic wild west buildings.

Arches is in a desert setting with lots of wide open skies, while Yellowstone has lots of forests and water. Yellowstone may be more crowded in the summer, but Arches will definitely be hotter in the summer. I would say that Yellowstone has more unique things (geysers, springs, etc)within its borders that are difficult to find elsewhere, while the landscape of Grand Arches seems to be a bit more typical of the Southern Utah area.

Yellowstone also has many more choices of lodging, and you can enter/depart the park from all four directions. I believe Arches has only one entrance, and definitely not as many choices for lodging.

Yellowstone also has the Grand Tetons National Park and the Little Big Horn within a half days drive away, while Arches has Capital Reef, Bryce Canyon, Zion, and the Grand Canyon National parks within a half drive away.

Yellowstone is the more historic of the parks - some of the lodging and buildings are truly historic, while Arches relies almost entirely on its desert setting.

Choosing between one or the other is a win-win situation - whatever way you choose you will be in a great natural setting. I myself though would say do Yellowstone and the nearby areas first, and then do the southern Utah/Grand Canyon trip on a separate trip.

Vern

If your are hitting Utah I would recommend Zion or Bryce Canyon before a trip to Arches. Most of the Utah/Colorado Plateu destinations are really hiking trips. Unless you do a bit of hiking, you wont see the most fantastic parts of the parks. Yellowstone would offer a bit more from the front seat of your car.

Mahalo for the wonderful insight!