Emptier but no less impressive than its Utah park brethren, we spent an all-to-brief visit to this remote, beautiful mix of rock, water, and farmland.
I’m a sucker for the underrated, the overlooked. It’s hard to put a national park in that category—they all had to catch someone’s eye some time—but Capitol Reef may be as close to that status as any. With four prominent neighbors drawing more traffic, Capitol Reef is the least known of Utah’s five parks (although relatively ‘nearby’ Canyonlands draws a few less visitors).
Geography is certainly one reason. Tucked amidst some of Utah’s most forbidding country, Capitol Reef is not reached by accident. Northeast of Bryce and north of Monument Valley, this long, comma-shaped park sits atop the Waterpocket Fold, a geological crease that presented a serious barrier, or reef, to early settlers. We found few people here during our short visit—even in the 21st century, it remains pretty remote country. (But not for Germans, evidently: a large banner at a Torrey hotel announced ‘Fruhstuck!’)
Trekking here was too much to resist. By visiting Monument Valley, we added both Capitol Reef and the spectacular Utah 12 to our itinerary (which we took south to Bryce Canyon).
But the park’s virtues go well beyond the sights you see as you come and go. Capitol Reef’s sandstone reminded me of both Zion and Bryce, but with a different flavor—provided in part by the relics from the pioneer community that struggled to find a living along the Fremont River, beneath the spectacular rocks of the Fold. The orchards they planted amidst this awesome natural setting are still tended by the Park Service, although the community that started them gave up decades ago.
Other earlier settlers left their mark here, too. The Fremont culture occupied this area a thousand years ago, farming and hunting along the river of the same name (and where evidence of this vanished culture was first found).
Just miles away from this pastoral area is some pretty rugged, remote country. To the north, above Highway 24 and beyond the reef’s end, are the South Desert and Cathedral Valley, a beautiful landscape that requires 4WD, accessed only by a pair of rough roads that begin outside the park. To the south, the park follows the Waterpocket Fold, accessed off the Notom-Bullfrog Road that ends at Bullfrog Marina on the northernmost reaches of Lake Powell. The middle third of this unpaved but accessible road is in the park, including a junction with the Burr Trail, a remote but beautiful (and recently—and controversially—improved) road west to Boulder. ${QuickSuggestions} The park gets its name from the domes along western Highway 24. One of these well-weathered sandstone prominences does look a lot like its namesake in DC. Just west of this area is the most accessible evidence of the Fremont people, petroglyphs on the rock faces along the river’s north bank, a mile and a half east of the visitor center. They’re across the road from the area’s last settlement, the Mormon village of Fruita, founded in the late 19th century. Coping with this small village perplexed Park management, who eventually acquired most of the orchards and properties, removing the motels and lodging, but keeping the fruit trees, schoolhouse, and a few homesteads. Be sure to try both the cherry and apple pies baked here. In season, you may even come away with free fruit.
The park’s natural heritage centers around the rugged Waterpocket Fold, which is difficult to explore. Perhaps the best place to see it is from Panorama Point, just to the south off Highway 24 near the park entrance. A short trail then takes you to the Goosenecks, the snakelike switchbacks of Sulphur Creek carved into the rock as the Waterpocket Fold slowly lifted.
The scenic drive runs 10 miles into the heart of the park, ending at a trail along an old highway into Capitol Gorge. On our visit, this hike, and everything else along the drive, was cut off by one of the torrential rains that are among the largest dangers in southern Utah. Water cascaded off the stone bluffs in a long sequence of impromptu waterfalls along Highway 24. Hiking the Grand Wash the next day, it was easy to imagine the truly mortal danger of hiking a slot canyon in such a rainstorm. Thankfully, the sky was clear, and the fresh mud didn’t keep us from a great three-mile roundtrip exploration of this canyon.
Our time in Capitol Reef was too short. We knew it would be; we’d chosen more stops and beautiful drives over extended stays in a smaller number of places. I was intrigued by the Reef’s combination of isolation, wilderness, and just enough civilization to make it possible to stay. Who knows how long it will last: in the time before and after our visit, I’ve seen more than a few articles touting Capitol Reef as an ‘overlooked gem’, and the chain motels are finding a footing along Torrey’s eastern edge.
${BestWay} Before you get around Capitol Reef, you need to get there. You’re likely to be coming from one of four other places: Salt Lake City, Zion/Bryce, Monument Valley, or Canyonlands/Arches and Moab, all about three and a half hours away. (Bryce is a little closer, but coming over Highway 12 will reduce your speed and increase your pullout time).
A full exploration of the park requires a vehicle suited for unpaved, if not barely existent, roads. Even the Scenic Drive was rendered impassable by the rain in which we arrived; I could only imagine what happened to the roads into Cathedral Valley or along the southern reaches of the Waterpocket Fold. It’s self-preservation, not just common sense, to check with a Ranger either here or in adjoining Dixie National Forest before heading off on these or other backcountry trails.
Without 4WD, you can still see a lot of good stuff: many of the shorter trailheads are off either Highway 24 or the Scenic Drive. Some backcountry roads are passable with lower clearance vehicles, too: I’m itching to go back and spend a longer time here, looping down the Notom Road, out the Burr Trial to Boulder, and then back to Torrey. For a great phototale of a wintertime motorcycle trip on this loop, see this story from a year-round resident.
You’ll need a base for exploring the park, and the choices are somewhat limited. There is no in-park lodging, although a nice campground near the north end of Scenic Drive was created as part of the infrastructure expansion in the 1960’s. I’d highly recommend Austin’s Chuckwagon Motel in Torrey, which we chose over the nearby Capitol Reef Inn and Wonderland Inn because of the 2BR cabins. The old schoolhouse in Torrey is now a comfortable looking bed and breakfast (but not suited to housing our family of five).
Dining options are even more limited. The owner of the Capitol Reef Inn also operates a moderately priced café where we probably would have dined on a second night. Café Diablo has a reputation as one of the best restaurants in the state, but it was too high-end for this trip.
This was the northeastern limit of our ‘Grand Circle’ across the southwest, which included: