Capitol Reef is one of the more low-key national parks in Utah.
It’s a park that often gets overlooked, simply because of the high number of national
parks in the area.
But it’s one that is truly unique, and worth exploring, especially if you’re a national
park lover.
Hey, how’s it going everyone?
It’s Ernest from Trip Astute.
In this video, we’re exploring Capitol Reef National Park, a place with a name fitting
of its unique landscape and formations.
Despite being a less known national park, Capitol Reef is one of the larger parks in
the southern part of Utah.
The national park is about 378 square miles, making it larger than many of the more popular
national parks in the area like Zion and Arches.
Despite its size, it is a park that can be explored in a single day, or over several
days if you want to hike the many trails in the park.
It’s a park worth visiting, especially if you happen to be exploring some of the other
national parks in the area.
Capitol Reef National Park was established in 1971 but was designated as a national monument
in 1937.
Its unique name comes from two different aspects of the park.
The Capitol portion is named after the whitish Navajo Sandstone cliffs with dome formations
in the area, which resembles the while domes on capitol buildings.
The Reef refers to the Waterpocket Fold, which is a huge rocky barrier.
Typically, when we think of reefs, we think of underwater barriers.
However, a reef can also be a rocky land barrier.
In this video, I’ll be reviewing our itinerary for visiting the park, along with some tips
in case you’re planning a visit.
For context, we visited in late September 2019 during our honeymoon, which consisted
of a road trip to six different national parks.
If you’re interested in seeing more of the parks that we’ve visited, check out our
National Parks playlist.
Also, for reference, we came in through the east side of the park.
You can also enter from the west side.
Though unlike most other national parks, there isn’t an official entry gate when driving
into the park.
You’ll pay an entrance fee of $20 per vehicle if you want to tour the scenic drive, which
I highly recommend and will cover later in the video.
Before we jump in, if you’re new here, welcome to our channel.
Trip Astute is a travel channel that is focused on sharing ways to make travel easier, affordable,
and more enjoyable.
Traveling can be stressful and expensive, so we’re looking for ways to help you maximize
your experience through travel tips, points and miles, and innovative gear.
If that sounds interesting to you, please consider hitting that subscribe button.
So, let’s review our one-day itinerary when visiting the park.
Keep in mind that this isn’t an exhaustive list of things to see, but is just a sample
in case you’re planning a day trip as well.
Our first stop at Capitol Reef National Park was the visitor center.
While we came in from the east side of the park, along Highway 24, we could have stopped
at some of the trails before heading to the visitors center.
However, we always find it useful to stop at the Visitors Center to get the latest information
about the park.
You’ll need to stop here to pay your entrance fee if you want to continue southwards on
the Scenic Drive as well.
We also recommend getting free maps and recommendations from the rangers based on the current conditions.
Once we left the visitors center, we ended up backtracking along Highway 24 to the Hickman
Bridge Trailhead.
The trail is 1.8 miles round trip, and I would rate the hike as medium difficulty.
While the trail isn’t technically difficult or long, there isn’t much vegetation, so
you’ll be in direct sunlight for most of the hike.
You’ll also gain about 400-feet of elevation while on the trail.
The trail starts along a stream, then takes you through some a rocky terrain.
You’ll get some great views of the white dome formations in the area, including the
famous Capitol Dome.
The trail ends at the Hickman Bridge, which is a 133-foot natural arch.
The arch is similar to what you’ll see in other national parks in Utah, but we found
this one to be a lot less crowded.
Our next stop was along the same road.
We passed by petroglyphs and stopped at the historic Fruita Schoolhouse and district.
This area is home to many orchards, which is a very unique aspect of the park.
There is no charge for fruit that is consumed in the orchard, but there is a fee for any
fruit removed.
The availability of fruit obviously depends on the harvest time.
For example, when we visited in late September, there weren’t many untouched pieces of fruit
left.
Though it was still fun walking in the orchards and spotting apples, especially with the beautiful
surrounding landscape.
We then proceeded southwards from the Visitors Center into the park along the Scenic Drive.
This is an 8-mile paved road that offers beautiful views of Waterpocket Fold.
We then turned left off the main road toward Grand Wash, which is an unpaved road that
leads to the Cassidy Arch Trail.
This is the starting point for the Cassidy Arch Trail or the end of the Grand Wash trail.
Since the Cassidy Arch trail was listed as a strenuous 3.4-mile round-trip hike, and
we were both feeling a bit tired, we opted to hike the easier 4.2-mile roundtrip Grand
Wash trail.
You’ll notice that the official trailhead is on the other side of the park, so we were
essentially doing the hike in reverse.
The hike took us along Bear Canyon, a large and open trail surrounded by beautiful rock
formations.
We even saw bats flying overhead as we walked along the trail.
The trail eventually leads to the Narrows, which had a very similar feel to the Narrows
found in Zion National Park.
As the name implies, the trail becomes much more narrow as you pass through the canyon.
Overall, this was a long but easy hike.
Also, it’s not necessary to do the entire trail to the Grand Wash trailhead.
In fact, if you’re short on time or looking for a shorter hike, you can always turn back
once you’re in the middle of the Narrows.
Afterward, we drove further southwards on the Scenic Drive to Capitol Gorge.
The roads are again unpaved and windy, so you’ll want to take it slow, especially
around the tight corners.
While it was a beautiful drive, we, unfortunately, didn’t get a chance to hike here.
By the time we arrived, the parking lot was completely full.
Since we were short on time and still had a two and a half-hour drive to our Airbnb
near Bryce Canyon, we decided to head back along the Scenic Drive toward the Visitors
Center.
However, we wished we had hiked the area.
The Pioneer Register Trail in the area is one of the highly-rated hikes in the area
and was used by pioneers to get through Waterpocket Fold.
The pioneers even left signatures on the rocks, so it’s worth stopping and exploring if
you have the time.
Before getting to the Visitors Center area, we stopped at the Gifford House for a quick
snack and coffee.
The Gifford House is 1.1 miles south of the visitor center on the Scenic Drive.
It’s a preserved farmhouse from the early 1900s.
It’s a great place to stretch your legs and enjoy some desserts and coffee.
We then headed westward from the Visitors Center toward Goosenecks Overlook.
Goosenecks Overlook is a beautiful canyon with massive cliffs a creek below.
The trail is only 0.2 miles round trip, making it an easy stop.
From here, we decided to do the short hike to Sunset Point.
This is a 0.8-mile round trip hike that’s fairly easy and provides beautiful views of
the landscape.
And that was our itinerary.
While we could have easily spent another day at the park exploring more hikes, we thought
we got a good taste of what Capitol Reef has to offer.
It’s a beautiful place that’s worth your time.
Between the majestic rock formations and peaceful orchards, it has a charm that is truly unique
and different from the other national parks that we’ve visited.
Unlike some of our other national park videos, we didn’t stay near the park, so I can’t
give you recommendations on places to stay or eat.
Though within the park, the only place to buy snacks or drinks was at the Visitors Center
and the Gifford House.
There is a campsite in the Fruita Historic District as well, and several hotels in the
neighboring city of Torrey.
While we didn’t stay there, the Capitol Reef Resort looked like an interesting option
and is well-reviewed on Trip Advisor.
Lastly, if you’re planning a trip to Capitol Reef, here some additional tips to keep in
mind.
1.
Start early: This goes with all national parks.
The parking lots were much more crowded as the day went on.
In fact, as I mentioned earlier, we didn’t want to wait for a parking spot at Capitol
Gorge, so we ended up forgoing one of our planned hikes.
If possible, I recommend entering the park early so you can spend less time waiting for
a parking space, and more time exploring.
2.
Pack plenty of water and snacks: Since there are only two places where you can get water
and snacks, it’s worth packing at least a gallon of water per person and carrying
them while hiking.
Many of the trails are exposed, meaning that there isn’t much vegetation to shield you
from the sun.
Also, we didn’t see any water bottle filling stations, so you’ll want to get your water
prepped before entering the park.
I highly recommend using some kind of insulated bottle as well, especially if you’re planning
to leave any water in your car.
Since the temperatures can get quite high, these bottles can help keep your water cool
and refreshing.
On that note, 3.
Bring sunglasses and a hat: Since you’ll be exposed to sunlight and heat on the trails,
you’ll want to make sure you protect yourself.
We also found many of the overlooks to be extremely windy, so you’ll want to keep
that mind.
Having sunglasses definitely helped to keep the blowing dust out of my eyes.
4.
Monitor the weather: Since Capitol Reef is comprised of canyons and gorges, it is susceptible
to flash flooding.
You’ll want to monitor the weather conditions in the area and avoid hiking in places that
are prone to flash flooding when there’s even a chance for wet weather.
5.
Rent an SUV: While you can explore many of the unpaved roads using a regular car, you
may feel a bit more secure driving a vehicle with higher clearance.
We did hit some bumpy patches on the road.
While you would probably be ok driving a normal car, I still would recommend an SUV.
Also, there are several dirt roads that are restricted to 4X4 vehicles.
These tend to be very technical dirt roads, so I wouldn’t attempt them unless you’re
confident of your off-roading skills.
You’ll want to make sure to check with the rangers at the Visitors Center if you plan
to do any off-roading.
6.
Pack hand sanitizer and wipes: Many of the bathroom facilities do not have running water,
so you’ll be much happier if you have some hand sanitizer or wipes with you.
And since we are releasing this video during the pandemic, this is more important than
ever.
And finally, 7.
Sign-up for a ranger-guided tour: While we didn’t do this, I was very interested in
some of the tours offered by the national park staff.
This includes stargazing tours and a full-moon night hike.
If you’re staying in the park late, then you may want to take advantage of these programs.
Have you been to Capitol Reef National Park, or are you planning to visit in the future?
Also, do you have any additional tips for others visiting the park?
Let me know in the comment section below.
And if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask.
If you enjoyed this video or found it useful, please give us a thumbs up and consider sharing
our video with others.
It really does make a difference to our growing our channel and our community.
I hope you all are staying safe and healthy.
Until next time, travel safe and travel smart.