Capitol Reef &Torrey
 

During our Utah NP vacation this coming September, we are planning 2 nights (about 1 ½ days) in either Torrey or Boulder (the Mountain Lodge). Torrey is very appealing because of its closeness to the Capitol Reef, Boulder because of the Hell’s Backbone Grill.
I think Torrey will win – I’m sure we can get a nice dinner there, too and if we really want to, we can always drive to Boulder for dinner. But what do other people think? What would you choose?
If Torrey, can you please recommend a place to stay?
We will be coming from Moab via Rt24 scenic drive (following stop after Capitol Ref – Bryce). For the full day in Torry, probably we’ll drive the Burr Trail road. We will rent a car for the whole trip, but not a jeep. One place we would like to see is the Waterpocket Fold from the Stike Valley overlook. How long is the hike from the parking lot?
Any other ideas for what to do in Capitol Reef? Any short (1-2 hrs) hikes? Cathedral Valley is out, but what else should be on the 'do not miss' list?
Thanks a lot

We stayed at the Capital Reef Resort in Torrey - great rates, room were nice, big, clean.

We didn't eat at any restaurants in Torrey, just the one at the hotel, it was fine. Nothing extraordinary, but nice.

I've heard GREAT things about Hell's Backbone Grill. We didn't eat there, but I'd make a reservation for evening and drive there while you can still enjoy the views.

We didn't do much hiking in Capitol Reef, so can't advise there. If I go back I will try to get a guided 4x4 trip 'off road'. Much of the park cannot be reached by regular car. It's a beautiful area and you have to get off the main road to really experience it. Just know DO NOT go off roading if it has rained - not even a sprinkle. We attempted this 'off road' trail in our RENTAL 4x4 and nearly hiked the 10 miles back to the road when we got stuck. We were able to get ourselves out after 1 1/2 hours digging/scraping the road/tires. The bentonite/grey clay of UT makes the roads impassible once they get wet.

I don't recall the name of the overlook of the waterfold we went to, but it was right off HWY 12/hogsback road on our way from Torrey to Bryce. AWESOME drive and views. Don't do that drive in the dark. I heard it's one of the best drives in the country.

Where else in UT are you going? We loved it. Have a great vacation.

I just posted our 'southern utah trip report' if you're interested, hope it helps you or somebody. I loved this area, so diverse and beautiful.

Torrey will be better for seeing Capitol Reef. Boulder would be better if you are just driving the Burr Trail. The Burr trail is paved except for the switchbacks down to the Notom-Bullfrog road. There is only about 9 miles of the Notom road that is paved and that section is near Hwy 24. This road is long, slow going and bumpy and IMHO, not worth the time it took to drive it and we were in a 4 wheel drive suburban. Even our dog protested...no kidding, we had the hardest time getting her back into the vehicle and that was the ONLY time she had ever done that.

Have you considered a night at each place?

My top favorite 3 hikes at Capitol Reef are Grand Wash, Capitol Gorge, & Hickman Bridge. Also the short walk along the wall of petroglyphs.

http://www.nps.gov/care/trailmap.htm

We didn't know about the hike when we went, but here is a link with information on the Strike Valley Hike.

http://www.nps.gov/care/upmule.htm

As someone has mentioned. Do not attempt to drive on dirt roads if it has rained, is raining or looks like a thunderstorm is coming. You will be surprised at how fast a flash flood can happen in this area.

Don't miss the paved scenic drive in Capitol Reef. It's short but VERY scenic! Also, if you decide not to drive the whole Notom road, at least do the first paved section. You get a great view of the back side of the park and the top of the domes.

Utahtea

You will definitely want to ride the 12 between Escalante & Boulder because that is the most scenic portion ("Hogsback"?). If you take the Burr Trail from the 12, you will be on a paved road down the switchbacks when it becomes the Notom-Bullfrog Road (Notom toward CR & Bullfrog toward Lake Powell). As you go through Boulder, the Boulder mountains are very scenic also.

From Torrey into Capitol Reef, the road toward the visitor center is also very scenic & it continues on past the VC toward Notom road where the domes, orchards, & petroglyphs are.

From the VC you can access the "scenic drive" where the hikes Utahtea mentioned are; we did Capitol Gorge/Pioneer Register. The SD itself is also beautiful from both directions.

I would only suggest the Notom road with a 4WD vehicle. It is unpaved from CR up to the switchbacks (60 miles?). It is a great scenic drive, but not with an ordinary car. That is the Waterpocket fold/Strike Valley for which CR is known but the paved sections are great also.

We stayed at the Wonderland Inn -- motel was fine, I would not recommend the restaurant. The restaurant at the Best Western (at the entrance to CR) was much better.

Some good advice here on things to do in the park.

When we went there about 4-5 years ago and stayed in Torrey. We stayed at a B&B called the Sky Ridge B&B. Very good indeed but I don't know if it is still open. it's just out of town.

For dinner we went both nights we were there to Cafe Diablo in town - nothing to look at but fantastic south western food. I still recall the rattlesnake patties with peanut sauce --mmmmmm

The drive from Rorrey to Bryce is sensational.

Enjoy your trip!

Thank you all for response and suggestions.
Jim and Sandy: Thanks for the advice, we will definitely follow it. I will post a full itinerary on a separate board.
Utahtea: I truly appreciate all your knowledge about Utah – I trust you when you say that Burr trail might not be worth the time, at least compared to other places to see or other hikes to take in Capitol Reef in 1 day. I need to take that map out again, study some more and come up with another plan. I will have more questions :)
Laurieb – We will drive Rt 12 on the way to Bryce – we have a full day to enjoy it.
Diz01 – Skyridge B&B is still open, and is our first option.

Thanks again for all your great ideas, this is a great forum.

xyz99,

I guess I wasn't very clear. The Burr Trail is worth the time. It is paved from Boulder, Utah to the switchbacks and a very scenic road. I believe the hike to see Stike Valley is in the area near the switchbacks.

The first 9 miles of the Notom road from Hwy 24 is paved and worth the time.

It is the Notom-Bullfrog dirt road that is NOT, IMHO, worth the time and was a very rough ride.

I would do the Burr Trail from Boulder to the switchbacks where you will get a view of the valley and then drive the Burr Trail back to Boulder and not do the Notom dirt road.

Utahtea

BTW - just remembered the 'capitol reef resort' was a Best Western. It goes by both names. Good luck and have fun planning. I agree that these forums are helpful. I learned so much from everyones advice.

xyz99,
We use the Delorme Gazetteer for Utah and it's a wonderful thing. It breaks the whole state up into topographic maps that show every backroad and detail for outdoor recreational pursuits. We have one for every state that we spend time traveling in and they are great! We almost never get lost and usually find great backroads and shortcuts. We just returned from a 12 day trip through Southern Utah and one of the highlights was spending time (with a 4wd vehicle) cruising roads like the Burr Trail. We loved it! We didn't do the part from Notom to Bullfrog. Instead we started in Boulder went south to Surprise Canyon (great hike) then headed north up the Notom Road back to the main road (rte 24). We had a blast. When we were there in late Sept, the road was in great shape and you could've done it in a car. But the Muley Twist turnoff into Strike Valley was a very rough road even with 4wd. We rented our nice little Jeep Liberty for about $500 for 12 days. Pretty great deal, we thought. If you're interested in our very long trip report, just click on my name. We also have tons of pictures of our trip at www.pbase.com/peterb.

Utahtea,
Thanks for coming back with the details. Anyway, I will re-think the Capitol Reef portion of this trip and re-post it for all of of you to comment on.
Sharondi,
For some reason I thought renting a 4x4 would be much more expensive than that, where did you rent from? What company?
Thanks

This past trip we went through Alamo and loved our Jeep Liberty. The trip prior, we rented a Durango through Dollar and that was also a great deal though we much preferred the Jeep. We picked up and returned the vehicles in Las Vegas.

Hi XYZ,

I totally agree with Utahtea, that the Notom road between the Burr Trail switchbacks and Capitol Reef is not good. It's washboarded the whole way, very dusty, actually pretty boring and not scenic once past the switchbacks, IMHO.

The drive over Boulder Mountain between Boulder and Torrey is very nice. High altitude and through the aspens. Some great spots for a picnic. Nice and cool in the summer.

Sharondi,
Your (and Peterboy’s) pictures are awesome!! Thanks for sharing. I’m sure you had a great time, I can hardly wait to get there myself.
Thanks for the car rental companies. I will check them out.
Utahtea, Dayle
Actually the hike to the Strike Overlook starts from the Notom-Bullfrog road (its ‘in the park’ portion). Is this the portion you are saying it is boring and not worth the time (especially when time is limited)?
My problem is that my map is not very detailed, and I’m not sure where Notom starts and ends. Here is what I think I see: Notom starts from Rt24, goes S and at some point (where?) it turns into Notom-Bullfrog. After that it meets the Burr trail (coming from W and going further S).
Dayle,
You are saying: “the Notom road between the Burr Trail switchbacks and Capitol Reef is not good” – but on my map, the switchbacks are IN the park. I am so confused…
Sorry for being such a pain…..thank you all.

xyz99,

Isn't the internet one of the best tools for vacation planning! You are not being a pain at all!

Try the map from this link:

http://www.nps.gov/care/pphtml/maps.html

On that map, follow the Notom road south. It's outside the park for a while then enters the park. Most of this section is the bumpy boring part.

Keep going south until you see the Burr Trail. You will see a little wiggly section in gray. Those are the switchbacks that you will climb up after leaving the Notom-Bullfrog road. Shortly after the switchbacks the road turns red and that part is paved.

This section IS in the southern part of Capitol Reef National Park. You can see a little turn off going north to the Strike Valley Overlook. I think that's where you wanted to go, it doesn't looked paved. This can be reached by taking the Burr Trail from Boulder, Utah and then just driving back over the Burr Trail. The Burr trail is a LOT more scenic & a faster drive than the Notom-Bullfrog road.

BTW, if you keep going south on this map, you will see another section of the Burr Trail in the lower right hand section of the map. I haven't been on that section.

Utahtea

We came from Boulder on the Burr trail and then went north on the Notom Rd. (also known as the Notom-Bullfrog road I guess)to Rt 24 and then took a left on 24 to go through Capitol Reef to Torrey. This is the opposite of your planned drive. We found the Notom Rd. to be scenic as it runs along the length of the Waterpocket Fold. If you enjoy geology or just like scenery, it is a nice ride. Some bits are washboard but, if you go fast enough, it isn't so bad;>) The whole thing isn't so long or boring that you should be overly concerned. Since you're coming from Capitol Reef and heading for Rt. 12 I think your plan to take Notom Rd. to Burr Rd. to Bouldertown and Rt. 12 seems fine. The end of your drive will feature The Burr Trail through Long Canyon so you'll be saving the best for last.

Utahtea,
You are right, the internet is great! Before it would’ve been either a travel agent, or numerous trips to the library to $$$ on travel books. Now the internet and all of you – priceless!
Thanks for the map. A good one makes planning easier :)
Yes, the Strike Overlook – see link - is on the unpaved road, but we’ll have an SUV, so we should be ok.
http://www.terragalleria.com/parks/n....care5527.html
Sharondi,
Taking Rt 12 and then Burr Trail from Boulder does seem to have better scenery, but it’s longer. And we’ll do it anyway on the way to Bryce. So much to see, so little time. I guess we’ll play the day by ear and see which way we’ll go. Or we’ll just cross it off and just do the hikes, who knows?
Thanks a lot, now I have a much better idea of places and distances.

WOW...those are SOME pictures. I checked out some of the other pictures....makes we want to go there in the winter!

Utahtea

Thanks for the compliments on the pictures. Peter takes most of them - the really good ones anyways. Utahtea, you must be referring to the pictures of the US Virgin Islands...ahhhh, it is so gorgeous there. Especially when it's below zero here in upstate NY! In just 2 weeks we are off to warmer weather on some small islands off the coast of Puerto Rico!!! xyz99, no matter what you decide to do in Utah, I have no doubt that you will thoroughly enjoy your trip. However I still highly recommend purchasing the Delorme Gazetteer. If you just do a search on Delorme, you should find them. For a mere $20, you'll have all the information and maps you'll ever need.

sharondi,

I bookmarked the pictures website to explore more later. I didn't get pass the parks of Utah. I will check out more later! Do you know what computer program was used to make the webpage & what kind of cameras do you guys have?

Utahtea