Utah Capitol Reef Trip
 

My wife and (3) 12 year old boys just returned from our Utah/Colorado trip. We stopped at Black Canyon of Gunnison then headed south thru the San Juan mountains stopping to see Box Canon Falls at Ouray. We then stayed at Cortez,CO and toured Mesa Verde. Beautiful park and extremely interesting. We then headed into Utah towards Bluff. We stopped at the Twin Rocks trading post and then went to the Sand Island petroglyphs along the San Juan river and located four Kokopelli on the panel. We then went up the Moki Dugway (second time for us) and stopped at Muley Point. Incredible view! We ventured north on Hwy. 95 thru the Glen Canyon area, which is absolutely spectacular scenery, and into Hanksville. From there we headed west on Hwy. 24 to Capitol Reef. The Fremont River waterfall was flowing very red from previous heavy rains. We stayed at the Wonderland Inn in Torrey for 10 days. I definitely can recommend it. We hiked the following trails: Hickman Bridge, Grand Wash, Capitol Gorge, Cassidy Arch, Sulphur Creek, Chimney Rock, Fremont River Trail, Cohab Canyon, and went out to sunset point for a spectacular view one evening. It is hard to pick a favorite hike. They all were fun and very unique. Golden eagles soared overhead, deer roamed around Fruita, and lizards were everywhere. Also, we drove out into Cathedral Valley to the monoliths. This was a wonderful place of solitude. In fact, we did'nt encounter more than 2 people on any trail we hiked on. This park's rock formations and topography vary much more than the other Utah parks we have visited. More interesting from that standpoint. It was like a treasure hunt. A beautiful park without all the tourists. We also drove the Burr Trail thru Long Canyon and down the switchbacks, but could not locate the Strike Valley overlook in Upper Muley Twist Canyon. We hiked out to Calf Creek Falls (wonderful hike) and hiked down the Escalante River 2 miles from the town trailhead, and also hiked up to the natural bridge from the Hwy. 12 bridge. We all had a great time hiking in and out of the rivers and creeks. The kids had a great time on our 2 hour horseback ride booked thru Capitol Reef Outfitters. Brink's Burgers has great food in Torrey as does the Rim Rock Restaurant. All of Utah's national parks are absolutely wonderful. Capitol Reef is right up there with the others. It just takes a little more planning and backcountry adventure to see what else you are missing from Hwy. 24 (a gorgeous drive in it's own right!) Standing on top of Cassidy Arch, Cathedral Valley, and the Calf Creek waterfall were real highlights for us. It is very difficult to plan a trip to another part of the country when the beauty of this area keeps you wanting to come back. So much to see and so little time.

Hi G,

Thanks for the trip report! Nice of you to pass along the good words about beautiful Capital Reef and so glad to hear your family had a great time! Hopefully, people will begin to appreciate it as much as the more visited parks.

One request, how about some paragraphs next time? Hard to read without them.

gwburk,

Great report! 10 days at Capitol Reef...I'm <b><font color="green">GREEN</font></b> with envy! What fruit was ready in the Fruita Orchards?

Utahtea

Unfortunately none of the fruit was quite ready for picking. The peaches and apples were about 2 weeks away. We would have loved to pick some. The green oasis of Fruita is so refreshing in the middle of the red rocks and desert surroundings. When walking around that area it seemed at times you were some place else. The green grass really catches your eye. Seems totally out of place.

We were in Capitol Reef last summer when the peaches were ready for picking BUT they had just flooded the peach orchards so they weren't letting anyone in them. We were there for the 3 of the 4 days you couldn't go in the orchards! :(

Capitol Reef is one of our favorite places to go and relax. It really is like an oasis.

Utahtea