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By Jacob
By Jacob
Capitol Reef National Park is located in south central Utah near Torrey, Utah. The park was designated a national monument by President Franklin Roosevelt but later congress designated the monument as a national park. The national park has a strange shape, it is about sixty miles north to south and sometimes only a few miles wide. This park has a lot to offer and this article will go into some of the highlights.
1. Visitor Center
As with any national park you must stop at least one at the park visitor center. Here you can get detailed information about trails as well as the history of the park. The visitor center has many exhibits about the geology and history of this national park, including the surrounding village of Fruita. The small gift shop also sells all the gifts and souvenirs that you could want.
Capitol Reef Visitor Center
2. Fruita Area
The Fruita area is the most visited part of the park. The area if settled by mormons in their move to Utah, the area has been made an oasis in this desert of red rock. The national parks service now maintains an orchard that you can pick from for a small fee. In this area you will also find evidence of human history in the national park. Along Highway 24 near Fruita you can see petroglyphs from hundreds of years ago when the Fremont Culture lived in the area. The petroglyphs are an incredible site as they are from a people long gone but have left their mark on the rock. It is incredible to think that someone stood in the same place you see this artwork and drew on the red rock. Along Highway 24 are other buildings from the mormon past such as a schoolhouse. Other sites to see are Hickman Bridge, just a few miles east of the visitor center.
3. Scenic Drive
From the Fruita Area right by the visitor center you can access the scenic drive of the park. To access Capitol Reef National Park you do not need to pay an entrance fee. To enter the scenic drive you pay $20 good for seven days. The scenic drive is 7.9 miles in length and features the best vistas and trails in the park. The first road you will come across is the road to the Grand Wash of Capitol Reef. The wash is a narrow canyon that has a certain desolate beauty. Take the hike up to Cassidy Arch, one of the few arches in Utah that you can actually walk on. All around you are steep canyon walls and domes of red rocks. Further along the scenic drive there are pull outs to view the slopes of the waterpocket fold. At the end of the road you reach Capitol Gorge. The Capitol Gorge is similar but more extreme than the Grand Wash. Take the trail to the Navajo formation, a grand view of the waterpocket fold, from here you can clearly see why this area was made a national park.
4. Cathedral Valley
To the east of the park east of the entrance sign take the Hartnet road north through the Fremont River towards Cathedral Valley. Cathedral Valley may be the most spectacular part of Capitol Reef, the area is called Cathedral Valley because of the rock formations resemblance to european cathedrals. There are two overlooks along the Hartnet Road that shows off Capitol Reef as well as the mountains beyond. When you reach the Hartnett Junction take the right into Cathedral Valley. Get out and gaze upon the towing monoliths of red rock that tower over the valley. Take the short detour to the Gypsum sinkhole, a deep and large hole in the middle of the valley near the bottom of a monolith. Further along you reach the Temple of the Sun and the Temple of the Moon. Two enormous monoliths that point to the sky. These two rock formations are the icons of Capitol Reef National Park. You should take a full day to take in the beauty of Capitol Reef National Park.
Capitol Reef National Park is a hidden gem. It is not as visited as the other parks but just as spectacular. Do not miss Capitol Reef National Park.
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