Utah Highway 24

By Jacob

This article is about Utah Highway 24 from I-70 through Capitol Reef National Park and Torrey, Utah. This article is about the eastern part of the highway that I have traveled on. The rest of the highway continues past Torrey back up to I-70.

The route starts in the east at exit 149 off of Interstate 70 and heads south. One thing that struck us immediately is that this is a road less traveled. There was no traffic off of I-70 exiting onto this highway and we saw no people going the same way we were going. This was on day 2 of our vacation traveling through Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon and Zion, staying the night in Springdale. It was the first time we got off the interstate.

The road is very scenic but also time consuming. The speed limit on the road is way slower than it should be, you could easily go 80 miles and hour but the speed limit is 65. The road takes you through a scenic part of southern Utah. The road is well maintained and is a straight road for most of this period of time. To the left are distance mountain ranges over 10,000 feet in elevation. To the rights is the northern part of the waterpocket fold the Capitol Reef National Park is made to protect.

We were going to be traveling to Bryce Canyon National Park and along the side of the road are mini hoodoos adding to the scenery of this road. Also along the road are towers of red rock that are similar to the Temple of the Moon and Temple of the Sun in Cathedral Valley.

If you have time in your journey take the detour to Goblin Valley State Park. The state park features many bizarre rock formations that look like mushrooms. There are no established trails in the park so you can just kind of wander through the valley. The cost is $20 per private vehicle valid for two days.

South of the park the highway turns west at Hanksville to head into Capitol Reef National Park. For more information about the park visit the Capitol Reef tab on our website. The road then continues to Torrey, Utah, the closest town to Capitol Reef.

Tags

Utah

Capitol Reef

2020 Vacation

Roads