Hello there! Are you ready to plan an adventurous trip to Capitol Reef National Park?! Explore the fascinating geology and history of this rocky wonderland! You are sure to find something here that everyone in your group will LOVE.
Capitol Reef is a place you will never forget — and likely somewhere you will talk about for years to come. Towering red rocks, narrow canyons, and majestic arches of the Waterpocket Fold are yours to discover. This incredible place will leave you speechless!
There is so much to do. You may have already looked at a map and been a little overwhelmed — and eager — to make sure that you don’t miss the best sights.
I’m a former park ranger, and I’ll help you plan your vacation down to the details. I’ve extensively explored Capitol Reef and am here to help! Whether this is your first time to Capitol Reef National Park, or if you are returning after many years and would like to be reintroduced to the park, this list of 12 things is for you.
What You Need to Know About Capitol Reef National Park
- Don’t miss out on anything during your trip! For the best experience, get an early start to your day and have a solid plan.
- No lodging is available within Capitol Reef National Park, but camping is available. Read more about camping in the park here. The town of Torrey and several other small communities offer lodging options if you’d like to stay in a hotel.
- The Gifford House is the only place to get food in the park. Stop in for some delicious pie and cinnamon rolls!
- The desert is a harsh landscape, and caution should be taken to avoid flash floods, heatstroke, and dehydration.
- You’ll find numerous hiking trails in this park, so don’t hike without a map. This is the map I use and recommend for Capitol Reef National Park.
I’ll make sure that you don’t miss the sights that make this park so famous, but I also want to provide a few treasures that are off the beaten path as well. Let the adventure begin!
Click NEXT to see this exciting list of 12 things you can’t miss on your first visit to Capitol Reef National Park!
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I love your itineraries and articles. Thank you! I’m wondering if anyone can give me information about the parking lot at Hickman Bridge Trail. Is there possibly room for an RV towing a vehicle? We will be there in early April. Thanks!
There is an area of the parking lot for larger vehicles. Spots are limited, but they are available for that trailhead!
I didn’t see the Grand Wash hike listed. What are your thoughts on this trail versus the others you listed?
It’s nice! You’ll hike a portion of it if you hike to Cassidy Arch :)
Hey Ash,
Love everything about the Dirt In My Shoes website – so helpful! Planning on being in Capital Reef in June 2022 with my family (kids are 16 down to 10). We’re definitely planning on doing the Sulphur Creek hike, but if you had to pick one more between Cassidy Arch and Hickman Bridge what would you say???
Thanks,
Joe
I personally prefer Cassidy Arch because it’s so unique to be on top of the arch instead of underneath!
it is the best of the mighty five we visited this May. We loved every bit of it, we bought mugs and aprons to keep our memory. Capitol Reef we will come back for more!!!
That’s awesome! It’s my favorite Utah park as well!
I LOVE your itineraries! Thank you for the work you do! We are planning on going in August of this year, but I just learned I have to work very late on the day we were supposed to arrive. I’m wondering if there is a night hike you suggest. Is there anything you suggest to maximize our time and save our short trip? :)
Thanks Emily! I’d pick a hike that is well-defined…it’s easy to get lost in the dark while you’re hiking on slickrock. Something like Hickman Bridge would work well!
We just got back from Capitol Reef, had a great time. Stunning scenery. We were there for a day and a half. Cassidy Arch, Hickman Bridge, the Castle and Chimney Rock everything was great. We left there to go to Moab. Never realized we could have taken a side trip to the Temple’s sounds like a second trip is in order. Thanks for a wonderful article.
Of course! I’m glad you enjoyed Capitol Reef!
Hi,
What a great article! I am already looking forward to our trip next year. For the jeep rental, did you call in advance or did you just walk up and hired one the day you were planning to do the Cathedral Valley loop?
You’ll want to call in advance…they are a small operation and don’t have many jeeps to rent out!
Great article! I am excited to visit this summer! We will only have an afternoon and evening there unfortunately. . How much of your list do you think we could squeeze into that short amount of time? Which hikes would you prioritize if we only had time for 1 or 2 hikes? It all sounds wonderful! We will have our 3 kids with us–ages 13, 10, 10. Thanks!
You should be able to get to a couple of things, though that’s only enough time to scratch the surface. Hickman Bridge is a great hike. Kids also tend to love the secret hike. The Scenic Drive to Capitol Gorge is a must-do as well. Have a great time!
Best article I’ve read on this park. Great info!
Thanks Tim! I appreciate the feedback. Enjoy your trip!
Thank you! I always check out your page before we head to a new National Park. We will be here in a few weeks and your suggestions are greatly appreciated!
Thanks so much Angela…that means a lot! Have a fabulous time in the park!
Do you know if dogs are permitted on the secret hike? We are going this weekend and it just dawned on me that we do not have pet coverage. The hotel allows dogs but not sure if our 12-pounder is allowed on this trail. I will phone the visitor center as well.
They are not. You can read the park’s pet policy here: https://www.nps.gov/care/planyourvisit/pets.htm
Have a great trip!
This is my favorite article on Capitol Reef so far, and I have read many, so thank you!! We only have one day in Capitol Reef in Oct of this year. What should we prioritize? We will be there as early as 6:00 am and probably won’t leave until dark to catch the night sky before heading to Bryce Canyon. We plan on doing some heavy hiking this day!!! Thanks in advance!!
Hey Johnna,
I would work your way through as much of this list as you can! You’ll hit all the main points of interest and see some beautiful views…really get a taste of what Capitol Reef is all about. Then, when you come back, you can tackle some longer trails or backcountry roads!
Have a fabulous time,
Ash
Thank you for this list of things to do in a Capital Reef, it was very informative and helpful. We had a lot of younger kids with us and your list helped us determine which hikes we could go on with them!
Thank you for your feedback. I’m glad you had such a great time!
Is there a road through the park that we can see things from the car? My husband can’t hike.
The Scenic Drive near the campground is a good option for that. It’s not very long, but the scenery is beautiful!
Hi! Question on sulphur creek. If we start on the Visitor Center side of the trail… I know we would get to a waterfall in .7 miles. What is the mileage to the next 2 waterfalls (from this direction)? I will not have 2 cars so will probably to an out and back from the visitor center but trying to determine how far to go to see the best of the trail? Thoughts? Thank you!!
The best of the trail is between the 1st and 3rd waterfalls, so after you climb up the waterfall closest to the visitor center, you’ll be in a gorgeous area {be aware that climbing up that waterfall can be a challenge}. Between the 3 waterfalls is probably around 2.5 or 3 miles…that’s the section I’d do!
I really enjoy the way you talk about these places it is obvious that you enjoy what you do, a lot of other sites are to cut and dried like they are reading it out of a book. I’m very glad that there is someone out there like yourself that can give us a vision of what we can see thank you very much
Thank you! I really appreciate that!
Agree!
We had a conference in Park City to start out. We traveled down to Capitol Reef and essentially had two days there before flying out of Salt Lake. What an excursion it was, we saw 10 of your 12 things. What helped us was a narrarated 4 hour Jeep tour by a native named Aaron. We saw and learned so much. It was breathtaking; perhaps that is why we had to turn back in our independent late day climb to Hickman bridge. We did see the night sky and the Capitol Reef Resort has large fire pits near the Tee Pees. This is truly goods country! Worth more than two days that’s for sure!
I’m glad you had such a great time! This park is often overlooked, but there are so many amazing things to see and do — thanks for sharing your experience!
Went there with my daughter over spring break 2018. While everybody was mobbing Zion Natl Park, we had a great time at Capitol Reef with just a few people around. We took the 100-mile loop down the Waterpocket fold, up the Burr Trail Switchbacks, Grand Escalante, and back up through Boulder. We also hiked about 8 miles that day on a few different jaunts. Nothing planned, just stopped at any trailhead that looked interesting. Great place, we loved it. Night sky was great, it was clear with more stars than I’ve ever seen.
This June, I’m going to swing over to Great Basin National Park. I’ve never been there and stumbled on the park website by accident. You should check it out and do a blog post on that. It looks awesome! I want to check out the stars at 10,000 feet there.
Very cool! That’s an area of Utah I’d like to explore more fully for sure. There’s so much to do there!
Great Basin is amazing…the night sky…WOW. That’s another place I need to go back to. I’d love to hear about your favorites stops after you go!
Well, I have been there but we only did a few of these, now we will know for next time. Plus, I have to get in better shape to do some of these! I still enjoyed Capitol Reef though, so beautiful!
I’m glad you made it out to Capitol Reef….not many people do!
Great post, Ash! I loved visiting Capitol Reef. We just did a quick drive through and hiked to a good viewpoint for chimney rock, but I’m hoping to be back soon! I wish more people knew about this place. :)
Very cool! I actually haven’t done the Chimney Rock trail. I am conflicted…I want to tell people about Capitol Reef because I love it so much, but at the same time it is so nice to not have the crowds!