Capitol Reef National Park Best Hikes

Family friendly trail and one of the best hikes in capitol reef national park.

Capitol reef national park best hikes.

Slot canyons here rival the famous canyon hikes in zion national park only you ll see far fewer people here. Stopping to smell the flowers or in this case stopping to pick some fruit. The park established in 1971 preserves 378 mi 979 km and is open all year although may through september are the most popular months. Hickman capitol reef national park protects colorful.

Other trails ascend the knobs and ridges to viewpoints above natural bridges and other scenic wonders read more. Outdoors here s our list of the park s seven best trails. It is 100 miles 160 km long but fairly narrow. 7 best hikes in capitol reef national park.

Capitol reef national park is our favorite national park in utah. Capitol reef national park offers exceptional hiking trails through a wide variety of terrain. Capitol reef scenic drive. The hardest part of the trail is at the beginning but the kids shouldn t have any trouble after the first 1 4 mile.

The trail gradually gains elevation to a loop at the top of the cliff that will get you to hickman natural bridge. It is less busy than the rest of them and has more of an overall wow factor than the other parks in utah. 1 of 8 view caption. Alas despite wishful thinking your average visitor to capitol reef is not likely to research dozens of hikes before arriving.

After spending four months as a seasonal interpretive volunteer at capitol reef national park i have completed a whopping 46 blog posts for live and let hike about capitol reef including 42 detailed descriptions of the park s trails and routes. One of our favorite things to do here is to go out hiking. Capitol reef national park is located in south central utah. Called wayne wonderland in the 1920s by local boosters ephraim p.

One of the best things to do in the park is to drive the capitol reef scenic drive. This paved road is 7 9 miles long one way and takes you past some of the most stunning scenery in the park. These trails offer the hiker a wide variety of options from easy strolls over level ground to strenuous hikes involving steep climbs over. The strenuous golden throne trail offers views of impressive rock formations and capitol gorge.

In the fruita area there are fifteen day hiking trails with trailheads located along utah highway 24 and the scenic drive. Pectol and joseph s. Jason bergreen tribune file photo a hiker winds down the frying pan trail toward cohab canyon in capitol reef. After you ve had a hike or two to start your day stop by fruita to roam the u pick orchards or grab a baked pie from the gifford homestead.

You will pay this at a self pay station just past the fruita. The canyon followed the meander bends of the powerful rivers that had carved the canyon and the left side of the gorge was in blessed shade while the right side was bathed in warm sunlight if you are heading to capitol reef national park this is one hiking trail that is well worth all your efforts to get out of your car and hike over.