Capitol Reef National Park, UT

Capitol Reef National Park, what an absolutely gorgeous area!

Many of the interesting features of this park are right on hwy. 24, so you can begin experiencing the pioneer history and scenic views before you ever reach the visitor's center.

We entered the park from the east, so the Behunin cabin was the first pioneer remnant we encountered. It was built in 1882 by Elijah Cutler Behunin, and his family of 10 lived in it for quite some time, the older children sleeping in a dugout near the house. I think our RV is bigger than this house!

Though there is a lot of pioneer history here, the park is named for the amazing geologic formations: Capitol, for the dome shaped formation resembling the national Capitol building, and reef, for the barrier posed by the rocky ridge (like a reef in the ocean) that is also termed the “water pocket fold”.

This “fold” was created when a huge section of layered crust was pushed up. Now it erodes in fascinating bands of color and texture, the up-lifted angles visible along the line created by the fold. Many of the most outstanding forms have unique names, which helps a little in orienting yourself in the landscape.

We arrived early enough to get a nice spot in the Fruita campgound, on the end so we had no neighbors in our outdoor area, and within view of the horse corral at the Gifford Homestead, which is right next to the campground. There’s water available here at the dump station, but otherwise, only vault toilets, and no electricity. No cell service either, so it’s a great place to get away from it all!

After setting up and a break for lunch we hit the visitor’s center to pick up brochures and plan our visit. On the way back we stopped at the blacksmith’s shop, and then the Gifford Homestead house, which is also a gift shop. Fruit pies, homemade ice cream, preserves, and handmade items stock the shelves in what used to be the kitchen of the home. The other rooms are furnished with period items. We couldn’t resist and brought home a peach pie, yummm!

The settlement here in the valley was called Fruita (pronounced “Fruit – ah”) and at one time home to 10 ambitious families. They farmed, raising livestock and all kinds of fruits and vegetables, and sold some of their surplus for cash. The fruit trees are still here, and in Loop C of the campground the apricots are ripe this time of year. Visitors can pick all they want to eat in the orchard, or pay $1 a pound to cart some away. A lot of folks were having a great time enjoying the fresh fruit, and photographing the deer that wandered through the orchard to eat the windfalls.

Day one included a drive up to the end of the Scenic Drive, and a few short hikes. The road is under construction, so we had to dodge cones, caution tape and heavy equipment along the way. The upside - the road will really be nice when they finish.

This was once the main road.

A continuation of the main Scenic Drive roadway at the southern end is called the Capitol Gorge Road. Up until 1962 this was the main thoroughfare. 'Pretty amazing when you look at the narrow width of the canyon. In many places two vehicles could barely pass, and it washed out regularly. Because it is so narrow there isn’t even any place to go up and out of a flash flood if it hits. Now it’s primarily a hiking path, into some very faded rock art and a panel with pioneer signatures. There’s been a great deal of destruction to both, to the point of making the petroglyphs almost invisible. Fortunately, one of the pioneer panels is so high up it has escaped most of the vandalism.

Day two – We drove back out to hwy. 24 before lunch. So many of the scenic views are along this roadway it’s a tour in itself. There’s some really good examples of Fremont rock art, which the park service has built a nice wooden walk way around, some fantastic views of some of the formations, and an almost aerial view of the goosenecks in Sulphur Creek.

We also stopped to check out the old Fruita schoolhouse. This tiny little building, heated by a potbelly woodstove, often held classes of up to 28 children, of varying ages. Quite a contrast to today’s schools!

It’s hard to convey the scope and scale of the panorama here. Occasionally our photos will have a car, or a few people in the distance for comparison, but without that, it’s impossible to describe. The colors, too, are beyond description. The shades and tones, further enhanced by shadows and the shifting sunlight. . . if you painted these scenes you’d be accused of making them up.

I thought I had seen pretty much all there was to see here, and then after lunch decided to take the trail that leads off right across from the campground – the Cohab Canyon trail. It’s billed as “moderately strenuous” – but don’t try it if you have bad knees! The first ¼ mile or so is steep steps and very rocky. After that the grade lessens, but there are still some challenging angles. If your legs are up to it however, it’s worth the effort. I had intended to only go part way, but each bend brought new colors, patters, the suggestion that something I just couldn’t miss lurked just around the corner. The trail in total is 1.75 miles long, and I really didn’t want to do that round trip, so I did turn back at probably the 1 mile mark. The opportunity to view some of the mineral deposits and erosion patterns close up should not be missed!

We really have enjoyed this park, and count it as one of the highlights of our time in Utah. A bonus on this visit, our neighbors in the next site, Bob and Judy from Scottsdale, AZ were great to visit with. We swapped ideas for future trips and had a great time visiting each evening.

If you'd like to see more of the park, check out the additional photos in the album.