South of Salt Lake City, roughly halfway between Bryce Canyon and Canyonlands, a spectacular national park shaped by geological and erosive forces draws more than a million visitors a year: Capitol Reef National Park. Often overlooked in favour of more popular national parks on the Colorado Plateau – Bryce, Zion and Arches – it also took us two visits to Utah to finally explore Capitol Reef, but when we did, we very much enjoyed the hikes there.

The park may not be quite as pretty as Bryce and Arches National Parks with their pink hoodoos and spectacular arches, but Capitol Reef is very impressive. A phenomenal cliff face called the Waterpocket Fold runs for nearly 90 miles (145 km), from Thousand Lake Mountain to Lake Powell, much like a barrier reef in the sea, hence the name, Capitol Reef. 

This elongated one-sided fold, or monocline, exposes nineteen different rock layers, uplifted by tectonic activity, representing 280 million years of geological history! The other geological feature that the name Capitol Reef refers to is a Capitol Dome, a rounded dome of Navajo sandstone, which for early travellers bore some resemblance to the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C.

Like the dome, you will find many other imposing rock formations in the park – canyons, arches, knolls and cliffs millions of years in the making, many of which are accessible via the extensive network of fantastic hiking trails.

We only visited the small fraction of Capitol Reef National Park that is easily accessible via paved roads, which is the Fruita Historic District on the Fremont River, situated about halfway between Torrey and Caineville, along the only sealed road that dissects the park.
If you’re willing to put in a few hours on rough dirt roads, however, you can explore the truly remote areas of the park, along Hartnet Road in the north of the park and on Notom-Bullfrog Road that connects with Burr Trail Road south of Fruita. Cathedral Valley (on Harnet Road) and Cedar Mesa (on Notom-Bullfrog Road) offer basic, no fees campsites.

I cannot speak to the backcountry areas since we decided to spend less time on the road and more time exploring the many hiking trails in Fruita, so this post covers only the Fruita Historic District. But there’s plenty of information about the more remote areas on the National Park Service’s website.

Similar to other desert zone parks, an impressive number of animals have adapted to the harsh conditions in Capitol Reef National Park, like the desert bighorn sheep, mountain lion and different types of squirrels. We were also surprised to discover a fruit orchard with over 2000 trees in Capitol Reef and quite disappointed to visit well before harvest times. Between June and October, you’re welcome to pick apples, pears, cherries and other fruit (free when eaten in orchards, a nominal fee is charged if you take fruit with you). Then there are the ancient petroglyphs and historic homes that tell of the history of the Freemont Culture and early Mormon pioneer settlers who made their home in this barren desert landscape from 600 to 1300 C.E. and in the 1880s, respectively. 

Also, Capitol Reef National Park is recognized as an International Dark Sky Park, where particularly dark skies and bright stars make for spectacular stargazing and night walks.

The undisputed hero of the park, however, is plain, old rock in stunning formations and colours and the best way to see what Capitol Reef has to offer, is to explore its many hiking trails or follow the 8-mile (13km) Scenic Drive, which starts just past Fruita Campground.

Because this national park is larger, more spread out and not quite as popular as its neighbours Zion, Bryce and Arches, it’s less busy even around the Fruita Historic District. Also, Capitol Reef only has one small developed campground, Fruita Campground, so after the day tourists have left, you can enjoy a quiet evening – if you manage to secure one of its 71 sites, that is. From experience, I can tell you that is no easy task, so try to make a booking as soon as reservations open for that season.