Posted in Utah Nature March 17, 2022 by Catherine Armstrong

A Trip To This Underrated Utah National Park Will Make Your Summer Complete

Utah has five gorgeous national parks, and some of them have really put us on the map. Zion National Park receives more than 3.5 million visitors every year; Arches National Park is where our iconic Delicate Arch is found. All five parks are filled with incredible natural wonders and some truly epic beauty. Capitol Reef National Park is the most underrated national park to visit in Utah, and is also the state’s least visited park, so if you’re looking for a little more solitude and a lot fewer tourists, it’s time to check this place out.

Capitol Reef National Park includes 241,904 acres of stunning red rock formations, cliffs, canyons and buttes. It's Utah's wilderness at its finest.

Start your visit with a trip to the Visitor Center. Park rangers can give you some tips and point you to some of the park's amazing natural wonders. You can also get weather updates, which is important, especially during spring and early summer, when flash flooding can occur.

Hickman Bridge is one of the park's best-known attractions. Take the 1.8-mile trail to the natural bridge. Along the way, you'll see a Fremont Indian pit house and granary.

The park has several sites where you can see petroglyphs left by the Fremont people over 1,000 years ago.

Chimney Rock is one of the park's most famous rock formations. Take a 3.5 mile hike to see it.

You'll find the Gifford Homested in the Fruita Valley. The 200 acres of orchards provide tons of fruit, including peaches, cherries and apples, and you're welcome to pick some!

Stay overnight at the Fruita Campground. We recently featured this pretty spot in an article. For more information, read our full article here.

Take the Capitol Reef Scenic Drive through the park to see some of its most beautiful attributes.

What is your favorite thing to see when you pay a visit to this national park in Utah?

Address: Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, USA

The OIYS Visitor Center

National Park To Visit In Utah

March 23, 2022

Spencer Schneider

What are some of the best hikes in Capitol Reef National Park?

Capitol Reef National Park is often overlooked when people think of Utah National Parks. After all, it has to compete with the world famous Zion National Park. However, Capitol Reef actually has some incredible hikes that you won’t want to miss next time your are in Utah looking for an adventure.

Cassidy Arch Trail

Our favorite hike is the Cassidy Arch Trail. This 3.1-mile hike is just off Scenic Drive and starts on Grand Wash Trail, a wide easy trail. You’ll then transfer to Cassidy Arch Trail which will bring you up out of the canyon. This part is a bit steep! Once you get out of the canyon, you are getting close. Keep going and you will run right into the incredibly picturesque Cassidy Arch.

Hickman Bridge Trail

The Hickman Bridge Trail is a shorter 1.7-mile hike that is another of our favorites in Capitol Reef National Park. Being Utah, this hike also brings you to a giant arch! Along the hike, you’ll cross over the Hickman Bridge which lies 300 feet over the Fremont River. You’ll also get to pass through the arch during your hike.

Gooseneck & Sunset Point

Another of our favorite hikes is the 2.5 mile Goosenecks & Sunset Point hike. This hike will bring you to lookouts that let you inch up to the edge of the cliffs to see the surrounding canyons below. From these lookouts, you can clearly see the many layers of rock that give you a glimpse into the formation of these incredible canyons and the rest of Capitol Reef National Park. Of course, you want to try to schedule your hike so you can be at Sunset Point at sunset, and you can sit and watch the sky and surrounding rocks go from shades of orange to pink.

Address: Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, USA