Capitol Reef

We arrived at Capitol Reef on a busy Saturday and were lucky to find a campsite in Fruita.  Fruita was a Mormon frontier community settled in the 1880s. There were remnants of the buildings and the fruit orchards in the lush valley. On our first day we hiked along the Fremont Gorge Overlook trail and found panoramic views of the surrounding area. The geology was amazing here!

We attended the very last Ranger evening program at the campground of the park. We learned a lot about the geology and the formation of the park. We also found out that we needed to go to the Gifford Farmhouse, next to the campground, in the morning for a traditional Capitol Reef breakfast pie.

We were almost the first in line on that Sunday and ate a delicious mixed berry pie, lemon poppy seed scone and coffee for breakfast! On our second day we decided to get away from the crowds and explore the southern part of the park. The ranger at the visitors center sent us to a cool canyon called Headquarters Canyon. The color of the rock was amazing with horizontal stripes of red and a short slot canyon the opened up to huge vertical walls.

From there we drove up and over the Burr Trail Switchbacks to the trail head at the upper Muley Twist Canyon. We hiked along the 4x4 road for about 2 ½ miles to the Strike Valley Overlook. The views of the reef and the Waterpocket Fold were absolutely breathtaking. This quickly became our favorite place in the park.

On our third day we let our legs “rest” and hiked a short distance to Hickman Bridge.

We thought Capitol Reef was a great place and you should all visit if you haven’t yet.