Burr Trail to Bullfrog, February 2015
If you’ve made it to Capitol Reef National Park in central Utah, you’ve already reached one of the American West’s most isolated destinations. Wayne County, in which much of Capitol Reef is located, has not a single stoplight, and any delays encountered on the road are more often than not of the bovine kind. Most of Capitol Reef—including the Visitor Center—is out of reach of cell phone towers, let alone a WiFi connection. And try finding a place open for dinner in the winter time.
Once situated in Capitol Reef, however, it is possible to find even more far-flung places that make the national park feel like Manhattan—spots so out-of-the-way that one will not pass a house, a shop, a restaurant, or a gas station for dozens of miles. For considerable solitude, try making the lonely, 68-mile drive from Highway 24 just outside Capitol Reef’s east entrance to the Bullfrog Marina in neighboring Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Much of the route traces the unpaved Notom-Bullfrog Road, often inaccessible after recent floods or snowstorms, before following the scenic Burr Trail to Utah Highway 276 and the Bullfrog District on Lake Powell. Highlights include spectacular views of the Waterpocket Fold, the Henry Mountains, Clay Canyon, and Bullfrog Creek Canyon.
The following is a photo collection of this remote and scarcely-travelled scenic byway. (Note: While at Bullfrog, don’t miss the fantastic Bullfrog slot canyon!)
Driving through an alien landscape of bentonite hills in the Morrison formation, Notom-Bullfrog Road, Captol Reef National Park
Traffic on the Notom-Bullfrog Road
Cliffs of Mancos shale just outside Capitol Reef National Park on the Burr Trail
Overlooking impressive Bullfrog Creek Canyon, with the “Little Rockies” beyond, en route to Bullfrog
Waterpocket Fold from the Burr Trail
Bullfrog Creek crossing – this is sometimes impassable to even 4WD vehicles
Bullfrog Marina near dusk
Live and Let Hike 