Most desert rats in Utah’s canyon country will know of Capitol Reef National Park’s three most prominent slot canyons: Burro Wash, Cottonwood Wash, and Sheets Gulch. They will also be familiar with the short, family-friendly narrows in nearby Headquarters Canyon. Much less promoted is the unnamed slot just off Capitol Reef’s Pleasant Creek, which boasts …
Continue reading Pleasant Creek slot canyon (Capitol Reef National Park, UT)
According to historical accounts, it was Almon Harris Thompson’s central Utah expedition in 1872 that gave the name to Pleasant Creek, a beautiful perennial stream now running through 242,000-acre Capitol Reef National Park. Upon discovering the rivulet on a trek to the yet-to-be-mapped Henry Mountains, Thompson’s photographer Jack Hillers wrote of a “beautiful creek flowing …
Continue reading Pleasant Creek (Capitol Reef National Park, UT)
Sheets Gulch constitutes one of Capitol Reef National Park’s three major slot canyon hikes on the east side of the Waterpocket Fold. Less strenuous and more diverse than its northern cousins up the road—Burro Wash and Cottonwood Wash—Sheets boasts three lengthy slot sections, an excellent stretch of deep narrows, an arch, and a wide variety …
Continue reading Sheets Gulch (Capitol Reef National Park, UT)
Surprise Canyon and Headquarters Canyon (see my previous post)—Surprise’s nearby, more-frequented cousin—share a number of common traits. For one, they both cut deeply through the Waterpocket Fold, the 100-mile uplift in the earth’s crust that is the signature feature of Utah’s Capitol Reef National Park. Both can be hiked in less than 1 ½-2 hours …
Continue reading Surprise Canyon (Capitol Reef National Park, UT)
If I were to guess, I’d say upwards of 90-95 percent of visitors at Utah’s Capitol Reef National Park spend their entire stay along the main arteries running through the central district—Highway 24 and the Scenic Drive. But the southern portion of the park—a long tongue known as the Waterpocket District—is equally, if not more, …
Continue reading Headquarters Canyon (Capitol Reef National Park, UT)
There is so little information on the web about this scenic yet obscure hike outside Bicknell, Utah that even its name is in doubt. According to National Geographic’s 1995 “Trails Illustrated” map of the area, it is called the “Durfey Canyon Trail,” though it is unclear whether a “Durfey Canyon” even exists. Meanwhile, one website …
Continue reading Durfey Canyon / Boy Scouts Trail (Fishlake National Forest, UT)
Though not the most beautiful—nor the most diverse—hike in the area, the short, self-guided Nature Trail at Kodachrome Basin State Park is the most accessible, making this the best option for aging travelers, families with small children, and visitors in wheelchairs. The well-graded path (a hard-packed dirt-gravel mix) weaves through a dense community of junipers …
Continue reading Nature Trail (Kodachrome Basin State Park, UT)
Though the state’s five national parks—Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and Zion—often steal the show, Utah also boasts a handful of very impressive state parks, from Snow Canyon to Goblin Valley to Kodachrome Basin. Another is Antelope Island State Park, a peaceful refuge for wildlife and wonder, a beautiful landscape surrounded by Utah’s famously …
Continue reading Antelope Island State Park, UT (photo collection)
Like many places in Utah, the ragged badlands and towering spires of Kodachrome Basin State Park are best viewed and photographed in the late afternoon. At Kodachrome, the perfect spot to watch the evening sun wane over the basin (especially in winter) is along the Angel’s Palace Trail, a 1.3- to 1.5-mile hike that boasts …
Continue reading Angel’s Palace Trail (Kodachrome Basin State Park, UT)
Amid a landscape of wrinkling badlands and mysterious spires, Shakespeare Arch is the only significant natural arch in Utah’s Kodachrome Basin State Park. The loop hike described here offers a short, pleasant walk out to the hidden arch, accented by panoramic views of the surrounding area, including the Pink Cliffs of Bryce Canyon National Park …
Continue reading Shakespeare Arch and the Sentinel Trail (Kodachrome Basin State Park, UT)
Live and Let Hike 