It is a maze of cliffs and terraces… red and white domes, rock platforms gashed with profound canyons, burning plains barren even of sage – all glowing with bright colors and flooded with blazing sunlight…. It is the extreme of desolation, the blankest solitude, a superlative desert. – Clarence E. Dutton, geologist (1880)

The land that now comprises central Utah’s 378-square-mile Capitol Reef National Park is—and has been—a lot of things to a lot of people. To geologists, the park encompasses North America’s longest and most striking monocline in the Waterpocket Fold—that is, a 100-mile long wrinkle in the Earth’s crust. To the Edward Abbeys of the world, it is an escape to peaceful desert serenity. To locals, it is (or once was) a watering hole and a source of fruit, nuts, or fresh-baked pies.

To the resourceful natives now known to archaeologists as the “Fremont culture”—and their descendants—Capitol Reef was a home for hundreds of years, dating to 700 A.D. To the Mormon pioneers who established the tiny community of Fruita in the 1880s, it was a modest settlement of no more than 10 families at any given time…and later even a safe haven for polygamists.

To the average citizen today, however, it is overlooked.

Perhaps my one complaint of my splendid four months working as an interpretive volunteer at Capitol Reef was the flurry of visitors with their budget hiking backpacks passing through who gave the park short thrift—jammed into a 1-2 hour slot before driving away to nearby Bryce Canyon or Arches or the Grand Canyon.

This page—and many of the posts on Live and Let Hike—is an effort to set the record straight, to uncover the wonders of the place, from the vibrant colors to the secret petroglyphs to the twisted network of canyons cutting through the Waterpocket Fold. The lens for discovery is the park’s impressive collection of hiking trails and unmaintained routes.

Before taking your next trip to the southern Utah, consider staying awhile at Capitol Reef…and try one—or several—of the trails, routes, and random adventures from the comprehensive list below, ordered by location, length, and difficulty. None (except perhaps the notorious Old Wagon Trail) is likely to disappoint!

*For those short on patience, skip straight to the best of the best with “Top 10 Hikes in Capitol Reef National Park’s ‘Frontcountry’” or “Top 10 Hikes in Capitol Reef National Park’s ‘Backcountry.’” Or check out the map below!

For the rest, the comprehensive list awaits…

Fremont River District (Central)

Hiking trails (well-defined and maintained)

• Petroglyphs Trail—easy, 0.2 mi. out-and-back#
• Goosenecks Trail—easy, 0.4 mi. out-and-back
• Sunset Point Trail—easy, 0.7 mi. out-and-back
• Grand Wash Trail—easy, 4.8 mi. out-and-back
• Hickman Bridge Trail—moderate, 1.8 mi. out-and-back
• Capitol Gorge Trail and The Tanks—moderate, 2.0+ mi. out-and-back
• Fremont River Trail—moderate, 2.6 mi. out-and-back
• Cohab Canyon Trail—moderate, 3.4 mi. out-and-back
• Frying Pan Trail and Frying Pan Canyon—strenuous, 2.9+ mi. one-way^
• Cassidy Arch Trail—strenuous, 3.4 mi. out-and-back
• Chimney Rock Trail—strenuous, 3.5 mi. stem-and-loop
• Old Wagon Trail—strenuous, 3.8 mi. stem-and-loop
• Golden Throne Trail and Golden Throne Canyon—strenuous, 4.0+ mi. out-and-back^
• Fremont Gorge Overlook Trail—strenuous, 4.6 mi. out-and-back
• Rim Overlook and Navajo Knobs Trail—strenuous, up to 9.4 mi. out-and-back

Hiking routes (unmaintained and rugged but well-trodden)

• The Castle Trail—moderate, 2.4 mi. out-and-back
• Pleasant Creek—moderate, 7.6 mi. out-and-back
• Lower Spring Canyon—moderate, 9.9 mi. one-way*
• Sulphur Creek—strenuous, 5.5 mi. one-way
• Upper Spring Canyon—strenuous, 18.5 mi. one-way

Off-trail adventures (no discernible path; you’re on your own!)

• The Motorman—easy, 0.4 mi. out-and-back
• Pleasant Creek slot canyon—up to 2.2 mi. out-and-back*
• Shinob Canyon—moderate, 2.2 mi. out-and-back
• Point 6,230’—moderate, 2.2 mi. out-and-back

Miscellaneous

• Capitol Reef National Park in Winter—photo collection
• Secrets of Capitol Reef National Park—photo collection

Waterpocket District (South)

Hiking routes (unmaintained and rugged but well-trodden)

• Surprise Canyon—easy, 2.0 mi. out-and-back
• Headquarters Canyon—easy, 3.4 mi. out-and-back*
• Strike Valley Overlook—moderate, 0.8 mi. out-and-back
• Red Canyon—moderate, 4.5 mi. out-and-back
• Oak Creek Canyon—moderate, 5.0+ mi. out-and-back
• Lower Muley Twist Canyon, Upper Section—moderate, 8.0 mi. out-and-back
• Cottonwood Wash—strenuous, 4.5+ mi. out-and-back*
• Burro Wash—strenuous, 8.0 mi. out-and-back*
• Sheets Gulch—strenuous, 9.0+ mi. out-and-back*
• Upper Muley Twist Canyon—strenuous, 9.0+ mi. stem-and-loop*
• Halls Creek Narrows via “airport route”—strenuous, 14.8 mi. stem-and-loop
• Lower Muley Twist Canyon and Hamburger Rocks—strenuous, 17.0 mi. loop

Off-trail adventures (no discernible path; you’re on your own!)

• Bitter Spring Creek—5.0 mi. out-and-back

Scenic byways

• Notom-Bullfrog Road and Burr Trail to Bullfrog Marina

Cathedral Valley District (North)

Hiking trails (well-defined and maintained)

• Cathedral Valley Overlook Trail—easy, 0.2 mi. out-and-back
• Morrell Cabin Trail—easy, 0.4 mi. out-and-back
• Upper South Desert Overlook Trail—moderate, 0.4 mi. out-and-back
• Cathedrals Trail—moderate, 2.2 mi. out-and-back

Hiking routes (unmaintained and rugged but well-trodden)

• Lower South Desert Overlook—easy, 0.5 mi. out-and-back
• Lower Cathedral Valley Overlooks—moderate, 2.4 mi. loop

Scenic byways

• Cathedral Valley Loop Drive

Fishlake National Forest (West of Capitol Reef)

• Cooks Mesa and Meeks Mesa—strenuous, 4.4 mi. out-and-back
• Durfey Canyon/Boy Scouts Trail—strenuous, 6.0+ mi. out-and-back

# paved, wheelchair accessible trails; ^ maintained trails with off-trail options; * hikes with slot canyons

Thatsweetgift.com, Monicashealthmagazine.com, janeskitchenmiracles.com