Grand Wash, Capitol Reef National Park, August 2020 After more than five years away, yours truly finally had the chance to return to Capitol Reef National Park in central Utah, where I spent a lovely winter as a seasonal interpretive volunteer. Having effectively already covered all the hikes in the park in previous posts (see …
After spending four months as a seasonal interpretive volunteer at Capitol Reef National Park, I have completed a whopping 46 blog posts for Live and Let Hike about Capitol Reef, including 42 detailed descriptions of the park’s trails and routes. Alas, despite wishful thinking, your average visitor to Capitol Reef is not likely to research …
Continue reading Top 10 Hikes in Capitol Reef National Park’s “Frontcountry”
In many ways, Capitol Reef National Park is Utah’s best-kept secret. Despite its central location—roughly halfway between tourist behemoths Arches National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park—Capitol Reef packs as great as a punch as its more popular neighbors with far smaller crowds. Even the park’s most travelled areas—the Highway 24 corridor and Scenic Drive—offer …
Unlabeled on most maps, rarely-visited Shinob Canyon in Capitol Reef National Park features towering monuments, truck-sized boulders, and at least three natural arches. The few visitors the gorge does receive are often technical canyoneers (they usually tackle the gorge’s Na-Gah, Timpie, or Nighthawk forks), but Shinob is a worthy destination even without ropes. There is …
Continue reading Shinob Canyon (Capitol Reef National Park, UT)
The Frying Pan Trail in Capitol Reef National Park is to many a connector route—a 3-mile route across high ridgetops linking Cohab Canyon with the Cassidy Arch Trail. It is often completed as part of a shuttle hike between historic Fruita—the park’s lush epicenter—and Grand Wash, or as part of a 10.5-mile loop that adds …
Continue reading Frying Pan Trail and Frying Pan Canyon (Capitol Reef National Park, UT)
Long before the land was bought by the National Park Service, residents of Capitol Reef country lived in mild fear of the so-called “Wild Bunch,” a band of thieving outlaws led by infamous Utah native Butch Cassidy. Though the group’s legendary hideout—Robber’s Roost—is located roughly 70 miles east of Capitol Reef, oral tradition holds that …
Continue reading Cassidy Arch Trail (Capitol Reef National Park, UT)
Connecting Highway 24 and the Fremont River with the Scenic Drive, Grand Wash is one of only six drainages cutting east-west through the 100-mile Waterpocket Fold. It also happens to be one of the flattest and easiest hikes in Capitol Reef National Park. The scenic walk, a great option for children or those looking for …
Continue reading Grand Wash Trail (Capitol Reef National Park, UT)
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