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 …
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 …
Continue reading Notom-Bullfrog Road and Burr Trail to Bullfrog Marina
The mostly level and shady Capitol Gorge Trail continues up the narrow canyon where the scenic Capitol Gorge Road ends. A geological cousin of nearby Grand Wash, Capitol Gorge also played a central role in the area’s human history. For nearly 80 years, despite its extreme narrows, the canyon was the only reliable transit point …
Continue reading Capitol Gorge Trail, including the Tanks (Capitol Reef National Park, UT)
Utah’s Capitol Reef National Park is usually divided into three districts: the Fremont River District, home to more than a dozen maintained trails and the bulk of visitor traffic; the wild, southern Waterpocket District, home to slot canyons and the park’s best overnight hikes; and the remote and pristine Cathedral Valley District. Less than 1% …
Continue reading Lower South Desert Overlook (Capitol Reef National Park, UT)
The Waterpocket Fold, a massive wrinkle in the Earth visible in its entirety only from space, stretches north-south for nearly 100 miles through Utah’s Capitol Reef National Park. Despite its considerable length, however, this colorful sea of Jurassic and Triassic era rock is only sliced through in a handful of places. Fewer still, the number …
Continue reading Oak Creek Canyon (Capitol Reef National Park, UT)
Hundreds of thousands flock to southwestern Utah’s Zion National Park each year to witness the famed Zion Narrows, where the majestic Virgin River has sculpted a 16-mile stretch of cavernous bends and twists seemingly unique in their beauty. Midway across the state, however, Capitol Reef National Park boasts a comparably spectacular alternative in the remote …
Continue reading Halls Creek Narrows via “airport route” (Capitol Reef National Park, UT)
The circuitous hike through Capitol Reef National Park’s Lower Muley Twist Canyon extends for close to 12 miles from the Burr Trail Road to its southern mouth at the Halls Creek drainage. Highlights along the backcountry route include 1,000-foot cliffs and countless, varnished alcoves of immeasurable length. A short detour to Hamburger Rocks—a collection of …
Continue reading Lower Muley Twist Canyon and Hamburger Rocks (Capitol Reef National Park, UT)
With sweeping alcoves and towering walls, Lower Muley Twist Canyon has become one of Capitol Reef National Park’s most popular backpacking destinations. To the ambitious, it can also be conquered in a couple of lengthy day hikes—though an overnight is likely to be more enjoyable. Live and Let Hike will dissect the route into two …
Continue reading Lower Muley Twist Canyon – Upper Section (Capitol Reef National Park, UT)
Recording roughly 700,000 visitors per year—many of whom had never heard of the place before stumbling upon it—Capitol Reef National Park is much less touted that in its famous neighbors: Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, and Zion. The reward of Capitol Reef? A much higher likelihood of solitude. Visiting during the winter months almost guarantees such …
To those who know Capitol Reef National Park well, the Old Wagon Trail is often considered the red-headed stepchild of the park’s front-country hikes. Though the 3.8-mile stem-and-loop—starting right off the Scenic Drive—features one excellent viewpoint, it comes at a price: a long and monotonous slog 1,080 feet up the dip slope of pinyon- and …
Continue reading Old Wagon Trail (Capitol Reef National Park, UT)
Live and Let Hike 