Capitol Reef National Park

Situated in the middle of the "Mighty Five", Capital Reef National Park is an awe inspiring mix of cliffs and gorges. It should be noted that the drive between Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef on Hwy 12 through Escelante s an amazing stretch of Scenic Byway and well worth your time.

As we navigated the Scenic Road, we noticed several elements of other national parks. We saw painted rocks similar to those in the Petrified Forest. We saw cathedrals of hoo doos similar to Bryce Canyon. There are Arches, and the whole park is a drive down the center of a canyon reminiscent of Canyonlands.

No stop at Capitol Reef is complete without a visit to Gifford House and their famous pies. Next door is a wonderful campground and we highly suggest an overnight stay in order to take advantage of some beautiful sunrise and sunset vistas.

We arrived in the afternoon and only had a few hours to tour the park. We drove down the Scenic Road and turned off at the Grand Wash Road. We hiked part of the Grand Wash Trail before turning back to tackle more sections of the park. At the end of the Scenic Road we decided to take the off road adventure down the Capitol Gorge Road. This is a "don't miss' section of the park as the road takes you through some narrow canyons down to the Capitol Gorge Trail.

We then drove back up the Scenic Road, stopping to check out the campgrounds, river and beautiful scenery near the Gifford House. We then went back east on Hwy 24 and enjoyed the scenery toward Capitol Dome. At the end of our day, we turned around and went back west on 24 towards the Goosenecks Overlook and Sunset Point. Both of these are easy hikes and offer different views of the park down into the canyons.

We would consider Capitol Reef National Park a worthy additon to the "Mighty Five".