Dates we visited: October 8th 2020 – October 10th 2020
Where we stayed: Duke’s Slickrock Campground

After visiting Bryce Canyon, the next destination on our agenda for Utah’s “Mighty 5” National Parks was Capitol Reef. It’s a relatively large National Park at 378 square miles and is the most remote of the five Utah parks. Rather than tow the RV through some of the remote and mountainous terrain between Bryce and Capitol Reef, we opted to take a longer, but more well established, route by going up north to I-70 and then east. As it turned out, the drive along I-70 east of Salina, UT was absolutely stunning. There were dramatic rock formations that, if you’ll permit me to geek out a bit, looked like Star Wars Imperial cruiser spaceships crashed on earth (albeit made of red rocks).

Capitol Reef was given its name by combining two of it’s geologic features. First, the “Capitol Dome” was named due to its resemblance to the U.S. Capitol building in Washington DC. Secondly, the combined geologic features of the “waterpocket fold” and the Colorado plateau uplift formed a giant, very long cliff called an escarpment. Early explorers felt the escarpment resembled a reef, like one might find in the ocean. And so you put those together and you have Capitol Reef!

Petroglyphs

The drive into the park is super scenic, winding its way through the red rock canyons. After passing the namesake Capitol Dome formation, and shortly before reaching the visitor center, is a pull off to view some ancient petroglyphs. We stopped here to check them out and learn a bit about the history of the area. Seeing these thousand year old drawings carved into the sandstone is a reminder of those who came before us, and it refreshed our commitment to be good stewards of the land.

Grand Wash

After a quick stop and short hike to check out the Goosenecks Overlook, we made our way up the scenic drive to the Grand Wash Trail. We did this trail backwards from how Alltrails.com recommends. We turned off of Scenic Drive road on to the dirt Grand Wash road, and then parked at the Cassidy Arch Trailhead.

This is a great, albeit somewhat long, trail for younger kids. The trail is mostly flat, and while there is some elevation change, it is relatively gradual. as the name implies the trail follows a “wash” which is where flood waters flow when it rains, making it imperative that you check the weather before embarking on this hike.

The highlight of the hike is “The Narrows” which is a particularly narrow section of often referred to as a slot canyon. Owen had fun running his hands along the walls and describing the different textures of rocks we found along the way.

On our trip out we came across a pair of fellow hikers, one of which had rolled her ankle and was in quite a lot of pain. While they repeatedly turned down our offers of assistance, we were still quite concerned for them, as it was a hot day, and they were still 3/4 of a mile to the trail head. We decided to let the rangers know about her situation on our way out, and while there is little they can do unless someone specifically requests assistance, hopefully they were able to at least confirm she made it out safely. It was a good reminder for us to where the right gear, bring plenty of water, and keep some basic first aid supplies with us at all times.

An additional attraction at Capitol Reef is the Gifford Homestead, and the nearby orchards. This was a bit unexpected based on the terrain here, but supposedly the fruit, jams and jellies here are quite good. We didn’t have the opportunity to experience these treats on this go around, so that goes on the list for next time.

Even though we only made one trip into Capitol Reef, we took great pleasure in the diverse landscape and the awe inspiring canyons and escarpments. We tried to put ourselves in the shoes of early explorers on horseback who would have happened upon this giant, miles long cliff while looking for passages further to the west. I imagine the first time that happened it would have been a bad day, with them saying to each other, “well, I guess we just have to go around”.

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Capitol Reef Gallery

Capitol Reef was the third of Utah’s “Mighty Five” on our agenda. We were struck by the coloration of the rock walls and unusual geology this park had to offer. We even managed to squeeze in a great hike through a slot canyon!

Dates we visited: October 3rd-5th 2020
Where we stayed: Dixie National Forest

The feeling of walking through a forest and then suddenly emerging at the edge of a cliff overlooking a multicolored and dynamic canyon is hard to put into words. Bryce Canyon National Park, our second of five Utah parks, offered us family friendly trails and stunning vistas. We were lucky to be able to experience this park both in the evening as well as the early morning, each giving the park it’s own unique personality.

Dixie National Forest Boondocking

After our failed boondocking attempt near Zion we were a little nervous to try again, however this time it went much better. I was able to locate what appeared to be a suitable area of U.S. Forest Service Land using the Dyrt and Google Maps, but I wasn’t able to actually scout it out in person. Luckily, when we arrived, we found an available and relatively easily accessible campground within about twenty minutes.

If you are looking for a good, free, boondocking experience while visiting Bryce Canyon, definitely check out the FR117 dispersed camping area off of highway 12.

We had great stargazing conditions here, and enjoyed sitting out together to experience the evening. The one downside to this spot was that it was dusty. Perhaps it was the spot we picked, or maybe it’s just a fact of camping in this area, but we had planned to stay here for two nights, and ended up moving on after one due to the dust.

Fairyland

Our first stop in Bryce Canyon was Fairyland Point. This overlook is at a turn off right after the park sign, but before the formal entry gate. While there is a trailhead here, the trails are rather challenging with relatively steep drop-off exposure, so we just took in the sights from the overlook.

Some of the defining features of Bryce Canyon are the rock formations called hoodoos. While this is obviously a fun word to say, these unique spire-like rocks are even more fun to see. Imagine tall, roughly cylindrical shaped, red rocks scattered across the landscape. Some of them larger on their tops than their bottoms.

Sunrise to Sunset

Just inside the park is an area called Bryce Canyon City. The visitor center is nearby, along with campgrounds and a multitude of trails. There are two popular observation points called Sunrise Point and Sunset Point that are about a half mile away from each other. There is a popular and easily accessible trail that runs between the two point along the rim of the “canyon” (turns out it’s not technically a canyon, because it wasn’t carved by a river). In theory the views are best from each point at the time of day for which they are named. However, we found that each offered stunning views of the expansive hoodoo filled canyon at any time of day.

TIP: Try visiting Sunrise Point at sunset. Most of the crowds understandably flock to Sunset Point at sunset, but Sunrise Point offers a wonderful perspective with fewer people.

TIP: Try visiting Sunrise Point at sunset. Most of the crowds understandably flock to Sunset Point at sunset, but Sunrise Point offers a wonderful perspective with fewer people.

Scenic Drive

The scenic drive in the park is Highway 63. The road runs from the park entrance all along the rim with a number of overlooks, trailheads and interesting features along the way. We made a brief stop to check out the Bryce Natural Bridge, which is a stunning rock arch formation, before continuing on up to the end of the road at Rainbow Point.

After gawking at the vast expanse of unique geology at Rainbow Point, we completed the short Bristlecone Loop Trail. This trail was great for Owen, as well as Kristy and I. It meandered through the woods, with options to shorten or lengthen the hike, and had spurs to overlooks in all directions.

Bryce Canyon stunned us with the surprisingly quick transition from forest to eroded cliffs. We found it hard to wrap our heads around the natural forces capable of creating such a dramatic landscape. Next time we visit here we would love to tackle one of the more challenging hikes down into the canyon area. The view from above was spectacular, but I would imagine the view from ground level to be a totally different and unique experience.

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Bryce Canyon Gallery

From hoodoos and fins to natural bridges, Bryce Canyon National Park was a dramatic landscape. We walked along the rim of a canyon that’s not technically a canyon and tried to wrap our minds around the natural forces that could have created such wild terrain.