June 19 , 2026
Capitol Reef is the red-headed stepchild of Utah parks, if you will; easily overlooked because of its location in the middle of the state. Arches and Canyonlands are a great pair on the east side, while Bryce Canyon and Zion are often combined as part of a Las Vegas road trip (along with the North Rim of the Grand Canyon).
We arrived in Capitol Reef with one thing on our minds: orchards. The park is famous for growing a delightful medley of fruits that you can pick and enjoy, which is exceptionally rare for a national park! We stopped at the visitor center to discover that apricots were in season, and could be picked for the modest sum of $2/lb. “Say no more,” we shouted, racing over to the Fruita region. Cheerful chaos ensued as the berries ran around waving “fruit pickers,” zipping up and down ladders in search of the very ripest apricots while nimbly sidestepping squashed ones on the ground. The end result was a very tasty morning snack.
After snacking, we continued on to Capitol Gorge. A gorge is really just another word for canyon – and Utah is filled with canyons. We were used to them at this point, but what really sets Capitol Gorge (and Capitol Reef in general) apart from the rest is the deadly danger of flash flooding. There were some very scary looking signs about running for your life if it starts raining. Believe me, we scanned the sky for the tiniest trace of a dark cloud before entering the gorge area, but it was perfectly clear.
An interesting section of the Capitol Gorge trail is called the Pioneer Register, a list of signatures from the early Utah settlers carved into the rock. You can clearly see the date 1888, which is pretty amazing. I think there may have been some more recent graffiti-style carvings on there too, although NPS charges a $250 fine for defacing the rock wall.
We picnicked at Capitol Gorge next to a British couple with an elegant lunch bag from Whole Foods. “I noticed your children are eating stringy cheese,” the woman said to me, relating an amusing anecdote about discovering string cheese for the first time when visiting her daughter in New York a few years back.
A simple misreading of the NPS website set us off on the Hickman Bridge trail after lunch without our backpacks, mistakenly believing it was a short half mile out and back. Not so. It’s always a fun experiment to ask passing hikers, “Are we almost there?” Invariably you’ll get responses anywhere from “Just another couple miles,” to “Right around the corner.” Kind of a cup half empty or half full mentality, I think.
We eventually reached the Hickman Bridge, which is truly impressive and worth the hike. For the record, it’s a 2 mile roundtrip hike, almost straight up. For berries who weren’t expecting that, it was tough, but we made it.
It’s hard to see, but the picture above is the Bridge itself. If you look very very closely, there’s a tiny Greg (and Claire) under it.
To cool off, we went to see the park film being shown at the visitor center. What was in the film? Waterpockets. More than you ever wanted to know about the giant Waterpocket Fold, which comprises the entire length of Capitol Reef NP. What wasn’t in it? Where the park’s name came from. It wasn’t until we were home that I learned the park is named for white sandstone cliffs that reminded someone at some point of a Roman-style capitol dome! Why isn’t this information isn’t front and center at the visitor center, with a large sign pointing to these cliffs? I certainly didn’t see them.
We checked in to our rental house in Teasdale to prepare for Shabbat. Sophia and I made salmon, salad, and oven fries to go with our challah, while Greg picked up a few supplies at the local chuckwagon.
We watched the sunset at Goosenecks Overlook. The air was still and silent… before we arrived. Taking six children for a serene sunset viewing is a bold move. Fortunately, our toddlers were distracted building tiny rock towers and our teenagers were distracted seeing how close they could get to the edge of the cliff without us noticing.
The sun slowly slipped behind the hills, and we marveled at the beauty of the sky. Capitol Reef is a terrific park and certainly underrated. This was the midpoint of our Utah trip – 3 parks done, 3 to go.
=)
