Capital Reef NP?

[look 171]

Wife 's Ok and sometimes dislike road trips if they happen all within one year. Something's gotten into her so she booked a Snowcat and snowmobile trip in Yosemite this Dec. Comes march, she like to see Arches NP and spend some time in Capital Reef NP. Now, that's one place I haven't been. Is it worth going? I like to spend 2-3 days there. To me, just the drive is worth it. The sightseeing is the bonus. Yes its all about me

Tell me bout' this place or places near by I should visit.

[scottmandue]

Are you going to hit Bryce, Zion, Canyon lands?

I need to do that trip again sometime... I stopped by Capitol Reef at the time but it has been decades and ye old brain cells have faded.

Probably have some 35mm slides in the attic.

[LakeCleElum]

Park is OK, not my fav of Utah, BUT: Stay in Torrey and drive Hwy 12 south . Hell,s Backbone as its known. Include Bryce and Zion for a full week.

[kanadary]

Was in Bryce and zion this summer. A must do if you are there. Arches is great too.

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by LakeCleElum

Park is OK, not my fav of Utah, BUT: Stay in Torrey and drive Hwy 12 south . Hell,s Backbone as its known. Include Bryce and Zion for a full week.

+1 on Hwy 12, back when I drove it there were sections with no guardrails... tiny two lane highway where the edge of the road crumbled off into a ravine.

I think I didn't spend much time at capitol reef because my brother had just done the drive up 12 and said CR was not much compared to Bryce, Zion, Arches, and Canyonland.

I also remember from the time I left St George to when I arrived in Moab I had not see a traffic light all week!

Torrey... I had dinner in someone's living room the one night I stayed there.

[mjohnson]

Bryce Canyon in the snow is incredible - and at 8000ft there will likely be snow in March. Not to be missed...

[look 171]

We did Bryce and Zion a couple of years back. I have to check out hwy 12.

[930addict]

Goblin Valley Goblin Valley State Park | Utah State Parks

[Tishabet]

Ive been there twice, definitely worth going but compared to Arches, Bryce and Zion it is in last place.

[VillaRicaGA911]

I like Arches and Canyon Lands, Zion is also great. Be sure to check out Wall St while in Moab. If you are in the area it's not to far to Mesa Verde/Cortez and Durango CO all worth seeing if u have the time.

[Otter74]

I went to Capitol Reef a year ago and I liked it. I was coming from the Moab area and I did not have time to go all the way to Bryce/Arches/etc. and I specifically wanted to go to a less-well-known park in Utah to spend some time in a place less crowded. Unfrotunately, there was a lot of flooding in southern utah at the time and a lot of the parks there were closed, so all those people went to whatever was open and so CR was not so un-crowded. I do not remember where I camped or spent the night. I remember the German woman I talked to who had shipped herself and her motorcycle to the US for three months and was going to ride it to Long Beach, ship her and it to Australia and then do the whole thing again there. I remember the orchards, which I loved. I second Mesa Verde, too. I was coming from the San Juans (Ridgway) so it was convenient.

[zakthor]

Wow, lots of opinions here!

Capitol reef is my second favorite park after west side of Canyonlands. I've spent weeks in there backpacking with my family. Very easy to get far from any other people and the terrain is spectacular, as good as it gets.

To really enjoy the park you need to be able to enjoy walking, not a park to see from the car. High clearance vehicle will give you more options.

A nice drive for normal car I second visiting hells backbone, eat in boulder (the grill!), camp out of town to the east, return to boulder for breakfast, then drive due east across waterpocket fold on gravel road, then spectacular drive north along waterpocket fold to capitol forest park. Lots of great hiking everywhere along that dirt road so spend your days there!