Capitol Reef is the second least visited national park in Utah (we have 5 national parks). It is an awesome place to visit and explore and without all the crowds. All parks had low attendance in 2020 due to Covid, but Zions still had 3.5 times the number of visitors as did Capitol Reef (3,5000,000 at Zions compared to 1,000,000 at Capitol Reef).
Current Quick Facts:
Pets: Allowed (must be leashed in developed areas).
Entrance Fee: $20
Camping Fee: $20
We last visited in October of 2014, the fall colors were starting to appear and it made for some beautiful and stark contracts of the green lawns, yellowing trees, and red rocks. The weather was wonderful and camping in a tent was pleasant. Fruita campground is the only developed campground in the park and it is fairly small (71 sites). They accept reservations from March 1st – October 31st (outside those dates it is first come first server).
The cool thing about the campground is that there is an apple orchard right next to the campground where a lot of deer live. They often come walk through the campground in late evening and early morning.
There is also a museum and store nearby. We stopped for ice-cream after a long hike and relaxed on their picnic tables.
And thirdly, there are also a lot of hikes that you can start from this location:
- Freemont River Trail – 3 star
- Cohab Canyon Trail – 4 star
Other fun hikes worth exploring:
3. Cassidy Arch – 5 star
4. Hickman Bridge – 4 star
5. Capitol Gorge Trail to Tanks – 4 star
Other points of interest:
1. Keep your eye out for Bighorn sheep
2. Fruita Grade School
3. Fremont pictographs and petroglyphs
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