Capitol Reef National Park

  Capitol Reef National Park was established in 1971 to preserve a geological marvel, a long wrinkle in the earths’ surface called the Water-pocket Fold that stretches for 100 miles across arid south central Utah.  Its 241,904 acres encompass colorful cliffs, massive domes, soaring spires, graceful arches and deep, narrow, twisting canyons.  There are also ancient petroglyphs and pictographs, a well-preserved, 19^th-century Mormon orchard where visitors can pick fruit right off the trees, diverse plant and animal communities and a variety of well-maintained hiking trails.  For the backcountry enthusiast there are remote four-wheel-drive roads and trackless wilderness.

     The Water-pocket Fold is so named for its shallow, eroded, bowl-like depressions in the sandstone, which catch thousands of gallons of scarce rainwater each year, helping many creatures to survive in the arid environment.  Explorers and pioneers compared the nearly impassable long, pleated ridge of the Water-pocket Fold to a reef blocking passage in the ocean.  One of the rounded white domes of the Navajo sandstone layer reminded them of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington D.C.; thus the name Capitol Reef.

     The Water-pocket Fold is made up of many layers of sedimentary rock.  These layers were formed from sediments deposited over hundreds of millions of years in seas, mud flats, rivers and deserts.  When the uplift of the Colorado plateau began, the layers in the Capitol Reef area were bent up and over, causing newer layers of rock to fold over ancient layers in an S-shape.  This produced a 100-mile-long ridge or monocline with the rock layers on the west 7,000 feet higher than the layers on the east and tilted as much as sixty degrees from their original horizontal position.  The rock layers exposed along the Fold range from approximately 65 million to 270 million years old.  Almost all the layers date from the Mesozoic Era, when dinosaurs ruled the earth.

     Millennia of erosion have worn down the rock layers at different rates, carving into the terrain a stunning assortment of serpentine canyons, towering spires, arches, huge white domes, multi-colored cliffs and buttes.  Navajo Sandstone forms the white slick-rock domes as well as most of the slot canyons and water-pockets.  The dramatic red cliffs near Fruita and along the Scenic Drive are made up of a combination of Wingate Sandstone and the Kayenta Formation.  Cathedral Valleys’ Temples of the Sun and Moon are made of soft Entrada sandstone.  Chimney Rock and the Egyptian Temple are of the dark red Moenkopi Formation with Shinarump Sandstone caps.

      Capitol Reef is as rich in history as it is in scenery. “ Human use of this area dates back at least 10,000 years, but the Water-pocket Fold is best known for its Frement and Anasazi Indian occupations.”  “The Fremont Indians farmed, hunted and gathered their food in the vicinity of the Fremont River from about AD 700 until they mysteriously disappeared sometime after AD 1250.”  On the canyons’ sandstone walls the Fremonts left some very distinctive petroglyphs and pictographs.  The area was later used for hunting by nomadic Utes and Paiutes and perhaps by the Navajo people.  The Paiute Indians called it the “Land of the Sleeping Rainbow”.

     The stark, forbidding landscape of Capitol Reef was one of the last territories in the West to be explored by the white man.  Pierced by only a few canyons, the Water-pocket Fold imposed an almost complete isolation.  Explorers and Mormon pioneers began to make their way into the Fremont River Valley in the late 1800s.  In 1872, Professor Almon H. Thompson of the Powell expedition led the first scientific exploration in the fold country.  Mormons arrived in the upper Fremont Valley in the late 1870s and settled the town of Junction on the banks of the Fremont River around 1880.  These Mormon settlers planted orchards, which, thanks to skillful irrigation of the good soil of the valley, were so successful, that the towns’ name was eventually changed to Fruita.  These orchards are preserved by the National Park Service as an Historic Landscape.  They are open to park visitors in season when apples, cherries, peaches, apricots and pears can be purchased on a pick-your-own basis.  Fruit harvesting usually begins in June and continues through October.  Harvest dates are posted at the visitors’ center.  Also preserved for visitors are the Fruita Schoolhouse (1896), the Gifford  Homestead (1908) and the Behunin Cabin.  After Capitol Reef National Monument was established in 1937, the farmers and their families gradually moved away and the region remained one of the most isolated in Utah until after World War II.  The first paved road through the region was not constructed until 1962.  To this day Capitol Reef remains the least visited of Utah’s national parks.  It may be the National Park Systems’ best kept secret.

  There are over 140 miles of roads in Capitol Reef National Park.  The majority of these are unpaved, however, and due to changing road conditions may require 4-wheel-drive at times.  Rain or snow can make some roads impassable.  These unpaved roads lead into remote areas of the Water-pocket Fold country, areas that offer natural beauty and solitude to park visitors.  There are secluded canyons with hanging gardens of monkey-flower and maidenhair fern, vast, open expanses such as Cathedral Valley with its 500-foot, tooth-like temples of the sun and the moon, and breathtaking panoramic views from roads like the Burr Trail which, via a series of switchbacks, climbs its way to the top of the Water-pocket Fold.

     For those who wish to stick to the asphalt, there is plenty to be seen along Utah 24, the major east-west highway through the park.  It was built in 1962 and follows the Fremont River as it winds its way amongst the towering, brilliantly colored cliffs and domes of Capitol Reef.  There are parking pullouts along Utah 24 for the Historic Fruita Schoolhouse, the Petroglyphs and Behunin Cabin.  There are also spectacular views of the Water-pocket Fold area along Utah 12 west of the park from an elevation of more than 9,400 feet.  The Parks’ Scenic Drive (9 miles each way, approximately 90 minutes round trip) is also paved and offers an easy introduction to the landscape of the fold.  It begins at the visitor center and, following the west face of the fold, passes the Fruita Historic District with its orchards and restored Gifford Homestead and leads up to Grand Wash and Capitol Gorge, two deep, twisting, sheer-walled canyons.

     At the entrances to these canyons the roads change to maintained gravel.  During the summer these roads can be corrugated (like a washboard) but are usually passable with a 2-wheel drive vehicle.  The gravel road into Capitol Gorge follows the path of a pioneer wagon trail that was at one time (from 1871 to 1962) part of the main “highway” through south-central Utah.  Beyond the end of the gravel road, the old highway continues as Capitol Gorge Trail.  This narrow, rocky travel route was used by miners, settlers and others to cut-through the Fold.  An easy 2 mile round-trip hike takes you to Indian petroglyphs (not as impressive as those off of Utah 24), a pioneer register carved full with the names of those who passed through the canyon and a group of water-pockets called “The Tanks”.  

There is a network of 15 maintained trails in the Fruita area (totaling about 30 miles) and about 120 miles of backcountry routes.  These provide anything from short, easy strolls along level paths to strenuous all-day hikes with steep climbs over rough terrain.  Round trip distances vary from less than ¼ mile to 10 miles.  Hikers can stroll through the historic orchards and relax in shady spots along the Fremont River; enjoy panoramic views from the tops of towering cliffs or delve deep into a narrow gorge; view ancient Indian artifacts and petroglyphs and encounter natural arches and bridges like the 133 foot long Hickman Bridge.  The difficulties of hiking through arid backcountry should never be underestimated.  Some trails can be treacherous (uneven terrain, high elevations, proximity to cliff edges).  The canyon country sun is intense.  Even a short hike will make you thirsty on a 100-degree day.  ALWAYS carry plenty of water when hiking (and driving for that matter), wear appropriate clothing, footwear, a hat and plenty of sunscreen.