Capitol Reef National Park Travel Information
Capitol Reef National Park encloses a 100 mile long ridge of rock that
was
thrust up from the earth millions of year ago. The strata that was
forced upward
folded back on itself trapping water in the process -- a
"waterpocket fold."
Erosion subsequently created marvelously-colored and wildly-varied
rock formations
of great beauty out of the ridge. (The "reef" describes the barrier
created
by the rock while "capitol" refers to several dome like rock
formations resembling
the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.)
Capitol Reef offers hiking opportunities and some good scenic
drives. Early
settlers in the region planted orchards of cherries, apricots,
peaches, pears
and apples that are open for picking from late-June to October. The
campground
is pleasantly situated near the orchards in a grassy well shaded area.
Capitol Reef is located in south central Utah some 60 miles south
of I-70.
It is not near any substantial towns. Its isolation makes it the
least visited
of Utah's national parks and the lack of crowds definitely adds to
the experience.
View
Area Map.
To learn more about Capitol Reef, select a topic of interest from
the left-hand
column. Click on the link to order your FREE
Capitol Reef Travel Planner.
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