By Michael Lanza
Chances are, when you think about hiking in southern Utah, Capitol Reef National Park does not come to mind first. Or maybe even second or third. Ask many hikers and national parks fans to list Utah’s Big 5 parks—the others being Zion, Bryce Canyon, Arches, and Canyonlands—and Capitol Reef will probably bring up the rear on most people’s list. If they even remember it.
If you’re one of those people, this article will give you an entirely new impression of Capitol Reef and make you want to hike there. If you’ve already gotten a taste of the park and long to explore more of it, you’ll find below a tick list of hikes to take there.
I’ve experienced the beauty of Capitol Reef’s trails and backcountry through numerous hiking and backpacking trips there over more than three decades—most recently, visits in each of the past three years—including the 10 years I spent as a field editor for Backpacker magazine and even longer running this blog.
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I’m not sure how many times I’ve walked a trail or stood at an overlook somewhere in Capitol Reef’s backcountry as the setting sun painted the multi-colored cliffs and towering stone beehives, pyramids, and castles with shifting, vivid evening light that rendered the landscape deeper, broader, more powerful with each passing minute. The sunsets here are crazy gorgeous.
From broad canyons with soaring walls to narrow slots, short and easy hikes ideal for young kids to moderate-distance trails that most hikers would love and some very challenging outings—like my family’s descent of a slot canyon that required four rappels, an adventure our kids loved when they were 11 and nine; and backpacking a mostly off-trail traverse along the spine of the park’s signature geologic feature, the Waterpocket Fold—I have witnessed the variety and striking natural wonder of this underappreciated gem of Utah’s canyon country and concluded it’s just as nice as Utah’s other four parks. But not as crowded.
Not among the ranks of our giant wilderness parks— at just over 240,000 acres, Capitol Reef could fit inside the Grand Canyon five times and Yellowstone nine times—it’s nonetheless the second largest of Utah’s Big 5, smaller only than Canyonlands (which is large enough to be geographically divided into four named districts) and nearly equals the area of Zion, Bryce, and Arches combined.
There’s plenty to explore in Capitol Reef. And this story will serve as your guide to doing just that.
Spring and fall are the peak hiking seasons in Capitol Reef, though its higher elevations often ensure relatively comfortable temperatures extending into June and returning earlier in September than in lower hiking destinations like Zion Canyon. Be aware that some narrow canyons in the park pose flash-flood danger. Know in advance—you can inquire at the visitor center—whether you’re entering a narrow canyon and whether rain is in the forecast.
The first four of the several hikes described below are free for anyone to read. But reading this story in full, as well as some other stories linked below, requires a paid subscription to The Big Outside. See also my Custom Trip Planning page to learn how I can help you plan your trip in Capitol Reef or southern Utah or any trip you read about at The Big Outside.
Please share your thoughts or questions about any of these hikes or your own favorites in Capitol Reef in the comments section at the bottom of this story. I try to respond to all comments.
Explore the best of the Southwest. See “The 15 Best Hikes in Utah’s National Parks”
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Navajo Knobs Trail
I’ll state this up front: If you take one moderate-length dayhike in Capitol Reef, make it this one. There are few dayhikes in the entire National Park System, never mind in Utah’s parks, that compare with the Navajo Knobs Trail.
This 9.4-mile, out-and-back hike, with 1,620 feet of elevation gain and loss, starts at the same trailhead as the immensely popular Hickman Bridge Trail (below) but soon splits from it—and sees very light hiker traffic beyond that junction. The trail ascends to an overlook above Hickman Natural Bridge and then winds upward for 2.3 miles to the Rim Overlook (4.6 miles round-trip with 1,100 feet of uphill and downhill), with a sweeping view from 1,000 feet above the Fremont River Valley of the cliffs and the chaotically rumpled topography of the Waterpocket Fold and the Henry Mountains in the distance.
Continuing generally west past the Rim Overlook, the Navajo Knobs Trail meanders along the canyon rim, around dry draws and below enormous cliffs and towers, with continuously expanding panoramas of Capitol Reef and distinctive, giant formations like Pectols Pyramid, The Castle, and Fern’s Nipple.
At 4.7 miles from the trailhead, the trail concludes with some easy scrambling to the tiny summit of one of the pinnacles named the Navajo Knobs, at 6,979 feet, worth the effort for the prospect it offers of the varied and fascinating geology and topography of Capitol Reef National Park. But the Navajo Knobs Trail offers a five-star hike, however far you venture out before turning back.
The Navajo Knobs Trail starts at the Hickman Bridge Trailhead, on the north side of UT 24, two miles east of the park visitor center. The trailhead has a small parking lot that usually fills up, with motorists parking where possible along the highway; get there early for better parking access and to beat the heat on a hot day.
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Hickman Bridge
Immensely popular for great scenery starting right at the trailhead and continuing every step of the way as well as for its short, easy distance, the Hickman Bridge Trail loops around the base of the natural sandstone bridge, which spans 133 feet and rises 125 feet high. At less than two miles out-and-back with 400 feet of elevation gain and loss, it takes only about 90 minutes, great for families with young kids and adults not interested in longer hikes. It splits off the Navajo Knobs Trail (above) at a trail junction just a quarter-mile from the trailhead.
The Hickman Bridge Trailhead is on the north side of UT 24, two miles east of the park visitor center and has a small parking lot that usually fills up, with vehicles parking where possible along the highway.
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Chimney Rock Loop and Chimney Rock Canyon to Spring Canyon
Rising 300 feet above UT 24, Chimney Rock is an unmistakable natural spire visible to travelers along the highway. But most of them drive past without experiencing the far superior scenery on the relatively easy, 3.6-mile Chimney Rock Loop, which climbs about 800 feet onto the mesa above Chimney Rock, offering a bird’s-eye view of the Fremont River Valley and the sheer redrock cliffs that rise above it. Most hikers make the lollipop loop counterclockwise, getting most of the uphill done at the front end.
While the loop hike is relatively popular, far fewer hikers venture beyond it to explore farther down Chimney Rock Canyon to Spring Canyon, where tall, deeply red and tan walls rise high overhead and boulders flank the trail in many places. Following Chimney Rock Canyon’s trail down to its confluence with Spring Canyon adds three miles out-and-back and minimal down and up to the loop hike—and you can turn around at any point or explore up or down Spring Canyon.
Hikers looking for a longer and more adventurous outing can continue downstream in lower Spring Canyon—reaching the perennial spring not too far below the Chimney Rock Canyon junction—to the canyon’s mouth at the Fremont River, exploring that canyon’s ever-changing contours and fascinating geology. From the Chimney Rock Trailhead, it’s about a nine-mile hike (slightly longer if you add the side trip on the Chimney Rock Loop) down Chimney Rock Canyon and lower Spring Canyon to the Fremont River, which you must ford to reach UT 24, about two miles east of the Hickman Bridge and Cohab Canyon trailheads. Be prepared for a long day with a lot of sun exposure and look at the river where you’ll have to ford it before committing to the full canyon descent to make sure it’s low enough to ford safely.
The Chimney Rock Trailhead is on UT 24, three miles west of the park visitor center. The lot often fills in spring and fall so arrive early.
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Cohab Canyon
Want to sample Capitol Reef’s Utah-caliber scenery on a relatively easy hike of two to three hours? Head up the Cohab Canyon Trail.
Although it extends for only 1.7 miles one-way between UT 24 and Fruita, with a bit over 400 feet of uphill, the Cohab Canyon Trail leads you through a fascinating defile of walls sculpted with countless “windows,” across rock gardens and sloping slickrock, and along the rim of a slot canyon—and offers the option of very worthwhile, short side trails to dramatic clifftop ledges at the North and South Fruita Overlooks (see photo in this story’s lead paragraphs).
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From the west end of the Cohab Canyon Trail, you’ll ascend switchbacks for about 400 feet in a half-mile to a high overlook of Fruita—another great early-evening or sunset view. From there the trail descends steadily to UT 24.
Slightly more than a half-mile west of UT 24, don’t pass up the side trail that winds uphill over ledges a short distance to a plateau and then forks at spur trails to the North Overlook (0.4 mile from the Cohab Canyon Trail) and South Overlook (0.5 mile from the Cohab Canyon Trail), which have breathtaking views from about 400 feet above the valley of the Fremont River.
Cohab Canyon’s eastern trailhead is on the south side of UT 24, two miles east of the park visitor center, a short distance east of the Hickman Bridge Trailhead. The west end of the Cohab Canyon Trail is across Scenic Drive from Fruita campground.
Gear up right for your hikes. See the best trekking poles
and “The 10 Best Hiking Daypacks.”
See my stories about two family trips to Capitol Reef, “Plunging Into Solitude: Dayhiking, Slot Canyoneering, and Backpacking in Capitol Reef” and “Playing the Memory Game in Escalante, Capitol Reef, and Bryce Canyon,” and all stories about hiking and backpacking Capitol Reef National Park and all stories about hiking and backpacking in southern Utah at The Big Outside.
Find more information about trails in Capitol Reef at nps.gov/care/planyourvisit/hiking.htm.