If someone was planning to spend just one full day at Capitol Reef National Park, this would be a great itinerary. We really went all out today and experienced so much of this awesome Park. We started out by seeing this adorable guy on our way in.
Next, we made our way to Hickman Bridge Trail to see the natural rock bridge. It was a nice hike, I believe about 1.8 miles total with some elevation gain, but nothing too crazy.
This isn’t Hickman Bridge, it’s just a cool formation we found and played on during the hike to the Bridge.
Just a little bit more hiking and we reached Hickman Bridge. It’s really cool to walk under it, but there is no way to get to the top.
After the Hickman Bridge Hike, we headed to Fruita (which is inside the Park) to pick fruit. We found loads of apricot trees, so apricots it was!
The boys had so much fun, and we ended up with two pounds of apricots.
Next, we visited Gifford Homestead, where they sell baked goods and treats, many made with fruit from the orchards in the Park. We opted for an apple pie (and added ice cream) and chocolate chip cookies. Lunch is served, fuel up boys!
We wanted to finish the day with another hike, so we went to Grand Wash Trail, which follows a dry streambed into the heart of Capitol Reef. The whole Trail is 4.4 miles, but we only did about half of it.
Capitol Reef National Park is absolutely beautiful, and it wasn’t very crowded. We only saw one other set of hikers on this trail.
Once we got to the narrow section, we hiked for a bit more, then turned around to head back. It was fun to walk through the canyon; the sheer size of the walls of the canyon are so impressive and it justs makes you feel tiny.
We had a really fun and full day at Capitol Reef!
If you were using this as your itinerary, you would definitely want to catch the sunset at Goosenecks (although if you’re in an RV you won’t be able to drive to Goosenecks due to size restrictions) or Sunset Point.
When I was in the desert, I saw lots of snakes, burrowing owls, and at dusk, night hawks. The latter are bug eaters, but larger than you’d expect, and very aerobatic ! The owls are little, and do a lot of standing around their burrows, usually on the slopes of gullies . Keep watching !
Of course we didn’t see any of those amazing things! I’m sure the minute our clan of loud lunatics came their way, they scattered!
You’re pictures are amazing! Professional quality!! What type of camera are you using? When we finally have the time to travel cross country, we’ll be following your itinerary! It’s exactly our type of trip. 😊
Awww girl, you are the sweetest! Just using our iPhone (Sage) and Adroid (Brian). All the good pics are Brian’s, he is much better than I am!