Capitol Reef is the quietest of the five Utah parks. While the crowds throng at Zion and Arches, here you have much of it almost to yourself. Right through the landscape runs the Waterpocket Fold, a nearly hundred-kilometer-long fold in the earth's crust, plus red rock walls and, in the middle of it, green orchards.
Fruita and the orchards
Right in the middle of the park lies the historic settlement of Fruita with its old orchards. In harvest season you may pick your own apples, pears or cherries there, a tradition from pioneer times. A picnic under the trees, red rocks all around, you get that only here.
The Scenic Drive
From the visitor center the Scenic Drive leads around eleven kilometers along high rock walls, with turn-offs into narrow gorges like the Capitol Gorge. A quiet stretch that shows a lot even without a big hike.
The journey there is already an experience
Many come over the Scenic Byway 12 from Bryce, named again and again in the forum as one of the most beautiful roads in the Southwest. The drive to Torrey, the town at the park entrance, is worth it in itself.
When you should come
Spring and autumn are ideal, in autumn the harvest is added. Summer is hot, winter quiet and often with snow on the heights.
