Canyonlands-Capitol Reef, Worth the trip?

2gypsies wrote:
If going to Capitol Reef, definitely take in Hwy 12. Stop in Escalante and go to Spooky and Peek-a-Boo slot canyons.... fun!

^^^^^^^^^^I Agree^^^^^^^^^^

Images and a Map or two

If going to Capitol Reef, definitely take in Hwy 12. Stop in Escalante and go to Spooky and Peek-a-Boo slot canyons.... fun!

In addition to Little Wildhorse and Bell Canyons if you like slots I believe just to the north you have Crack and Chute which is longer and a bit more adventurous but nothing really technical. And just to the south Ding and Dang Canyons. Neither of which require any technical gear. Crack and Chute is longer but Ding and Dang about the same or a bit longer than Wildhorse and Bell.

Many have mentioned Goblin Valley State Park between Moab and Capitol Reef. If you go to Goblin Valley, ask the park staff about the Bell Canyon and Little Wild Horse Canyon just a few miles out side Goblin Valley. If you hike, this might be the highlight of your trip. Little Wild Horse was dry, Bell Canyon had some pools of water but was fun.

We've been to Arches before but went back to Moab to see Canyonlands (which we should have done the first time). Absolutely amazing place. Did both Canyonlands and Arches the last trip and would definitely do that again. Am planning on a trip to Capitol Reef as well as returning to Bryce and maybe Zion. Capitol Reef looks like it is not to be missed.

If you're going to drive from Moab to Capitol Reef, take the scenic route (191 to 95) instead of the expressway. Along the way you can visit Natural Bridges monument.

Did both last summer on the drive between Zion, Bryce, and Arches.

It breaks up the trip, but it's very similar and not quite as stunning as the "big three" in Utah. It's still absolutely beautiful and worth the stop, but I don't think it's different enough to make it a "must".

Seconding something from above, check out Goblin Valley state park. That was SUPER unique and very different from the other "red rock" parks in Utah. Worth an overnight visit and a few short hikes.

Barry2go has everything in his post. Take a day or two in the Moab area and then drop down to Monticello and west across to Bryce, but taking your time. I went to a place called Ghost Ranch above Abiquiu, N.M. which is a Presbyterian National conference grounds, and where Georgia O'keefe had a home, for an Easter Week retreat and then spent nine days coming back to Bremerton solo. Most of that time was spent camping in the national parks. The weather was great,upper 50s to lower 60s in the day to mostly mid to lower 20s at night.Awesome trip starting with the first night out in Chaco Canyon and spending nights in Monticello,Natural Bridges N.P., Goblin Valley S.P, two nites in Capital Reef, 1 VERY cold,zero degrees,night in Bryce and then across to Great Basin, up thru Winnemuca and east side of the Alvord desert and Steens mtn,have been back there about 8 times. Then thru Burns to Bend and home. I did this in my '94 Cherokee and really rolled in between stops. Would do it again in a moment.
By the way, both Ghost Rasnch and Goblin Valley were in the movies City Slickers. Ghost Ranch was in the scene where they all meet up and start the trip. Corrals and bunkhouse with Pedar Knoll in the background.

dedmiston wrote:
Wow. Y'all are posting some gorgeous photos. Keep 'em coming if you have more.

Just one note on the size of the photos: The boundaries of the forum page break at about 820 pixels wide. If you post photos larger than that, then the page doesn't render correctly. Please limit the width of your photos to 800 px or less. Just add WIDTH=800 to the image tag to limit the size.

Yes those are great Images!

Thanks for resizing them - lot easier for these old eyes to see the print on the page now. :)

Wow. Y'all are posting some gorgeous photos. Keep 'em coming if you have more.

Just one note on the size of the photos: The boundaries of the forum page break at about 820 pixels wide. If you post photos larger than that, then the page doesn't render correctly. Please limit the width of your photos to 800 px or less. Just add WIDTH=800 to the image tag to limit the size.