ColumbiaMagazine.com
Printed from:

Welcome to Columbia Magazine  
 



































 
Travel: Capitol Reef National Park, Utah

By Robert Ellis

In many ways Capitol Reef has that Zion National Park look and feel to it. While less popular, it is unique in its own way. I personally rate it very high and most definitely worth the time and effort to visit. In the heart of the park there's a 200 acre farm/orchard and buildings left over from early Mormon settlers.

Along with this, there's hiking trails, the popular Hickman Bridge Arch and a slot canyon you can travel through with your car. At the end of the drive when you can't go any further by vehicle, you can continue hiking the canyon for miles on foot.

Portions of Capitol Reef hosts the ever popular Burr and Cathedral Loop trails. Higher clearance, four wheel drive (or AWD) vehicles are highly recommended if you want to experience these two adventure trails.


Note: We'll be posting photos from Robert's latest trip over the couple of days. Bookmark this page for more photos, and links to the other installments. --Pen

More from this trip:
Robert's previous trip out West:
You can purchase prints of Robert's photos, plus his unique wood cutting boards and related wares at his online store: foodiebords.etsy.com.


This story was posted on 2022-11-23 13:24:12
Printable: this page is now automatically formatted for printing.
Have comments or corrections for this story? Use our contact form and let us know.



Travel: On the way to Hickman Bridge Arch



2022-11-23 - Capitol Reef National Park, Utah - Photo by Robert Ellis, Robert Ellis Woodworking.
Robert writes, "This scene is near the entrance to Capitol Reef National Park. This photo was taken on the hike to the Hickman Bridge Arch. You can spot some hikers on the trail at the bottom left of the photo."

Read More... | Comments? | Click here to share, print, or bookmark this photo.



Travel: Driving the Slot Canyon in Capitol Reef National Park



2022-11-23 - Capitol Reef National Park, Utah - Photo by Robert Ellis, Robert Ellis Woodworking.
Robert writes, "Driving along through the slot canyon. Road ends with a turn around, or you can park and continue for miles on foot. The only downside is you don't want to be caught on this road when it's raining... it becomes impassable. The park service recommends checking the weather forecast before you head down this road."

Read More... | Comments? | Click here to share, print, or bookmark this photo.



Travel: Heading back from hiking to Hickman Bridge Arch



2022-11-25 - Capitol Reef National Park, Utah - Photo by Robert Ellis, Robert Ellis Woodworking.
Robert writes, "Here we're stopping for a break and to take in the gorgeous surroundings. We both loved this trail!"

Read More... | Comments? | Click here to share, print, or bookmark this photo.



Travel: Cathedral Valley Loop trail



2022-11-27 - Capitol Reef National Park, Utah - Photo By Robert Ellis, Robert Ellis Woodworking.
Robert writes, "The Grand Finale for our Capitol Reef Park visit...Cathedral Valley Loop trail. I mentioned this trail in my opening remarks about this park. I knew about this place before our visit, but was also aware it's not gonna be doable in a two wheel drive rental car...and yet here's an image from the trail. I put the notion of experiencing this place behind me, but as we were leaving Capitol Reef National Park we suddenly stumble upon a sign for this loop. For whatever reason at the time it didn't occur to me that this WAS the trail I wrote off as not gonna be able see...and...not until after driving for a couple miles on this dirt road, cresting the hill, taking some pics and getting back on the highway did it occur to me we got to experience it, albeit for only a couple miles.

Check this off the bucket list. What a beautiful place!

It is around a 57 mile loop, off-road trail. Part of the time you're in the National Park, and other times you leave it. Both entrances let you experience the bentonite clay formations you see in this photo. A quick search of images of bentonite hills on the internet returns lots of out-of-this-world drone pics from above the formations.

We just got a sampling, but this was my favorite place and image I took while visiting our last Park in Utah."

Read More... | Comments? | Click here to share, print, or bookmark this photo.



 

































 
 
Quick Links to Popular Features


Looking for a story or picture?
Try our Photo Archive or our Stories Archive for all the information that's appeared on ColumbiaMagazine.com.

 

Contact us: Columbia Magazine and columbiamagazine.com are published by Linda Waggener and Pen Waggener, PO Box 906, Columbia, KY 42728.
Phone: 270.403.0017


Please use our contact page, or send questions about technical issues with this site to webmaster@columbiamagazine.com. All logos and trademarks used on this site are property of their respective owners. All comments remain the property and responsibility of their posters, all articles and photos remain the property of their creators, and all the rest is copyright 1995-Present by Columbia Magazine. Privacy policy: use of this site requires no sharing of information. Voluntarily shared information may be published and made available to the public on this site and/or stored electronically. Anonymous submissions will be subject to additional verification. Cookies are not required to use our site. However, if you have cookies enabled in your web browser, some of our advertisers may use cookies for interest-based advertising across multiple domains. For more information about third-party advertising, visit the NAI web privacy site.