One Day in Capitol Reef: Hikes and Activities you Can’t Miss

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Are you planning a one-day trip to Capitol Reef National Park?

Well, I’ve got you covered with this itinerary. It’s one day in Capitol Reef full of hiking, exploring and, most importantly, eating.

This itinerary is exactly what I did, and I’ll also share some mistakes and how I think you can best take advantage of your time. You’ll love this guide if you like hiking, which I think is the only and best way to get to know a national park!

I visited Capitol Reef National Park during my 2-year road trip across the USA, while I was doing the Grand Circle road trip, and it’s the park that most looks like another world to me.

This national park has it all, from a ton of accessible hikes and a scenic drive to gigantic formations you can only visit with a 4×4 vehicle.

Capitol Reef National Park is a wild place where you always feel like you’re in the backcountry. It has fewer crowds than Arches and Zion National Park, and it has good food surrounding it (pies and burgers – more on that later).

While one day in Capitol Reef will leave you wanting more, you can get a good feel for it if you plan well and take advantage of your time.

How to Get to Capitol Reef National Park

The closest major airport to Capitol Reef is the Salt Lake City airport, 3.5 hours away (220 miles)

The second closest is the Las Vegas airport, 5 hours away (330 miles). Denver is 6.5 hours away, and there are several regional airports close by that are a pain to fly to.

The best way to get to Capitol Reef National Park is through Las Vegas because you get a lot more bang for your buck.

If you start in Las Vegas, you have to also drive through Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon. So, you get to see 3 national parks in not much more driving time.

You could even keep going and do a big 2-week loop through Utah, Colorado and Arizona (called the Grand Circle). You’d see 7 national parks and the most iconic American landscapes, showcasing the best of the best of the southwest!

Best Lodging for One Day in Capitol Reef

Though you’ll only be spending one day in Capitol Reef, you’ll probably want to stay close to the park before or after your visit. The area around the park has great free camping spots and hotels.

Free Camping Near Capitol Reef National Park

I’m all about making adventure and travel affordable, and the free camping near Capitol Reef National Park is amazing – great views and close to the park.

The most convenient free campsite is only 13 minutes from the Visitor Center.

Look for Overlook Point Camping, which is just east of Torrey, and you’ll find dispersed camping far down that road!

But there are other places you can camp for free close to Capitol Reef, such as around Singletree Campground, at North Cemetery and then beyond the park close to Hanksville.

If you’re planning any sort of trip in the Southwest, I actually made a free map with 70+ free car camping spots I found and vetted during my 2 years on the road. It’s my go-to resource whenever I’m planning where to sleep for the night.

👉 Grab the map for free below – I’ll email it to you right away!

Regardless of where you choose to go, always do your own research too. Use the apps Campendium and iOverlander to see people’s reviews of the sites before going. I’ve used them for years!

If you’d rather stay at a paid campground with more amenities, there are several close to the park and 1 inside the park.

Hotels near Capitol Reef National Park

Torrey, which is a town 15 minutes from Capitol Reef, unfortunately doesn’t have very affordable hotel options. Here are the best affordable lodging options in the area:

• Broken Spur Inn (motel-style with some cabins in wagons)
• Red Sands Hotel and Spa (a classic, family-friendly hotel)

To browse more hotel options in the area, check out the map below! The most convenient lodging will be in Torrey, but you’ll find some awesome unique stays in the wild.

Restaurants Near Capitol Reef National Park

We were surprised by the quality of the restaurants near Capitol Reef National Park!

The park is a hub for canyoneering in the US, which has brought many cool people with good vibes. There’s a really cool scene in Torrey, with great restaurants.

If you’re headed towards Moab, there’s also an amazing burger joint in Hanksville (45 minutes from Capitol Reef). We ate there after an intense day of hiking and it blew our minds!

Here are the restaurants I would recommend near Capitol Reef National Park:

• Capitol Burger (Torrey)
• The Wild Rabbit (Torrey)
• Stan’s Burger Shack (Hanksville)

I loved the Burger Shack, and Capitol Burger and The Wild Rabbit were recommended by a friend who lived in Torrey for years!

How to Spend One Day in Capitol Reef

One day isn’t enough to get to know this enormous off-the-beaten-path national park, but you’ll get a good gist of it with this itinerary!

1. Visitor Center

Head over to the Visitor Center as soon as it opens.

I always recommend spending some time at the Visitor Center. You can learn about the park, ask park rangers about the hikes you’re about to do and watch the park film!

You can also ask them about the pies.

2. Breakfast the Right Way

Go get some of Capitol Reef’s famous pies for breakfast – you need fuel for all the hiking!

The Gifford Homestead is open from March 14 (pi day) to November, and the pies run out early in the morning.

Why they Make Pies (A Little History)

Mormons settled the valley in 1880, and the town was known for its orchards. It was something of an Eden in such a dry landscape.

The town was eventually abandoned, but parts of it, like the schoolhouse and Gifford Homestead, are still standing in Capitol Reef National Park.

The original orchards of the Gifford Homestead are still there too.

You can get pies made from the orchards in Capitol Reef if you’re there during the right season. And they’re so good that they sell out quickly!

The park ranger told us to go in the morning, but we made the mistake of hiking before getting our pies. It made more sense to eat pie after the hike.

But when we got there at noon, they were out!

So don’t be like us. Get yourself a pie while you can! Enjoy it at a picnic table under the orange cliffs of Capitol Reef.

3. Time to Hike (2 Options)

There are a BUNCH of hikes in Capitol Reef National Park, but the best two were given to us by a park ranger.

He told us if we only had one day in Capitol Reef, these were the two recommended hikes to see a little bit of everything:

• The Navajo Knobs Trail
• Cassidy Arch to the Grand Wash

1. The Navajo Knobs Trail

You can see Navajo Knobs from the Visitor Center. The highest point you can see? Yep, that’s it.

This trail is tough (9.5 miles), with 2,700 feet of elevation gain.

The entire first half is continuously straight up, and it’ll take 4-7 hours to complete the hike depending on your fitness level.

If you’re up for the challenge, Navajo Knobs has the best views of the park. It’s worth trying, and if you realize mid-way you can’t finish, there’s a half-way option.

Rim Overlook is less than halfway up to Navajo Knobs and still offers a stunning view.

How to Hike the Navajo Knobs Trail

Start at the Hickman Bridge Trailhead.

The hike gets steep right off the bat, until a fork in the road where you’ll want to go right.

After this, the hike is simple. It’s a straight shot up to Navajo Knobs, passing by Rim Overlook on the way.

The hike down is back the way you came.

2. Cassidy Arch to the Grand Wash

Cassidy Arch is impressive and worth hiking to.

It surprises you from nowhere because it doesn’t rise above you. Instead, you look down at the arch and then even further down into the abyss under it. It’s a little nerve-wracking!

The Grand Wash is a 2.4-mile-long canyon you can walk through. Straight-up vertical cliffs tower over you the entire way, and it gets extremely narrow at one point in The Narrows.

There are several ways to hike this trail because of logistical issues (it’s not a loop):

how to do Capitol reef’s best hike

The hike to see Cohab Canyon, Cassidy Arch and the Grand Wash is the hike the park ranger recommended we do.

To do it, you need to leave a car at the Grand Wash Trailhead. Then, drive to Jorgensen Pasture Parking and to the Cohab Canyon Trail (which is a few feet down the road from the parking lot).

This hike in Capitol Reef connects Cohab Canyon with the Frying Pan Trail and finishes on the Grand Wash Trail.

The hike puts you deep in the wilderness, and it feels amazing.

Since we only have 1 car, what Lala and I did while hiking to Cassidy Arch was split up.

I went in front of her because I’m a bit faster and then hiked back to the car. Meanwhile, she got to Cassidy Arch and started the Grand Wash. I drove to the Grand Wash and hiked it until I met up with her, and then we both walked to the car.

This hike was a better choice than the Navajo Knobs trail for one day in Capitol Reef because you see more of a variety of formations. It’s seriously amazing!

If you don’t want to deal with these logistics, you can park at the Grand Wash Trailhead. Then, you’d hike through the narrows and up to Cassidy Arch… and then back to the car.

But you’d miss out on Cohab Canyon!

4. Scenic Drive

The scenic drive in Capitol Reef National Park has been one of my favorites in all the national parks I’ve visited.

You don’t have to get out of your car.

Cliffs and formations rise above you, not only on the sides of the road, but right in front too. You don’t miss out on everything as the driver for once!

The scenic drive begins in Fruita, right past the Cohab Canyon Trailhead. It’s a paved road until you hit Capitol Gorge Road.

After that, the unpaved road isn’t bad at all. Any car can make it to the end, and I recommend you keep going because the truly impressive formations start appearing once you’re on the unpaved road.

5. Another Hike?

There’s one last classic hike that’s short and absolutely worth doing.

It’s the Hickman Bridge hike. It leads to an amazing arch that towers above you.

The hike to Hickman Bridge is just 1.7 miles roundtrip.

If you have the energy after the morning hike, definitely try it. You won’t regret it.

I did this hike after following this exact itinerary and, though I was exhausted, I loved it.

6. A Satisfying Dinner

Like I said earlier, there are some great restaurants around Capitol Reef National Park.

Capitol Burger and The Wild Rabbit are 15 minutes from the park in Torrey, and come highly recommended by a friend of ours who lived there for 2 years.

If you’re headed in the opposite direction of Torrey, towards Arches National Park and Moab, you can stop in Hanksville.

That was where we stopped, and Stan’s Burger Shack looked good. Well… It was AMAZING.

Well-priced burgers that taste like heaven.