Capitol Reef National Park + Torrey, Utah
- Catherine Cantu
- May 30
- 9 min read
If you're following along, you'll know my husband and I honeymooned in Utah last year. We started in Zion National Park and then headed to Bryce Canyon National Park. Our third stop on our trip was Torrey, Utah to visit our third Utah National Park - Capitol Reef. When we first arrived, I was a bit underwhelmed, and by the time we left, I was mesmerized.
The drive from Tropic to Torrey was absolutely stunning. You'll take Scenic Byway 12, and it's roughly a two hour and 10 minute drive. Scenic Byway 12 is a 124-mile road that connects Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef, and it is known as the "All-American Road." You will pass the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, and if you have more time than we did, I'd recommend spending some time in this area because even the pullouts along the road were stunning.
We hadn't anticipated cooler weather in the middle of Utah, so we stopped in at Utah Canyon Outdoors and Escalante Outfitters' Gear Shop in Escalante to each buy another warmer layer. These shops were so cute, and if you're in need of anymore gear, you'll likely find what you're looking for at one of these. The staff at both shops were also so kind and extremely helpful. They are across the street from each other.
I really wanted to try a different coffee spot on the morning we left Tropic, and I truly had my heart set on going to a spot in Escalante that a lovely mother and daughter told me about when we were on a shuttle in Zion - Kiva Koffeehouse. Unfortunately, it wasn't in the cards for us because it is closed on Tuesdays, which just so happened to be the day we were passing through. They are open Wednesdays through Sundays from 8 am to 4 pm. The building was designed to compliment its surrounding landscape and could possibly be one of the most beautiful coffeehouses in the world.
We ended up at Tumbleweed Coffee in Boulder, Utah where I got an iced dusk til dawn latte (brown sugar cinnamon). This space was super cute, and the coffee was delish!
Then came the really fun part - the most scenic parts of the drive! You'll pass over Boulder Mountain in Dixie National Forest. We saw patches of snow up there, so I imagine parts of this road may become impassible during the Winter. We were quite literally driving through the clouds at 9,600 feet, and I kept making my husband pull over so I could take more photos.
Now, we arrived in Torrey in the middle of the week (Tues/Wed), and it turned out that a few of the businesses I had scoped out that I wanted to visit were closed (The Wild Rabbit Cafe & Shooke Coffee Roasters). However, all of the ones we did get to go to were total gems that I highly recommend going to.
When we got there, we were pretty hungry, so our first order of business was finding lunch. We went to Rock Reef Cafe - think cute diner vibes. I had a delicious and very fresh tasting fried chicken salad, and Alex had a southwest barbecue wrap that he really enjoyed.
After lunch, we walked over to Dark Sky Coffee where I got an incredible iced macadamia nut latte. This spot is family-owned, so please go and support them!
I needed at least one Torrey, Utah coffee spot to recommend, and it looked like none of the shops would be open on Wednesday, so I opted to have two coffees on this day - ha!
After I got my coffee, we headed into Capitol Reef National Park to work on getting our bearings straight. Notably, parts of Capitol Reef are only accessible if you have a high clearance vehicle and all wheel drive. If you've got more time to spend here than we did, I'd make sure you have the right type of vehicle to check out more areas. I would have loved to go to Cathedral Valley and the Temples of the Sun and Moon. The roads in this area of the park can become impassable if they're wet, so if you are planning to visit those areas, checking road conditions before your visit is a good idea.
If you’re planning to go to more than two national parks in one year, you absolutely should buy an America the Beautiful Parks Pass. It’s $80 and gets you into so many different places for one year. You’ll need to order it ahead of time because a physical card will be shipped to you. You can purchase the pass at the link above. You can also find information about which sites it grants you access to and more on how it works. It’s totally the move if you’re roadtripping Utah’s Mighty Five as we were!
We first stopped in at the Visitor's Center and bought our souvenirs and then headed to Gifford House to get our hands on their infamous pies. The house is located 1 mile south of the Visitor Center on the scenic drive. When we visited, parts of the scenic drive were closed for improvements - I do not believe the road has fully re-opened or that the improvements are near completion, so I would look into which portions of the scenic drive are open, if any, before your visit. We were able to reach this area at least. The house is open seasonally, usually from March 14 (Pi Day, ha!) to late November. When open, the house's hours are from 9 am - 12 pm and from 12:45 pm to 4 pm. We got peach pie and a mixed berry pie that were to die for - this is a must-do!!! We ended up going back for more pie later and got ice cream to go with it the second time we stopped in.
Capitol Reef is unique in that it offers the history and sites of the early Mormon settlers to the Fruita Valley. Along Utah State Route 24, you can see Fruita Schoolhouse wherein children of the Fruita community were taught from 1896 to 1941.
You'll also be able to see Behunin Cabin where a family of 15 lived - the parents being Tabitha Jane and Elijah Cutler Behunin. The cabin was only lived in for approximately one year due to a poor location choice. Eventually, they moved to what is now known as the Fruita area, and their daughter Nettie became the first schoolteacher at Fruita Schoolhouse at just 12 years of age.
You'll also be able to see Petroglyph Panels (markings left behind by those in the Fremont Culture who lived in the area for 1,000 years from around 300 -1300 Common Era). Archaeologists named this group of people the Fremont Culture after the Fremont River Canyon wherein their culture was first recognized. The petroglyph panels are accessible via two wooden boardwalks, also along Utah State Route 24.
After we'd driven around some, we started to head back towards Torrey. Near the Visitor's Center, you'll see an iconic staple of Capitol Reef known as The Castle. I think I just took this photo from the car, honestly, but wow is it beautiful.
A few minutes more up the road towards Torrey is another stunning summit in the park - Chimney Rock. The trail here is another one I'd scoped out that we were considering doing. It's a 3.6 mile loop trail that AllTrails says is moderate and has 790 feet of elevation gain.
Before we went back into town, we did stop and do the Goosenecks Overlook Trail. It's only 0.2 miles with 26 feet of elevation game and is definitely classified as easy. We didn't spend too much time here (less than 15 minutes), but the views are incredible, so it's totally worth a stop to snap a few photos.
The trailhead for Sunset Point is also here, so you could do both of them at the same time, but we went back and did Sunset Point the following day.
Once we got back into town, we set out to check into our Airbnb. We were only staying in Torrey for one night, and we booked #3 Studio Home in the Heart of Utah. It was perfect for our needs, and I would definitely stay here again as our host Danielle was lovely and so communicative. I've linked the Airbnb listing and the direct booking site below.
When we were driving around Torrey, we saw Etta Place Cidery from the road, and it just looked too cute to not stop in for a drink. We are SO glad we did because this place was charming, the patio had the most incredible views, the drinks were delicious, and the owners Robert and Ann were some of the kindest people I've ever encountered. Alex and I split a cider flight, and we each got a cider-based cocktail. I got their "Gingerado" (Etta Place Gingered Cider, Waterpocket Temple of the Moon Gin, mint simple, and lemon), and Alex got the "Etta-Rita" (Pasote Blanco Tequila, Etta Place Quince Mead, and EP lemon-lime-grapefruit session) with a serrano infusion. The ciders we chose for our flight were the EP raspberry-hibiscus session mead, the EP pineapple-passion fruit session mead, and the Camp Cohab plum flavored cider. Session meads are honey meads infused with fruit purees. Everything was so wonderful. Sundays through Wednesdays, they are open from 11 am - 7 pm. Thursdays through Saturdays, they are open from 11 am - 9 pm.
When we left Etta Place Cidery, we went back to our Airbnb to freshen up for dinner. We'd made a reservation at Hunt & Gather Restaurant because it was one spot I definitely wanted to go, and wow, this was one of the best dinners of our whole trip.
I got grapefruit fizz to drink, and Alex got a martini. We just split a few different food items, and they were so good that I can literally still taste everything as I am writing this. Their soup of the day was a creamy portobello, and when I tell you this was the best soup of my life, I am not exaggerating. We also got South Texas antelope (app) and the broken arrow ranch elk dish (main). Yum yum yum!
After dinner, we headed back into the park to try and catch the sunset.
We chose Panorama Point to post up at, and we brought some pie that we'd gotten from Gifford House with us to eat for dessert. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, so we didn't get a magnificent sunset, but it was still a lovely way to spend our only night in Capitol Reef/Torrey.
The following day, our morning activity was a hike, and I'd picked Hickman Bridge Trail. I'd read the trailhead parking lot fills up pretty quickly in the mornings, so we got there around 8 am. We are so glad we got there when we did because we had no trouble finding a spot to park, and we passed so many people on our way back to the car that were just beginning their hike (an entire school field trip, actually).
This trail is a 1.7 mile out-and-back trail with 416 feet of elevation gain. It is classified as moderate in terms of difficulty.
This hike is actually what really made me fall in love with Capitol Reef. The whole trail from start to finish was just stunning, and Hickman Bridge is incredibly beautiful (and so big!!).
We finished around 10 am, and we were trying to hang around until lunch time before we started heading to Moab, so that's why we went back and did Sunset Point Trail. It's an easy 0.7 miles with 36 feet of elevation gain. The views from her are pretty unreal.
After this, we had a few more minutes to kill, so we went and got more pie from Gifford House to take with us to our next destination. We also scoped out some of the orchards.
If you're in Capitol Reef during the right season for picking some of the fruits from their orchards, you'll be able to! Make sure to only harvest fruit from orchards that have U-Pick Fruit signs, and make sure you pay for whatever fruit you've taken at a self-pay station. The fenced orchards will be open from 9 am to 5 pm, and the unfenced orchards are open from dawn til dusk. The orchard pictured below is Gifford Place. I took these photos through the fence as it was not open during our visit.
It was finally lunch time! Capitol Burger was where I wanted to go. They post on Facebook daily where they're going to be. I'd scoured their Facebook page and had a decent idea they'd be out and about on this particular day, and I even had an idea of where to look. We drove around some, and the food truck was not in sight. Eventually, we'd given up and started driving to my second choice (Chak Balam Mexican Restaurant). On our way to the Mexican restaurant, we passed a truck towing the Capitol Burger food truck. We literally turned around, followed them, and waited for them to set up. Their Facebook post was just a little delayed on this day!
Multiple people were lined up waiting for them to open, and we even ended up having to wait in line some. The wait was worth it. I got the pulled pork burger, and Alex got the bacon cheeseburger, but he subbed American cheese for blue cheese. I had pretty high expectations for these burgers because I'd seen other bloggers post about how they're life changing. I was thrilled to learn they were not exaggerating. I don't think I said one word while I was eating this delicious, delicious burger.
In conclusion, Torrey was lovely, charming, and delicious, and Capitol Reef was totally mesmerizing. I would definitely go back to this area!
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