Alt Text

Map of Capitol Reef National Park in Utah. Outlined in green, the narrow park runs diagonally with stepped edges from the top left corner of the map to near the lower right. Terrain is shown in shades of beige and taupe. Paved roads are represented with red lines, and water features are blue.

Extended Description

State Route 24 travels across the park about a quarter of the way down its height.

Sites north of the SR 24 can only be accessed via high-clearance unpaved roads from outside the northern park boundary, including Monoliths, South Desert, Waterpocket Fold, Spring Canyon, Cathedral Valley with a primitive campground (no water), Upper Cathedral Valley Overlook, Upper South Desert Overlook, and Lower South Desert Overlook. Hartnet Road and Cathedral Valley Road join at Hartnet Junction on the western border of the park boundary heading east across the top of the park. Hartnet Road is unpaved and passes sites including Upper Cathedral Valley Overlook and Upper South Desert Overlook. Cathedral Valley Road is north of Hartnet Road and passes sites including Cathedral Valley campsite, Cathedral Junction, and Gypsum Sinkhole.

Traveling west to east, State Route 24 passes western sites including Orientation Pullout, Twin Rocks, Chimney Rock, Panorama Point, which has stargazing, Goosenecks Overlook, and Sunset Point; central sites including a Visitor Center with a ranger station; and eastern sites including Behunin Cabin, and another Orientation Pullout near the eastern border. An area around the visitor center is boxed and labeled, “See detail map above.”

A Scenic Drive continues south from the Visitor Center to pass Gifford House in the town of Fruita, Cassidy Arch, Ferns Nipple, and Golden Throne before it ends near Capitol Gorge. The park narrows south of here, and red text near an unpaved road connected to Scenic Drive leading west out of the park reads, “Extremely rough unmaintained 4WD road.” The park gently meanders down Waterpocket Fold and encompasses an unpaved road in the east that passes, from north to south, Cedar Mesa, which has a primitive campground (no water); Strike Valley; Strike Valley Overlook; Burr Trail Switchbacks; a picnic area; Post Corral; and Halls Creek Overlook before it ends at a narrow point.

Two different sections of Fishlake National Forest lie west and northwest of the park. Within the northwest portion of Fishlake NF, the Elkhorn site has a campground. State Route 12 runs south from State Route 24 through the more southerly section of Fishlake National Forest and passes Singletree, with a campground; Larb Hollow Overlook; Pleasant Creek, Oak Creek, and a site near Lower Bowns Reservoir, all of which have campgrounds; and Steep Creek and Homestead overlooks.

State Route 12 continues through Dixie National Forest, past Anasazi State Park, through Boulder, and into Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (Bureau of Land Management). Route 12 then passes Calf Creek, which has a campground, before veering off the left edge of the map. Glen Canyon National Recreation Area is tucked under the national monument and the lower tip of Capitol Reef National Park. Burr Trail Road intersects State Route 276 east of the lower tip of Capitol Reef National Park. SR 276 heads south the Bullfrog Marina, Glen Canyon NRA and northeast to Ticaboo and out towards SR 95. An unpaved road heading northwest from SR 276 reaches Starr Springs, a primitive campground (no water).

Legend

A scale in the lower left corner of the map measures distances of 5 kilometers and 5 miles. The legend reads as follows:

Red dashed line for Unpaved road,

White line encased with double, black dashed lines for Unpaved road (high-clearance 4-wheel drive recommended),

Black semicircle on a red line for Overlook, and

Red thin triangle with number for Distance indicator.

Finally, symbols following representing Ranger station, Picnic area, Campground, Primitive campground (no water), and Stargazing.