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Utah Highway 24 (UT-24)Utah Hwy. 24 (SR-24) offers the main access to Capitol Reef National Park.
Auto Tour, Capitol Reef National Park
Explore Auto Tour in Capitol Reef National Park with grouped stops, trails, and related park places collected under the same planning theme.
Auto Tour Stops and Trip Ideas
Use this Auto Tour guide to compare the stops that belong together in Capitol Reef National Park, then decide which ones deserve map time or a saved trip stop.
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Orientation PulloutRead the interpretive sign here to orient yourself at the park entrance, and take a moment to view Twin Rocks, a prominent rock formation you can see from this pullout.
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Under Pressure Exhibit PulloutThe Waterpocket Fold is the result of pressure caused by tectonic plates pressing together about 60 million years ago.
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Chimney Rock TrailheadThe Chimney Rock Trailhead is the starting point for two of Capitol Reef's more challenging trails: the Chimney Rock Loop and the Spring Canyon Route.
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The Fluted WallThe Fluted Wall is a prominent rock formation striped with eroded vertical grooves.
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Capitol Reef Scenic DriveCapitol Reef's main road is called Scenic Drive, and it certainly lives up to its name.
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Cathedral Valley LoopOne of the most popular ways to take in the Cathedral Valley is via the Cathedral Valley Loop Tour.
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East Entrance/Orientation PulloutWelcome to Capitol Reef National Park! Here's where to get your bearings for an auto tour that actually begins before you reach the park visitor center.
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Behunin CabinThe one-room Behunin Cabin was built in 1882 by Mormon settler Elijah Cutler Behunin and his family.
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Grand Wash Trailhead (Highway 24)The Grand Wash Trailhead, which has parking and restrooms off Highway 24, is actually one of two trailheads for this relatively flat and easy trail.
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Sculpting a Masterpiece Exhibit PulloutFrom this pullout on Highway 24 you are looking at Navajo Dome, formed by wind, water, gravity, and uplift of the land itself.
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Capitol DomeCapitol Reef gets its name in part from the Capitol Dome, is white sandstone formation on the north side of Hwy. 24.
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Fremont RiverThe small community of Fruita would not have existed without the irrigation possibilities provided by the Fremont River.
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Hickman Bridge TrailheadThe Hickman Bridge Trailhead provides access to the Hickman Bridge Trail and the more strenuous Rim Overlook/Navajo Knobs Trail.
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PetroglyphsThe Fremont Culture people who inhabited the Waterpocket Fold region for hundreds of years left petroglyphs, or rock drawings, in many locations across what is now Capitol Reef National Park.
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Historic Fruita SchoolThe historic, one-room Fruita School was built in 1896 when local settler Elijah Cutler Behunin donated land for its construction; the town was still known as Junction.
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Capitol Reef Visitor CenterThe Capitol Reef Visitor Center is open daily, except for some major holidays, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
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Ripple Rock Nature CenterThe Ripple Rock Nature Center, typically open from Memorial Day to Labor Day, offers families lots of hands-on activities to learn about the history and geology of Capitol Reef National Park.
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Merin Smith Implement Shed (Blacksmith Shop)The Merin Smith Implement Shed (Blacksmith Shop), constructed in 1925, is in the Fruita Historic District.
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Nels Johnson Home Site (Chesnut Picnic Area)Mormon pioneer Nels Johnson was not only one of the first Europeans to settle in what later became the town of Fruita, he also planted the community's first orchards.
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Gifford House and MuseumThe Gifford House and Museum, formerly the Gifford homestead, lies in the heart of the fertile Fruita Valley, within the 200-acre Fruita Historic District.
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Fruita CampgroundOpen all year, the Fruita Campground the park's only developed campground.
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Fee Station/Rock FormationsThe rock formations you see in Capitol Reef National Park are largely comprised of sedimentary rock -- sand, mud and organic material laid down over eons and formed into layers that differ depending on the conditions under which they were formed.
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Creation of Waterpocket FoldKnown as a monocline, the Waterpocket Fold really is a 100-mile-long fold in the Earth's crust.
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Oyler MineAround the turn of the 20th century, deposits of uranium were discovered here in the bottom layer of the Chinle Formation rock.
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Cassidy ArchCassidy Arch is named after the legendary outlaw Butch Cassidy (of Sundance Kid fame), who was reputed to have had a hideout nearby.
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Miners MountainTo your left is a great example of what differential erosion -- the tendency of different types of rock to erode at different rates -- can do over time to a face of solid rock.
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Slickrock DivideA "divide" (the most famous being the Continental Divide) is the term for a place where water drains in two different directions.
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Old Wagon TrailScenic Drive in Capitol Reef park began as a wagon trail in the late 1800s, serving as a passage through the rugged Waterpocket Fold.
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HoodoosThe mysterious, sometimes human-like rock formations called "hoodoos" found in Capitol Reef National Park (and, more famously, in Bryce Canyon) are the result of differential erosion.
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The Egyptian TempleThe rock formation known as the Egyptian Temple is composed of soft Moenkopi Sandstone protected harder Shinarump Sandstone.
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Pleasant Creek RoadPleasant Creek Road begins at the southern terminus of Scenic Drive, and is recommended only for high-clearance or 4WD vehicles.
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Capitol Gorge TrailheadThe Capitol Gorge trailhead lies at the end of a twisting dirt road (Capitol Gorge Road) connecting to the end of the Capitol Reef Scenic Drive.
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Loop the Fold TourOne of the best ways to take in the Waterpocket Fold is via the 124-mile roundtrip Loop-the-Fold tour.
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Notom-Bullfrog/Burr Trail Road to Lake Powell TourAt the junction of the Notom Bullfrog Road and Burr Trail Road inside Capitol Reef, drivers can head south on Burr Trail, also known as BLM 12000) to Lake Powell at Bullfrog Marina.
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South Draw RoadIn the park's southern portion, the South Draw Road is a non-maintained, high-clearance 4WD road that runs from Pleasant Creek to the park boundary near Tantalus Flats.
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Notom-Bullfrog RoadThe Notom-Bullfrog begins in the north at an intersection with Utah Highway 24, outside the park nine miles east of the Capitol Reef Visitor Center.
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Burr Trail RoadWhat began as a cattle trail, blazed by stockman John Atlantic Burr, is the present-day Burr Trail Road.
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Historic District Parking AreaIt's well worth your time to park here alongside the Fremont River and take the time to explore the Fruita Historic District by foot.
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Capitol Gorge Parking AreaThe Capitol Gorge Parking Area sits near the end of the paved Scenic Drive and the beginning of the snaking dirt road to Capitol Gorge itself.
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TorreySmall Torrey, with a population of only 179, is the closest town to Capitol Reef National Park's western entrance.
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Panorama Point Parking AreaIt's just a short walk from the Panorama Point parking lot to Panorama Point itself.
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HanksvilleRemote Hanksville sits at the junction of Hwys. 24 and 95, about 38 miles east of Fruita.
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Grand Wash RoadThe Grand Wash spur road begins at 3.5 miles along the park's main road, Scenic Drive.
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Grand Wash Trailhead (Scenic Drive)The Grand Wash Trailhead, which has parking and restrooms off Scenic Drive, is one of two trailheads for this relatively flat and easy trail.
