USA Capitol Gorge Road

Capitol Gorge is one of the most popular destinations in Capitol Reef National Park. The gorge is fairly wide at the beginning and gradually narrows to just a few yards/meters. The narrowest sections are not that exciting or photogenic in my opinion but is interesting if you’ve never experienced hiking in a slot canyon before. We plan our trips there for the Fall/Winter season when there are very few visitors. Even though it’s possible to drive a couple of miles up the beginning of the gorge, we prefer to walk. Those two miles are very pretty. Even though you can’t (shouldn’t) drive more than 10 MPH, you’ll miss much of the best part of the gorge if you drive it. The gorge has some beautiful striations in the high walls along with huge boulders and some trees scattered around the wider sections.

I like to use a 14mm fixed for the narrow section and/or a 24-70mm lens here.

At the end of the paved Capitol Reef “Scenic Drive”, the road turns to dirt just before you enter Capitol Gorge. At that point, there’s a small paved parking lot with enough room for 10 vehicles and two or three RVs. There are picnic tables and a vault toilet there. If the road is wet, that’s about as far as you should go. When the road is dry, it’s possible to drive another 2.3 miles (3.7 km) to another parking area (dirt surface) with room for 15-20 vehicles. However during the heavy tourist season, people park on the side of the road wherever they can, resulting in 50 or more vehicles clogging the road. It’s a mess. If you travel during the spring/summer/early fall months, try to get there by 8 AM.