The Best Way To Spend One Day In Capitol Reef National Park
Of the 5 Utah national parks, Capitol Reef is often overshadowed by the majesty and grandeur of Zion and Bryce National Parks. Which is fine, but I do think this is one of the easiest (and still amazingly beautiful) national parks to visit if you only have one day.
Compared to the other parks in the “Mighty 5”, the logistics of visiting Capitol Reef are fairly straightforward. For instance, you won’t find the need to time park shuttles (Zion), wait in long entrance lines (Arches), or strategically find a place to park at popular trailheads (Bryce Canyon).
Capitol Reef provides incredible scenic beauty, plenty of easy hikes, and while we were there in the fall, minimal people. And although a two day visit might be the ideal length of time to see the park, spending just one day in Capitol Reef will not disappoint!
Here is everything you need to know about spending one simply awesome day in Capitol Reef National Park. These are the highlights to get the most out of your one day.
If you change your mind and decide to spend a few days here, see our Capitol Reef- It’s So Worth It! for all the details of what to see and do.
Heads Up: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning we may get a commission if you make a purchase through our links, at no additional cost to you. We don’t do sponsored posts, free trips, or accept items for reviews. We only link to things we like and use personally. Read more about our philosophy.
How To Spend One Day in Capitol Reef National Park
If you have only one day, I would prioritize hiking the easy and beautiful Grand Wash Trail and/or Cohab Canyon Trail (steeper), viewing the petroglyphs, and stopping at the Gifford House to pick up a delicious pie to enjoy at the picnic area. Read on to learn all the details!
The Closest Town To Capitol Reef National Park
The tiny town of Torrey, Utah is the gateway town for exploring the area of Capitol Reef National Park.
Though small, the tree-lined Main Street of Torrey offers everything you need, and it’s located just 15 minutes from Capitol Reef’s Visitor Center.
You have plenty of lodging options in Torrey if needed and enough restaurants to make it interesting. If you decide to stay overnight, we have lodging suggestions at the end of this post.
Note: If you don’t have a national park America The Beautiful Pass (which allows access to all national parks for a year), you will need to purchase an entrance pass at the Visitor Center. Unlike many national parks, there is no official gated entrance to the park where fees are collected.
Stop 1- Capitol Reef Visitor Center
Your first stop when visiting Capitol Reef National Park should be at its Visitor Center. This should be a fairly short stop, since you only have one day to explore this amazing national park!
Located on the western end of the park, the Visitor Center provides a great opportunity to get the lay of the land– trail conditions and road conditions, weather forecasts, and flash flood watches before hiking. Note that flash floods are a real danger here.
The Visitor Center also has exhibits explaining the geology of the canyons found here as well as a short (roughly 15 minutes) informative film explaining the park’s history.
While here, find out why the park is called “Capitol Reef”, grab a map, get trail and road conditions, appreciate the available flush toilets, get a Junior Ranger Booklet (or print the PDF at home), and grab a souvenir from the small gift shop. Now off you go to explore!
Stop 2- Grand Wash Trail in Capitol Reef National Park
Of the easy hikes we did, Grand Wash Trail was our favorite hike in Capitol Reef National Park. This is a super easy walk through a beautiful canyon with towering walls rising straight up on either side of you.
This hike was a hands down winner and a terrific way to experience the grandeur of this park in one day!
If you don’t wish to hike or don’t have time, I recommend taking the time to drive the park’s aptly named Scenic Drive, a 7.9 mile paved road, suitable for passenger vehicles.
Follow the park’s “Guide To The Scenic Drive” to get the most of your driving tour. From Scenic Drive, you can still access the two dirt spur roads, Grand Wash and Capitol Gorge to get a sense of the canyons here if you don’t hike them.
Grand Wash Trail is a wonderfully scenic hike with lots of opportunities to scramble rocks and explore along the way, but it’s enjoyable even if you simply follow the flat path through the ever narrowing canyon.
Grand Wash Trail 
Fun rock scrambling along the way
As you proceed through the canyon, it eventually narrows to about 16 feet wide at just over the 1 mile mark. This can be a good turnaround point if desired, but we chose to continue exploring and backtracked for a total of 4 miles.
If short on time, I would recommend turning around at the “narrows” section of the trail, just over one mile from the trailhead at Grand Wash Road.
When we hiked this trail mid-morning in October, we often had parts of the entire canyon all to ourselves. It was a truly extraordinary experience.
Which Trailhead To Grand Wash Should You Take?
I was confused upon researching this hike about where to find the trailhead. Turns out there are two. Grand Wash Trail stretches 2.25 miles from Grand Wash Road off Scenic Drive all the way to Highway 24.
For that reason, you can start from either end. The popular “narrows” section of this hike is roughly located in the middle of it, so either trailhead works great.
Prior to our trip, I had read that the packed dirt Grand Wash Road leading to the trailhead off of Scenic Drive offered beautiful scenery so we chose that trailhead.
You do not need a 4-wheel drive vehicle for this road and driving on the 1.75 mile Grand Wash Road was a super fun and beautiful experience. Be sure to check at the Visitor Center first.
Important Things To Know About the Grand Wash Trail
- Important! Do not hike the Grand Wash Trail if rain is in the forecast. Flash flooding is a danger. Check at the Visitor Center first.
- The trailhead from Scenic Drive requires a $20 entrance fee or the America The Beautiful Pass which is $80 for the year (which is great if you are going to more than one park on your trip to Utah). If you haven’t already paid for a pass at the Visitor Center, the self-pay entrance station is located just south of the campground on the Scenic Drive or you can purchase a 7 day pass online. (The parking area on Highway 24 will not require the purchase of a pass.)
- Note that Grand Wash Road is often closed due to weather conditions. Make sure it’s open. Also, the small parking lot at the end of Grand Wash Road would be challenging for an RV.
- Pit toilets are available at the trailhead.
Want More Easy Hiking Suggestions?
We enjoyed several more easy and short hiking trails at Capitol Reef that we recommend. See our Easy Hikes In Capitol Reef for more hiking ideas. Cohab Canyon near the Gifford House is another favorite- it has a steep beginning but great views and a flat canyon to explore!
Stop 3- Eat Delicious Pie At Gifford House
After all of this hiking and exploration, it’s time to relax in the park’s green desert oasis, Fruita Valley, and enjoy a nice slice of pie. Yes, that’s right. Pie!
Fruita Valley produces cherries, peaches, and apples in season, and you get to benefit from their seasonally baked homemade pies sold from the historic Gifford House which also has a gift shop with items from local artisans.
Gifford House is located 1 mile south of the Visitor Center on the Scenic Drive and is typically open from March 14 (Pi Day of course!) to late November (closing dates and operating hours may vary).
Park in the small parking lot adjacent to the Gifford House and follow the signs and trail from the Picnic Area.
If you still want to hike another trail, the Cohab Canyon Trail is a worthy one and nearby. See our Easy Hikes In Capitol Reef for a description and more hiking ideas.
Stop 4- Petroglyphs Boardwalk in Capitol Reef National Park
While in the park, be sure to make a quick stop to walk along the wooden boardwalks along Highway 24 to view the Fremont Culture Petroglyphs. This archaeological site is roughly 1000 years old.
Some of the petroglyphs are hard to see, so it might be helpful to bring a pair of binoculars to get a closer view.
The petroglyphs are accessed by two super short, shaded boardwalks (easy and wheelchair accessible) that begin from the parking area off of Highway 24.
To best see the images carved into the cliffs, the shorter western boardwalk closest to the parking area provide larger, easier to see figures. The longer boardwalk to the east parallels the cliffs and has more faint images- it is more of an “I spy…” game but worth a stroll.
If you are short on time, access the petroglyphs from the boardwalk found on the western side of the parking area. to see the best visible examples.
Where To Stay Near Capitol Reef National Park
If the timing of your visit necessitates a stay overnight, you will have the unique opportunity to enjoy the area’s night sky. Torrey’s recent designation as Utah’s first International Dark Sky Community will almost guarantee amazing stargazing opportunities during your stay there.
During our stay, we were thrilled to see the Milky Way each night and the number of stars visible in the night sky were more than any we’ve ever seen at home.
All of the hotels along Torrey’s Main Street are nice enough to serve as your base camp, and all are located close to the park entrance and the restaurants in Torrey.
For a one night stay, I would probably stay at either Capitol Reef Resort for its variety of lodging options (teepee, anyone?) or the Red Sands Hotel.
We stayed in a two bedroom vacation rental (VRBO) near Main Street in Torrey. The vacation rental was one of the best we’ve stayed at (unfortunately no longer rented) but Torrey has a number of vacation rentals to choose from.
Sunrises and sunsets from our VRBO rental.
Restaurants Near Capitol Reef National Park
You’ll find plenty of restaurants in Torrey and a pretty good general store for basic provisions but not a large grocery store.
Austin’s Chuck Wagon Lodge & General Store in Torrey had everything we needed for grocery provisions including fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, and your usual staples.
Although the selection is limited, all the fresh offerings looked presentably good. They also have a good deli in the back of the store for breakfast and lunch. It even has a nice beer selection for us craft beer fans.
Foodie Tip: Capitol Burger food truck also sets up in Austin’s Chuck Wagon and General Store parking lot most evenings, and they make a truly fantastic burger. Don’t miss it!
Although we didn’t personally try them, the Rim Rock Restaurant and Hunt & Gather Restaurant were also noted as standouts. Make sure to check their websites as many restaurants in Torrey are only open seasonally.
You will be so happy to experience Capitol Reef National Park, even if it’s just for one day. It is so worth it! If you change your mind and decide to spend a few days here, see our Capitol Reef- It’s So Worth It! for all the details. Happy Trails! — Amy
