In Capitol Reef National Park, petroglyphs dot many cliff areas-mute testimony to the people who once thrived here.
Our last stop in this corner of Utah was Capitol Reef. While not as widely visited as Arches or Canyonlands, Capitol Reef still stands as an epoch of time. A giant sinuous wrinkle in the Earth's crust stretches for 100 miles across this area. This impressive buckling of rock, created 65 million years ago by the same tremendous forces that later uplifted the Colorado Plateau, is called the Waterpocket Fold. Capitol Reef National Park preserves the fold and its spectacular, eroded jumble of colorful cliffs, massive domes, soaring spires, stark monoliths, twisting canyons, and graceful arches. Again, paved roads, hiking trails, and off-road routes take you to the preferred spots, and to fully explore the area you need to travel on all three. We highly recommend the unpaved Scenic Road, which follows the west face of the Fold and leads into Grand Wash and Capitol Gorge-two deep, twisting, water-carved, sheer-walled canyons. Allow at least two hours for this 25-mile, round-trip excursion. In addition, there are miles of unpaved roads leading into remote areas of the park, including Cathedral Valley and Halls Creek Canyon.
Naturally, this area of Utah holds many more surprises than this trio of national parks. Other worthwhile areas to visit include Goblin Valley State Park (with its Goblin-like rock formations), Dead Horse Point State Park, the petroglyph-strewn Newspaper Rock, and the ever-popular Hole in the Wall.
Capitol Reef's stark beauty is one of its trademarks.
With its ever-impressive array of stone arches, towering rock monoliths, red-lit canyons, and sheer hard faces, southeastern Utah is a nature-lover's paradise. And even though we faced 90-plus degree heat during our stay, all that dramatic scenery was definitely a cool experience.