A Day For The Scenic Drive To Slow Down
Posted in: Outdoor adventures on September 15, 2026.
No Cars For A While
The Scenic Drive is usually where you go when you want to see a whole lot of Capitol Reef without putting a whole lot of miles on your boots. This Saturday, September 19, it slows down.
For Reef Ride Bike Day, the park is closing the Scenic Drive to motor vehicles from sunrise until 3:00 p.m. Bicycles and pedestrians get the road for the morning and early afternoon. That is a pretty good trade, honestly.
And before anybody worries that the whole park is closing up shop, Utah Highway 24 through Capitol Reef stays open as usual. It is just the Scenic Drive that will be quiet from the sound of cars for a few hours.
A good road looks a little different when you take it slow. Photo by Marisa Estivill via Shutterstock.
The Road Is Worth The Time
The paved Scenic Drive runs 7.9 miles into the park, and the National Park Service says to allow about an hour and a half roundtrip if you add the Grand Wash and Capitol Gorge spur roads. On Saturday, leave the spur roads for another day and give the pavement its due.
You have probably driven it before. You have looked up at the cliffs, pulled over at the overlooks, and maybe said you ought to come back when there was more time. Well, here it is.
Bring water. Bring a layer for the start of the day. Bring the bike that is comfortable, not the one you bought with heroic plans three summers ago. And remember that September still has weather in it. The park’s conditions page is the place to look before you head out, especially if rain is on the way.
The Scenic Drive has plenty to look at, even when you are not in a hurry. Photo by Kelly vanDellen via Shutterstock.
A Different Kind Of Saturday
We like a good drive as much as anybody. But there is something to be said for hearing your own tires, stopping when you feel like it, and seeing the big walls of rock without the sound of cars (they have been at it a while).
So if you are in Capitol Reef this Saturday, point the bike down the Scenic Drive. Or take a walk. The road will be there. Just a little quieter than usual.