So here we are at the start of June, which means Southern Utah is beginning to do its summer thing. The mornings are still pretty nice. The afternoons are starting to make their point. And over in Fruita, the orchards are doing something that is always worth paying attention to.

The cherries are beginning to redden.

Now, that does not mean you should throw a bucket in the car this minute and expect a full harvest. Fruit is funny that way. The trees do not read our calendars, and this spring has already had a say in things. According to the park’s May orchard update, apricots took a hit from cold temperatures later in the spring. But cherries looked like they came through pretty well, peaches were still expected to produce a good crop, and apples and pears were looking optimistic too. Which is a very orchard way of saying: keep an eye on it.

Cherries are usually the first fruit to get everybody’s attention in Fruita. Photo by Yume Photography, courtesy of Unsplash.

Check Before You Pick

If you have never picked fruit in Capitol Reef National Park before, the basic idea is pretty simple. When an orchard is open, you pick the fruit, weigh it, and pay at the self-pay station. And presto! you get one of the more unusual national park souvenirs: fruit you can eat before it gets warm in the backseat.

But the important part is that phrase “when an orchard is open.” The park posts orchard updates, and the fruit hotline is still the best friend you have if you are serious about picking. Call 435-425-3791 and follow the phone tree for harvest information before you make a plan. The park conditions page is also worth checking, since it carries current operations, road conditions, and orchard notes.

We’ve written about fruit season in Capitol Reef before, and for good reason. The orchards are one of the things that make Capitol Reef feel different from the rest of Southern Utah. They are not just pretty trees under red cliffs (although they are definitely that). They are part of the old Fruita settlement, part of the human story of this canyon, and part of why a drive through the park can suddenly feel like you have wandered into somebody’s very ambitious backyard.

The Scenic Drive and Fruita area make a pretty good morning before the heat settles in. Photo by Maciej Bledowski, courtesy of Shutterstock.

Make A Morning Of It

June is a good month for doing things early. Start with the orchards, stop by the Gifford House while it is open for the season, take the Scenic Drive, and maybe save the longer hikes for another day if the afternoon is looking especially toasty. Capitol Reef’s Visitor Center is open daily from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. right now, and the Gifford House is open from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., so there is no need to make this complicated.

Pack water, wear a hat, check the fruit hotline, and don’t be disappointed if the trees are not ready on your exact schedule. That is part of the deal. The desert gives you what it gives you, and sometimes what it gives you is a pie from the Gifford House instead of a bag of cherries.

Not exactly a hardship.

Photo by Kris Wiktor courtesy of Shutterstock

The Honest Timing

Something worth knowing before you plan a night around this: in early May, the Milky Way’s core — the bright, thick part most people come to see — is not up in the evening. It rises in the pre-dawn hours.

Here’s roughly how it works. The galactic core sits on the winter side of the sky from November through March, which means the sun is between us and it. Starting in late April, it begins to come back into view, first as a pre-dawn phenomenon, then rising earlier and earlier as the weeks go on. By late May, the core is reliably up by around midnight in the southeast. By June and July, it clears the horizon before full dark. If your trip is primarily about Milky Way photography, consider July. That’s peak.

If your trip is in May, you’ve got two honest options. Stay up late (or sleep a few hours and set an alarm for 2 AM), or head out to an overlook an hour before sunrise. Both work. The pre-dawn option has quietly become our favorite around here. You get the sky to yourself, and then a sunrise to cap it. Not a bad deal.

Where to Watch From

A few places near the Lodge that are reliably good:

• Panorama Point. Elevated, open in all directions, no cliffs blocking any part of the horizon. Probably the single best naked-eye spot in the park. On State Route 24, about 2.5 miles west of the Visitor Center. Under 15 minutes from the Lodge.
• Goosenecks Overlook. Slightly further, quieter, with the Fremont River canyon in your foreground if you’re shooting photos.
• The end of the Scenic Drive. If you’re already in the park for the day, the last pullouts on the Scenic Drive have very dark skies and almost no night traffic.
• The Fruita area. The Fremont River runs through Fruita, and between the orchards and the cliffs it’s a quiet place to set up. The campground also hosts monthly moon walks during the season — worth checking the NPS calendar to see if one lines up with your trip.

Photo by Deep Doshi courtesy of Unsplash

What You’ll Actually See

Don’t underestimate what’s up on a May evening even without the core. A short list of what’s visible just after dark:

• Leo. The lion sits high in the south after sunset. The triangle of stars that forms the hindquarters is unmistakable.
• The Big Dipper. Nearly overhead. Use the two stars at the end of the bowl to find Polaris.
• Virgo and Spica. Due south. Spica is the bright blue-white star.
• Jupiter and Saturn. On and off through May — check your sky app for current positions.

Later in the night, Scorpius starts rising in the southeast around the same time the Milky Way core does. When you see the curved hook of the scorpion’s tail clear the horizon, the core is about to come up with it.

Phone Camera vs. The Real Thing

One piece of honest advice. Recent iPhones and Pixels in night mode can capture a Milky Way shot that looks astonishing. Your eye will not see the same thing, and some visitors come away disappointed because of it.

Your eye will see a faint, pale river of light through a dense star field, with very little color. The camera does a long exposure and brings out what was always there but sitting below your eye’s threshold. Both images are real. Just know which one you’re getting when you come.

The experience of seeing an actually dark sky with your own eyes is the point. The camera shots are a bonus.

A Few Practical Notes

• Moon phase matters more than almost anything else. A full moon washes out the sky. Check the calendar and aim for the week around new moon.
• Dress warmer than you think. May evenings in Torrey can drop into the 40s even after an 80-degree day.
• Red flashlights only. White light destroys your night vision for 20 minutes. Most phones have a red filter option in accessibility settings.
• Give your eyes 15 to 20 minutes. Don’t check your phone. The stars that weren’t visible when you got there will slowly fill in.

Why It’s Worth Being Here

May isn’t the absolute peak of Milky Way season. We’ll be honest about that. But it’s the first month of the year when warm nights, dark skies, and the first real glimpse of the galactic core all line up. There’s something pretty good about being here just as the season opens up — before the crowds figure out it’s time to come.

If you want to come out this month, we’ve got rooms at the Lodge, and when you get here we can point you toward the right spots depending on the moon phase and when you’re willing to be awake.

But by early May, the cottonwoods along the Fremont River have leafed out, the orchard trees are full green, and the migrants have arrived. The park is one of the quietest, least-crowded birding spots in Southern Utah — and right now is arguably the best window of the year to be out here with binoculars.

Photo by Vagabond54 courtesy of Shutterstock

Why May Works

A few things line up in May that don’t line up any other time of year.

The first is migration. Capitol Reef sits along the flyway for a lot of western songbirds, and they move through in a concentrated rush from late April through mid-May. Western tanagers, Bullock’s orioles, yellow warblers, and black-chinned hummingbirds all tend to arrive in this window. Some settle in to nest. Others pass through on their way north.

The second is the trees. The Fruita cottonwoods and the orchard canopy are just filling in, which means birds are visible in a way they won’t be once the leaves thicken. You can actually see them.

The third is temperature. The morning air is cool enough to bird comfortably from dawn until midday. By July you’ve got a pretty narrow window before the heat makes patience difficult.

Who You’re Likely to See

A short list of what’s reliably around in May. We’ve kept it to birds you have a real chance of spotting without a scope and a week of patience.

• Western tanager. Impossible to miss if they’re in the cottonwoods. Yellow body, black wings, red-orange head. They arrive in late April and stick around through summer.
• Bullock’s oriole. Nests in the Fruita cottonwoods. Orange and black, about the size of a robin. They weave pendulous pouch nests that often persist on the branches after the season ends.
• Yellow warbler. Small, bright, vocal. The orchards are thick with them in May.
• Black-chinned hummingbird. Check the blooming fruit trees and the campground loop.
• Canyon wren. Year-round resident, but spring is when they sing the most. Their call is one of the most distinctive sounds in the park — a cascading series of whistled notes going down the scale. Once you’ve heard it, you recognize it everywhere.
• Pinyon jay. Larger than a scrub jay, blue, and traveling in loud family groups. If you hear a lot of calls at once and it sounds like an argument, it’s probably them.
• Peregrine falcon. Less common but worth knowing. They nest on the cliff faces. Best chances are in the morning, along the canyon rims.

Photo by Kris Wiktor courtesy of Shutterstock

Where to Look

A few spots to check in a half-day:

• Fremont River Trail. Easy, about 2 miles round trip, follows the river through Fruita. Arguably the single best birding trail in the park. Best done first thing in the morning.
• The orchards and campground. Walk the paths quietly. The orchard canopy concentrates songbirds, and the campground trees are full of activity at dawn. (You don’t need to be camping to walk through — just be respectful of the people who are.)
• Sulphur Creek. Riparian corridor, less visited. Good for warblers and flycatchers.
• Ripple Rock Nature Center area. The trees around the nature center reliably have activity, and the center itself has a small, informal bird list and field guides you can flip through if something’s stumping you.

What to Bring

Nothing exotic:

• Binoculars. 8×42 is the standard for a reason. If you only have an old pair from someone’s attic, bring those. They’ll do.
• A field guide or the Merlin app on your phone. The song ID feature on Merlin is particularly useful here, because a lot of birding at Capitol Reef is hearing something before you see it.
• Water and a hat. You’ll be up early and out for a while.
• Patience. This is the real one. Standing still for ten minutes in a spot that looks empty almost always turns up something.

Sit on a bench in the campground at 6:30 AM in mid-May. You’ll see half this list inside an hour.

Worth Looking Up

Birding isn’t what most people plan a Capitol Reef trip around, and we get it. The park has bigger, louder things going for it. But May offers a quiet window when the trees are full and the desert is alive in a way it isn’t the rest of the year. It would be a shame to walk through Fruita without looking up.

If you’re staying with us and want to get serious about it, ask at the front desk. A couple of us keep a pretty active eye on what’s coming through.

People are often surprised by what the desert does in spring. The assumption — reasonable, if you’ve only seen Southern Utah in the summer — is that a landscape this arid and rugged blooms reluctantly, if at all. The truth is quite different. When the conditions are right, Capitol Reef and the surrounding canyon country put on a floral display that rivals almost anything in the American West. And it begins, quietly, in March.

This is the month when the desert starts its annual transformation. It doesn’t happen overnight, and it’s rarely dramatic in the Instagram-superbloom sense. But if you know what to look for and where to find it, March in Southern Utah is genuinely beautiful in ways that most visitors never get to see.

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock

Why the Desert Blooms When It Does

Desert wildflowers run on a schedule driven by two things: moisture and temperature. Winter precipitation — whether it fell as snow in the higher elevations or rain at the canyon floor — determines how robust the bloom will be. March’s slowly warming days start unlocking the soil moisture that’s been building up all winter, coaxing seeds that have been dormant for months (sometimes years) into action.

The lower elevations around Capitol Reef warm up earliest, so the first March wildflowers typically show up in south-facing washes, canyon bottoms, and desert scrub zones well below the park’s rim country. As the month goes on and temperatures climb, the blooms move higher.

What’s Blooming in March

The early-season palette at Capitol Reef leans toward purples, yellows, and whites — the cool-temperature bloomers that can handle nights still dipping below freezing. Here are some of the species you’re most likely to encounter this month:

• Desert Phlox — Low, spreading mats of white-to-pale-pink blossoms on rocky slopes and canyon rims. One of March’s most reliable wildflowers — it blooms early and can survive light frosts.
• Sagebrush Buttercup — One of Utah’s earliest spring flowers. Bright yellow and cheerful, showing up at the edges of sagebrush flats and in open desert terrain as early as late February in mild years.
• Cryptantha (White Forget-Me-Not) — Tiny white flowers in sandy wash bottoms and open desert flats. Easy to overlook, genuinely lovely up close.
• Utah Milkvetch — A striking native with deep rose-purple flowers that starts blooming in late March in sandy desert soils. Look for it along Hwy 24 in good spring years.
• Cliffrose — A native shrub that produces fragrant cream-colored blossoms in late March and early April. Beloved by pollinators and one of the signature plants of the Waterpocket Fold ecosystem.
• Filaree (Stork’s Bill) — A small pink-purple wildflower that carpets roadsides and open ground throughout Southern Utah in early spring. Technically introduced, but unmistakably a sign of the season arriving.

Photo by Annie Spratt via unsplash.com

The Fruita Orchards: A Bloom Worth Watching

One of the most anticipated spring events at Capitol Reef isn’t a wildflower at all — it’s the blossoming of the Fruita orchards in the park’s Historic District. The roughly 1,900 fruit trees maintained by the National Park Service include cherries, apricots, peaches, apples, and pears, all planted originally by Mormon settlers in the late 1800s.

The cherry and apricot trees are typically the first to bloom, often in late March or early April depending on the year’s weather. A row of cherry trees in full bloom, set against red sandstone cliffs with the Fremont River running nearby — it’s one of those scenes that genuinely stops people in their tracks. There’s nothing quite like it in Utah’s national park system. Stop in at the Visitor Center to check current orchard conditions; the rangers are usually happy to point you toward whichever trees are looking their best on any given day.

Tips for Making the Most of Wildflower Season

• Get low and slow — A lot of the most beautiful desert wildflowers are only an inch or two tall. Slowing down, crouching beside the trail, and actually spending time with what’s around you makes a dramatic difference in what you notice. The macro setting on your phone camera opens up a whole other world.
• Explore varied terrain — In desert ecosystems, wildflower communities are tightly tied to soil type and drainage. Sandy wash bottoms, rocky slopes, and clay flats will often host completely different species within a few hundred feet of each other. The more terrain you cover, the more you’ll see.
• Stay on the trail — The dark, crusty soil surrounding many desert plants is biological soil crust — a living community of organisms that takes decades to regenerate once disturbed. Stepping off-trail to get closer to a flower causes more damage than it looks like. The best wildflower viewing happens from the trail itself.

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock

Spring at the Ranch

The grounds around the Lodge at Red River Ranch get in on the season too. The meadows along the Fremont River see their own early-spring bloom, and guests who take a quiet morning walk along the water often find themselves catching the first small signs of a desert spring — a cluster of pale flowers in the rocky bank, a fresh green flush of grass, the faint fragrance of something blooming just around the bend in the trail.

Out here, the seasons don’t announce themselves with much noise. They arrive gently, incrementally, and with a quiet beauty that rewards attention. March is when it all begins. And if you’re here for it — well, that’s what we’re here for too. Come stay, and be here when the desert blooms.

Spend a winter at Capitol Reef and the desert can feel pretty still. The cottonwoods are bare. The light comes in low and cold. And aside from the occasional raven or coyote, the landscape seems to belong mostly to rock and wind. Then March arrives — and all of that starts to change.

March is when Southern Utah’s wildlife begins its spring emergence, and it offers some of the most rewarding wildlife watching of the entire year. The animals are active, the crowds are thin, and the quiet of early spring makes it a lot easier to notice what’s moving around you.

Why March Is Such a Good Month for Wildlife

Spring migration is underway. Breeding seasons are starting for a lot of resident species. And animals that slowed through the winter are ranging wider and showing up in more predictable places. The lower elevations around the Fremont River corridor and the park’s shrubland zones are especially active right now, since that’s where the first green growth appears.

There’s also something to be said for the light. The low angle of March sun — especially in early morning and late afternoon — makes everything easier to see. Animals that blend into the summer haze are much more visible against the crisp, cool air. It’s a great month to slow down and pay attention.

Photo courtesy of Red River Ranch

What to Look For in March

There’s a lot stirring out there right now. Here are some of the wildlife highlights worth keeping an eye out for this month:

• Mule Deer — Still moving at lower elevations before spring green-up draws them higher. Early morning and dusk are the best times to spot them near the Fruita meadows and along the river. Patient observers are often rewarded with long, close-up views.
• Peregrine Falcon — One of Capitol Reef’s most celebrated residents. Peregrines return to their cliff nesting sites in early spring. Watch the high sandstone faces along the Waterpocket Fold for circling pairs — and listen for that sharp, rattling call echoing off the walls.
• Canyon Wren — You’ll hear one before you see it: a cascading, descending whistle that echoes off canyon walls in a way that’s honestly hard to forget. Canyon wrens are active year-round but get noticeably more vocal in March as they establish territories for the breeding season.
• Migrating Songbirds — The Fremont River corridor is a reliable migratory stopover. Warblers, vireos, and sparrows start passing through in mid-to-late March. Binoculars and patience are very well rewarded here.
• Coyote — Resident and active all year, but March is breeding season, so you’re more likely to hear them at dawn and dusk, and to see them moving through open terrain in pairs. A classic Capitol Reef sound on a spring morning.
• Collared Lizards — Still mostly dormant in early March, but by mid-to-late month on warmer afternoons, you may catch the first lizards out on sun-warmed rocks. One of the surest signs that spring has actually arrived in the desert.

Where to Go

The Fruita Campground and Orchard Area is one of the most reliable spots in the park for mule deer, especially in the low light of morning. The deer are drawn to the grass and the water near the Fremont River, and in March they’re often relaxed and visible for extended stretches before the day warms up.

For birds, the Fremont River Trail is excellent. It follows the river through a riparian corridor of cottonwoods, willows, and tamarisk — exactly the kind of habitat that migratory songbirds favor. Walk it slowly in the early morning with binoculars and you’ll encounter more species than you’d expect from a desert park.

The Grand Wash and the lower portion of the Capitol Gorge Trail are both good spots for raptors and canyon-adapted species. Both routes pass under towering sandstone walls that provide nesting habitat for falcons and ravens, and both are accessible on foot with no technical skills required.

Photo courtesy of Red River Ranch

A Few Tips for Better Wildlife Watching

• Go early, go quiet — The most active hours are the first two after sunrise and the last hour before sunset. Move slowly, speak softly, stop frequently to listen. In the desert, sound travels remarkably far.
• Look up — Cliff faces, spires, and high ledges are active habitat. Peregrine falcons, golden eagles, and white-throated swifts all nest or roost on vertical sandstone. Scan the high country with binoculars, not just the ground level.
• Keep your distance — The NPS recommends staying at least 25 yards from most wildlife. The animals you observe without disturbing are the ones you’ll remember longest. (Also, don’t startle the deer.)

Wildlife at the Ranch

You don’t have to go far. The grounds surrounding the Lodge at Red River Ranch — bordered by the Fremont River and open desert terrain — see their share of spring activity. Guests who sit quietly on the porch in the early morning regularly spot mule deer in the meadow, raptors overhead, and the first songbirds moving through the trees along the water. It’s a good reminder that out here, you’re not just visiting nature. You’re staying inside it. Plan your spring trip here.

Most people think about Utah’s national parks in summer — and honestly, there’s a reason for that. Long days, warm temps, school breaks. June and July make obvious sense. But we’ve always believed the best kept secret in Southern Utah isn’t a trail or a slot canyon. It’s a month. And that month is March.

March is the sweet spot. The summer crowds haven’t shown up yet. The park is quiet. The light is extraordinary — those long golden hours of soft desert sun that make photographers very happy. And the desert is right in the middle of waking up, which means some of the most dynamic scenery Capitol Reef has to offer all year.

Photo courtesy of Red River Ranch

The Crowds (Or Lack Thereof)

The most practical reason first: in March, you basically have Capitol Reef to yourself. The park gets its heaviest traffic from Memorial Day through Labor Day, and visitation has grown a lot over the past decade. But in early spring, the parking areas are calm, the trails are wide open, and there’s no line at the Gifford House.

If you’ve ever wondered what Capitol Reef felt like before it got more widely discovered — March is your window. For guests at the Lodge, that quieter pace makes a real difference. You can linger at a trailhead, stop in the middle of the Scenic Drive without anyone behind you, sit on the porch at dusk and hear nothing but the wind moving through the cottonwoods.

The Weather: Surprisingly Good

March mornings and evenings run cool — typically between 35°F and 55°F — and warm up pleasantly through the middle of the day, often hitting the low 60s or higher. That’s ideal hiking weather. You’ll want layers, especially for early starts, but you won’t need the full July sun-protection-and-water-hauling strategy. Snow is possible early in the month, especially at higher elevations, but it tends to be brief — and honestly, a little snow only makes the red rock more dramatic when it comes.

March also brings some of the best skies of the year. Weather systems are still moving through, and stormy afternoons can produce the kind of cloud formations over the cliffs that stop you mid-trail. If you’re into photography (and you really should be, out here), this is prime season.

Photo courtesy of Red River Ranch

What’s Coming to Life

The desert doesn’t stay dormant forever, and March is when the awakening starts. Down in the Fremont River corridor and the lower elevation washes, you’ll catch the first wildflowers of the season. The orchards in the Fruita Historic District begin to bud. The cottonwoods that have stood bare all winter show the faintest blush of green. It’s a subtle transformation, but it feels remarkable against all that permanent orange and red sandstone.

Wildlife gets more active too. Mule deer show up at lower elevations where the early grass is coming in. Raptors are moving through on migration. Bird activity along the river picks up noticeably as resident species get going for spring. It’s a good time to slow down and pay attention to what’s moving around you.

The Trails Are at Their Best

A lot of Capitol Reef’s best hikes are just more enjoyable in March than in summer — you’re not fighting the heat, and you can actually cover some ground. The Cohab Canyon Trail, the Rim Overlook, Grand Wash — all excellent in spring conditions. The longer backcountry routes like the Cathedral Valley Loop get more accessible as the muddy roads from winter dry out through the month. If Capitol Reef’s backcountry has been on your list, late March is one of the better times to attempt it.

Come See It for Yourself

March is one of our favorite times of year at the Lodge. The Fremont River runs clear and quick with snowmelt from the high country. The landscape has a freshness to it that summer doesn’t quite match. Evenings are cool enough to make a fire feel right. Mornings are still and quiet and extraordinarily clear.

If you haven’t visited in early spring before, we’d really encourage you to give March a serious look. A lot of guests who try it once find it becomes their favorite time to come back. Book your stay here — we’d love to have you.

Just inside Capitol Reef National Park is the Fruita Historic District, and it’s a little different from anything else you’ll find in red rock country. Tall cottonwoods shade lush green fields, pioneer homesteads sit right up against the sandstone cliffs, and over a thousand fruit trees still produce where early settlers once made their living. For a lot of visitors, walking Fruita’s orchards turns out to be just as memorable as hiking Hickman Bridge or driving the Scenic Drive. Sometimes more so.

Photo courtesy of NPS

How the Orchards Got Here

The orchards go back to the late 1800s, when Mormon pioneers planted apples, apricots, peaches, cherries, and pears along the Fremont River. These were families who knew what they were doing — they selected hardy heirloom varieties suited to the high desert, some of which are now rare outside Fruita. Today Capitol Reef maintains about 1,900 fruit trees across multiple orchards, which is a pretty remarkable thing when you think about it. The fruit and the history both got preserved. (NPS; KUER)

How the U-Pick Program Works

If you’re looking for U-Pick fruit in Utah, Fruita is about as unique as it gets. Here’s what you need to know:

• Only orchards with “U-Pick Fruit” signs are open for harvesting.
• Self-pay stations with scales are set up at each orchard.
• Ladders and picking poles are provided — just pick ripe fruit and follow the park guidelines. (NPS; Visit Utah)

What’s in season when:

• Cherries and apricots: June through July
• Peaches: Late July through August
• Apples and pears: September through October

In a good year you can basically taste the seasons changing as you work your way through the orchards. It’s a pretty cool way to experience the park.

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock

About 2025: A Tough Year for the Harvest

The orchards are at the mercy of the weather, and 2025 was a rough one. An unusually early bloom came in, then freezing nights followed, and most of the blossoms didn’t make it. The result was that over 80 percent of the fruit harvest was lost, and the park closed U-Pick for the season. (National Parks Traveler) But here’s the thing — Fruita is still worth visiting. You can still walk the orchards, sit in the shade of the cottonwoods, and stop at the Gifford House for handmade pies, jams, and everything else they make there. The orchard tradition carries on even in a lean year.

Why Fruita Matters

It’s not just about the fruit, though the fruit is great. The orchards are a living connection to what life actually looked like in the Fremont River Valley 130 years ago — families who planted trees in the middle of the desert, tended them, and built a community around them. Capitol Reef has held onto that. And for visitors today, there’s something really grounding about walking among trees that have been producing in this canyon for generations. It slows you down in a good way.

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock

Worth Adding to Your Itinerary

Whether you’re hoping to pick fruit straight from the tree, stop for fresh peach pie at the Gifford House, or just wander under the golden cottonwood leaves in October — the orchards are worth it. Check the Capitol Reef U-Pick fruit page before you go to see which orchards are open and what’s in season. The situation changes year to year, so it’s good to know before you show up expecting apples.

We’re just a few minutes from Fruita at the Lodge, so guests here tend to build it into their mornings pretty naturally — a walk through the orchards, a stop at the Gifford House, then out into the park for whatever else the day holds. It’s a good routine.

So maybe you’ve heard about the crowds at Utah’s big parks — the entrance lines, the packed parking lots, the trails where you’re basically walking in a conga line. We get it. But just down the road from us is Capitol Reef National Park, and it doesn’t work like that. Same towering cliffs, same winding canyons, same jaw-dropping red-rock scenery as anything else in Utah’s “Mighty Five.” Just, you know, without the mob scene.

Photo by Kelly vanDellen via Shutterstock.com

You can slow down here. Explore at your own pace. And still make it back in time for a glass of wine before the sun goes down.

1. Capitol Reef’s Scenic Beauty Without the Crowds

The honest answer to “when’s the best time to visit Capitol Reef?” is basically always. Even at peak season, this park feels open. Capitol Reef welcomed 1.42 million visitors in 2024 — its highest number ever, according to KUER News. And that’s still just a fraction of the nearly five million who showed up at Zion. What that means for you: easier parking, quieter mornings, and trails where you can actually stop and look around.

The Capitol Reef Scenic Drive, Cathedral Valley, Hickman Bridge — all of them are world-class. But you’re sharing them with a quarter of the crowd you’d find in other parks. Whether you’re catching sunrise over the Navajo Knobs or hiking through Grand Wash in the afternoon, you’ll feel the difference. More space, less noise, more time to actually be there.

Photo by Kelly vanDellen via Shutterstock.com

From the Lodge, you can be at the park’s visitor center in under 15 minutes. Which means you can be on trail before most people in other towns have finished breakfast.

2. Capitol Reef’s Fruita Orchards, Gifford Homestead, and the Best Pie in Utah

The Fruita Historic District gets mentioned a lot, and for good reason. Settled in the late 1800s, this little desert oasis has pioneer-era orchards still producing apples, peaches, and pears when the season’s right.

Photo by Nick Fox via Shutterstock.com

Right at the heart of Fruita is the Gifford Homestead, which is famous for small-batch fruit pies (trust us on this). They bake 32 dozen pies a day, and they’re usually sold out by early afternoon. So plan accordingly. A lot of our guests start the morning with a stroll through the orchards, grab a pie at Gifford’s, and then head deeper into the park — and honestly, that’s a pretty solid morning. More about the Gifford Homestead from NPS here.

During harvest season you can pick your own fruit right off the trees. It’s a piece of living history you won’t find anywhere else in Utah’s national parks.

3. Hiking, Backcountry Drives, and Rugged Adventure in Capitol Reef

If you’re the kind of person who searches “Utah backcountry hikes,” Capitol Reef is going to make you very happy. The park is dominated by the Waterpocket Fold, a 100-mile-long wrinkle in the Earth’s crust (Utah.com). Hikers, photographers, anyone who wants to feel genuinely off the beaten path — this is the place.

Our favorites: Cassidy Arch (named after Butch Cassidy, which tells you something about the history here), and Sulphur Creek, where you wade through shallow water and work your way through slot canyons. Up north, Cathedral Valley has monoliths that look like they landed from somewhere else entirely — and if you want to take that comparison literally, there’s even a place nearby called Mars on Earth.

Photo by piksik via Shutterstock.com

Staying at the Lodge makes it easy to mix it up — get your steps in one day, cruise the Scenic Drive the next. And the photos you’ll take out here tend to confuse your friends back home. That’s sort of the point.

4. Best Lodging Near Capitol Reef for Day Trips and Adventures

One more thing worth mentioning: the location. The Lodge is just a few minutes from the park entrance in Torrey, Utah, far enough off Highway 24 that the nights are actually quiet. And it puts you within easy day-trip range of just about everything: Bryce Canyon, Goblin Valley State Park, Grand Staircase-Escalante, and even Moab’s Arches and Canyonlands. Whether you’re working through Utah’s Mighty Five or just focusing on Capitol Reef, this is a pretty good spot to operate from.

5. Plan Your Visit

People call Capitol Reef “underrated,” but once you’ve been here you’ll understand why so many visitors come back. It rewards slowing down. Eat a pie in the shade of the orchards. Watch the cliffs at sunset. Look up at night. And if you’d like a comfortable place to land between all of it, we’d love to have you — check availability at the Lodge.

You probably already know this, but it’s ski season! Utah is famous for its snow, and its snow sports. (We’ve hosted the Winter Olympic Games once before, and are scheduled to do so again in 2034.) The big ski resorts near Salt Lake City are the most popular with tourists, but there are a couple of great little resorts down here in Southern Utah that we like to highlight every year. Because, as you’ll see, they have some real advantages.

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Brian Head Ski Resort

Brian Head is Utah’s southernmost resort. They’ve been around for over 60 years, offering guests great snow and great rates. Interestingly, Brian Head has the highest base elevation of any resort in the state. So don’t think just because it’s here in Southern Utah that it will be sparse on annual snowfall. Every year it receives hundreds of inches. We just looked at their website as we were writing this blog post, and they posted 5 inches just last night. It’s a seriously great place to ski!

Brian Head boasts 650 acres, two connected mountains, 71 runs and 8 chair lifts. 35% of the runs are rated as “most difficult,” but it’s also got tubing runs for more causal fun with the kids. Tickets start at $39 for an adult day pass, and go up from there, depending on the day and season. You can look at they’re pricing here.

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Eagle Point Ski Resort

Eagle Point is the new challenger to Brian Head’s dominance here in southern part of the state. Although it kinda, sorta existed in some iteration before 2009, it wasn’t really Eagle Point as we know it until then. So while it might not be quite as developed as Brian Head, they’re hungry for market share and are expanding rapidly.

As of today, they have 5 lifts and 43 named runs over about 600 acres. But the resort has also worked out a deal with the National Forest Service to allow you access to thousands of acres of pristine backcountry acreage. Which is great if you’re a big backcountry skier. Eagle Point also has a terrain park and a couple of small tubing hills. And they too get plenty of annual snowfall. Basically, everything you need for the perfect weekend. Day prices start at $45 and go up from there.

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The Best Reason to Ski in Southern Utah

Hopefully we’ve convinced you that these resorts are the real deal. But there is one really compelling reason that we think you should ski here, and that’s the scenery! Both Eagle Point and Brian Head have great views, of course, but they also exist in close proximity to the national parks for which Southern Utah is so famous. You can easily ski during the week, and tour the parks on the weekend. Heck, you could even go golfing in Saint George! It’s the perfect winter vacation! So whatever you’re looking for, we think we you’ll find it here in one of Southern Utah’s two great ski resorts. See you on the slopes!

If your looking for an easy weekend getaway this winter, we know just the place – Bryce Canyon National Park!
“What is there to do in Bryce Canyon in January?” we hear you ask. The answer is: plenty! In addition to all the natural beauty, fresh air, and sunshine that you’ll get to enjoy, there are lots of outdoor fun to be had. So here is our list for the top 5 things to do in Bryce Canyon this winter:

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Take a Hike

Just because there’s snow on the ground doesn’t mean that you can’t go for a hike. Most of the trails that you can use during the summer are also open in winter. Just be aware that the snow on the trails can become packed and icy, and, as the official website states, “… some sections cannot be safely traversed without some sort of additional traction device for your hiking shoes or boots.” But not to worry, the Bryce Canyon Visitor rents these traction devices for your winter boots. At just $25 a pair, you can tramp around any trail without fear.

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Try out Snowshoeing

Bryce Canyon has it’s own program to teach you how to snowshoe. When staffing is available (and it usually is) you can explore a pristine, winter wonderland with a qualified Park Ranger. And the best part? Bryce Canyon provides all the equipment for you. So you don’t need to buy or rent snowshoes or poles. Those wishing to take advantage of this program can sign up at the Bryce Canyon Visitor Center or make a reservation by calling (435) 834–4747. Just be sure to bring the proper winter clothing.

Of course, if you are a veteran snowshoer, feel free to explore Bryce anyway you want.

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Sledding with the Family

There are a couple of caveats here. Sledding off the canyon rim into the hoodoos is dangerous and will get you into big trouble, since it’s prohibited. So don’t do it. But if you can find a spot above the rim, you are free to enjoy sledding. However, it might be better if you head over to Red Canyon, it’s very close, and it has better slopes. See the location here on Google Maps.

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Cross-country Skiing

Again, you can’t ski off the rim into the canyon, but there is still plenty of park to explore. The rim trail from Bryce Point and Fairyland Point is our first recommendation, because of the amazing scenery. But Bristlecone Loop, Paria Ski Loop, and Paria View and Fairyland Point roads are all great routes.

If you had your heart set on skiing among the hoodoos, you can get on the Red Canyon Bike Path – which is very cool. There is a also a plethora of routes to be found in the surrounding areas. Bryce Canyon City maintains many miles of groomed ski trails.

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Winter Astronomy and Full Moon Hikes

Bryce Canyon National Park has some of the clearest, driest air in the state. Which translates into fantastic stargazing opportunities. From November to March, you can attend a full moon hike in snowshoes. (Find out more about the full moon hike program here. In addition to the full moon hikes, Bryce Canyon occasionally offers other cool winter astronomy programs. You can find out if anything is scheduled by stopping by the Visitor Center, or giving them a call at (435) 834–4747.

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More to Check Out

Still not convinced? Bryce Canyon has an official page dedicated to all the things you can do in and around the park in winter. Check that out here. Hopefully, you’ll give it a shot, and discover just how great the national park of Southern Utah are any time of the year.