By March, the trails at Capitol Reef have had a long winter to themselves. The summer crowds are still months away, the air is crisp and clear, and the desert light — that low, warm, golden quality you only get in the shoulder seasons — makes every walk feel a little more special than it would in the peak of summer. So if you’re planning a spring trip to Southern Utah, here are our picks for the trails worth putting at the top of your list.

Hickman Bridge Trail

1.8 miles round trip | ~400 ft elevation gain | Moderate

This is the classic Capitol Reef hike. And honestly, it earns the title. The trail winds through a narrow wash and up slickrock terrain to a 133-foot natural sandstone arch that’s pretty hard to believe until you’re standing under it. In March, the low-angle light makes the red rock absolutely glow, and you’ll likely have the trail almost entirely to yourself. The creek crossing near the beginning can run a bit higher than usual with early snowmelt — just a good thing to know before you head out. Worth every step.

Photo by Leslie Cross via unsplash.com

Cohab Canyon Trail

1.7 miles one way | ~440 ft elevation gain | Moderate

Named for the Mormon polygamists — or “cohabitants” — who allegedly hid in this canyon from federal marshals in the 1880s, Cohab is one of those trails that rewards you quickly. The initial climb is steep but short. Once you’re in the canyon, the trail opens into a narrow red-walled passage full of character. Come out the other side and you’ve got expansive views across the park, looking back down over Fruita and the Fremont River valley. March mornings up here are among the finest Capitol Reef has to offer.

Grand Wash

4.4 miles round trip | ~100 ft elevation gain | Easy

Grand Wash is one of Capitol Reef’s great easy hikes — a flat, level walk through a dramatic canyon with sheer walls that tower 800 feet on either side. In spring, the wash can carry a little water from snowmelt, which adds sound and life to what is normally a dry corridor. Watch for raptors overhead — the high walls are prime hunting and nesting grounds for falcons and ravens throughout March and April. It’s a perfect option on a slower morning, and ideal for families with young kids.

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock

Rim Overlook & Navajo Knobs

9.4 miles round trip to Navajo Knobs | ~2,240 ft elevation gain | Strenuous

This is the big one. The trail starts at the same trailhead as Hickman Bridge, then climbs steadily above the canyon floor to a series of rim viewpoints with sweeping panoramas of the Waterpocket Fold, the Henry Mountains, and the southern expanse of the park. Most hikers turn around at the Rim Overlook (4.4 miles round trip), which is rewarding on its own. The full route to Navajo Knobs adds even more extraordinary terrain. In March, conditions are typically excellent — cool, clear, uncrowded. Plan on a full day and bring more water than you think you need.

Fremont River Trail

2.0 miles round trip | ~25 ft elevation gain | Easy

Sometimes the best hike is the one that asks the least of you. The Fremont River Trail follows the river through the Fruita Historic District — shaded by cottonwoods, alongside moving water, with the orchards and old pioneer homesteads right there. In March, the first wildflowers start showing up along the south-facing banks, and bird activity in the riparian zone picks up noticeably as migration gets going. It’s a perfect morning walk before breakfast. A lovely way to ease into the park on your first day.

Photo by Annie Spratt via unsplash.com

A Few Things to Know Before You Hike in March

• Layers are essential — March mornings can be cold, sometimes below freezing before sunrise. You’ll warm up fast once you’re moving and the sun is up, but starting a hike without the ability to add warmth on shaded stretches can make for a rough beginning. Pack a light fleece and a wind shell at minimum.
• Check trail conditions — Early March can bring lingering wet or icy conditions on north-facing trails and higher elevation routes. The Capitol Reef Visitor Center rangers are genuinely helpful for pointing you toward trails in the best shape on any given day. Stop in before you head out.
• Flash flood awareness — Slot canyons and wash-bottom trails are beautiful in spring, and they can be dangerous when rain falls upstream. Check the weather before heading into any canyon or wash, and keep in mind that storms forming over the high country can send water rushing through terrain that looks perfectly dry at your feet.

Get Out There

The Lodge at Red River Ranch is within 10 to 20 minutes of all of these trailheads by car. Come back for a long lunch, rest up, then head back out for the afternoon light. That’s the rhythm of a good spring day in Capitol Reef. And if you haven’t got a place to land yet, we’ve got rooms and we’d love to have you.

Fall is honestly one of our favorite times to be out in Capitol Reef. September and October bring cooler mornings, those long golden afternoons, and a stretch of yellow cottonwoods down in the Fremont River valley that’s hard to beat. The crowds thin out, the light goes soft and low, and the trails open up for the kind of long, unhurried days that are hard to pull off in July. If you’ve been waiting for the right time to finally get out here — this is it.

Photo courtesy of Galyna Andrushko via Shutterstock

Why Fall Works So Well for Hiking

July and August out here can be brutal. Daytime highs make anything beyond a short morning walk pretty uncomfortable pretty fast. But by mid-September the whole picture changes — warm enough to be out all day, cool enough to actually cover some ground. Early mornings are crisp. Afternoons are pleasant. Evenings call for a sweater instead of another sunscreen application. And with the summer crowd gone, you’ll actually find parking at the trailheads. Even the flash flood risk drops off as monsoon season wraps up and the skies dry out.

Trails Worth Checking Out This Season

Fall hiking in Capitol Reef really isn’t about testing yourself on the hardest routes — it’s about enjoying the park when it’s at its most comfortable. Here are some of our favorites for this time of year:

• Hickman Bridge Trail: About two miles round trip, passing Fremont River overlooks before you reach a natural stone arch. Short enough to do at a relaxed pace, and the cooler temps make it a great late-morning walk.
• Grand Wash: Wide, sheer canyon walls and sandy washes that just invite you to slow down. By late September the cottonwoods at the bottom of the wash start turning, and that splash of gold against all that red rock is pretty great.
• Cohab Canyon: A moderate climb out of Fruita that winds through narrow canyon passages and up to good overlooks of the orchards and river valley. The mix of rock and fall leaves makes it a favorite for photographers (and really for anyone paying attention).
• Capitol Gorge: A leisurely walk along a historic pioneer road. Petroglyphs, water pockets, canyon walls — and in the fall afternoon light, the whole thing just glows. Save this one for late in the day.

Photo courtesy of Juan Carlos Munoz via Shutterstock

Fall Colors in Fruita

The Fruita Historic District — just inside the park entrance — is worth a visit any time of year. But in fall it’s something else. The cottonwoods and willows along the Fremont River go from green to bright yellow, framing the red cliffs in a way that gets all the love from anyone who sees it. The orchards add to it too. 2025 was a rough year for the harvest — a hard spring freeze came through early and took out most of the crop — but the orchards are still open for strolling, and the Gifford House stays stocked with pies and jams that carry on the Fruita tradition just fine.

Photo courtesy of Wirestock Creators via Shutterstock

A Few Things Worth Knowing Before You Go

• Timing: Early mornings and late afternoons are the sweet spots for longer hikes. Midday is still warm, but totally manageable.
• Gear: Layers are your friend. The temperature swing from morning to evening in the desert is real.
• Crowds: Weekdays are the quietest. But even on fall weekends, you’re looking at a fraction of the traffic you’d find at Zion or Arches.
• Colors: Peak foliage in Fruita and along the Fremont corridor usually runs late September through early October — but the exact timing shifts year to year, so keep that in mind.

Photo courtesy of Joseph Sohm via Shutterstock

Fall is fleeting out here, but it’s also really good. Walk under the cottonwoods in Fruita, climb up toward Hickman Bridge, wander Capitol Gorge at sunset. And if you need a place to come back to at the end of the day, we’ve got rooms a few minutes up the road at the Lodge — warm enough in the evenings that a fire sounds about right.

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.

Southern Utah has a lot going for it: red rock, big sky, and roads that were basically made to be driven. Whether you’re road-tripping through and passing by, or just looking for something to do after breakfast, these are our favorite scenic drives near Capitol Reef. Some you’ve probably heard of, some maybe not. All of them are worth your time.

1. Scenic Byway 12

Might as well start with the obvious one. Scenic Byway 12 is Utah’s premier scenic route — it connects Capitol Reef to Bryce Canyon and winds through slickrock canyons, high mountain forests, red desert cliffs, and everything in between. The U.S. Department of Transportation has even designated it an All-American Road, which is a pretty big deal as these things go.

Photo by Donald Giannatti via Unsplash.com

If you’re starting from Torrey, head south through Boulder and then Escalante. If you have time, pull off and hike down to Lower Calf Creek Falls — you won’t regret it. And when you hit the Hogback, brace yourself: a narrow ridge with steep drop-offs on both sides. It’s the kind of road that makes you grip the wheel just a little tighter. Worth it.

2. Burr Trail

For something with a little more adventure to it, there’s the Burr Trail — a winding 67-mile route through some of the most remote stretches of the park. It starts in Boulder and cuts through the southern end of Capitol Reef. Along the way you’ll pass narrow canyons, petrified sand dunes, and the famous Burr Trail Switchbacks, which drop dramatically down into the Waterpocket Fold.

Photo by Intricate Explorer via Unsplash.com

It’s a stunning drive and rarely crowded. Bring snacks, water, and a camera. But fair warning: only the first 30 miles are paved. After that it turns to dirt, so a capable vehicle with good clearance is a must, and four-wheel drive is always a smart call out here. Check the latest conditions at the NPS page for the Burr Trail before you go.

3. Cathedral Valley Loop

This one’s gotten more popular in recent years, but it’s still pretty off the beaten path — and for good reason. The Cathedral Valley Loop takes you up into the secluded northern section of Capitol Reef, where you’ll find monoliths like the Temple of the Sun and Moon that honestly don’t look real. And the solitude is real too. It’s also one of the darkest spots in the park after sunset, which makes it excellent for stargazing. If you want a local guide for the area, Meridian Tours runs jeep and stargazing tours out that way.

Photo by Robin Canfield via Unsplash.com

You’ll need high clearance — four-wheel drive depending on conditions. Same drill as the Burr Trail: check road conditions at the visitor center before heading out. The NPS keeps current info here. If you’re feeling up for it, this is one of the more rewarding drives in the whole area.

4. Notom–Bullfrog Road

Want something quieter but still want the full Southern Utah experience? The Notom–Bullfrog Road runs along the eastern edge of Capitol Reef, giving you a close-up look at the Waterpocket Fold the whole way. It’s mostly dirt but usually in decent shape for most vehicles. Just watch the weather — it gets muddy fast. The Capitol Reef Visitor Center can give you the latest on conditions.

This drive feels genuinely wild. Empty desert valleys, rocky ridgelines, almost no other cars. It’s the kind of road where you feel like you’re actually discovering something, even when it’s right there on the map. If you have the time and the spirit for it, don’t skip this one.

5. Fishlake Loop

And if you want to cool off completely, head north to Fishlake. This high-elevation drive takes you through alpine lakes, aspen groves, and grassy meadows — about as different from the red rock of Capitol Reef as you can get while still being just up the road. It almost doesn’t feel like the same state. Perfect for a hot summer day or early fall when the aspens are turning.

Photo by Strauss Western via unsplash.com

Pack a picnic, stop at the lake, and if fishing is your thing, this is one of the best spots in Utah for it. You can even swing by and see Pando, the world’s largest living organism (it’s an aspen grove — yes, really). More on the Fishlake Scenic Drive here.

Hit the Road

There are hundreds of miles of scenic road near Capitol Reef. These five are just our favorites. Pick one, pick all of them, pack some snacks, and go. And if you need a comfortable spot to come back to at the end of the day, we’ve got rooms right in the middle of it all — check availability at the Lodge.

If you’ve ever watched a western, you’ve probably seen a sweeping wide shot of some lonely sandstone monoliths rising from the desert and scraping the sky. And most likely, you’ve seen a shot of Monument Valley. This location has become the de facto symbol for the American West – at least in film and television – featured in classics like Stagecoach, The Searchers, Once Upon a Time in the West, and lots and lots of others. If you want confirmation, check out Monument Valley’s IMDb page.

Considering that Monument Valley basically is the American West in millions of peoples’ minds, it’s no wonder that it is a popular place to visit. So if you want to star in your own western, here’s what to do when you make the journey to Monument Valley. (And here’s Monument Valley marked on Google Maps, so you don’t have to search too hard for it.)

Photo by Gautier Salles via unsplash.com

What To See When You Visit: Scenic Loop

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park is located on the Arizona-Utah. The most famous monoliths in the park are the West and East Mitten Buttes. These lie just south of the border line, in Arizona. And while you can see these buttes from the visitors center – which should definitely be your first stop – to get a good look at them, we suggest you drive the Monument Valley scenic route. The scenic drive is a 17-mile loop which will take you past some of the best geological features in the park. There is a small fee of $20 to access the route. You can purchase tickets here.

Please be aware that a the time of this writing, there are restrictions to the number of people allowed on Navajo Tribal Land – currently 50% of normal operating capacity. So it pays to purchase your tickets far in advance. There are other COVID restrictions too. Please see the official site for more information.

Photo by Fudo Jahic via unsplash.com

What To See When You Visit: Antelope Canyon & Hiking

After you’ve driven the scenic loop, you will probably want to go hiking in this striking land. All of the official hikes in Monument Valley require a tribal guide. So you’ll need to schedule a hiking time via the official website. (We can’t stress this enough. Guides are mandatory. You will be in a lot of trouble if you attempt to hike alone.) In our opinion the best hike in the area is Antelope Canyon. It’s one of the most famous, most beautiful slot canyons in the American Southwest. Schedule a guide here. You will love it.

Photo by Robert Murray via unsplash.com

What’s Nearby?

After you’ve seen Monument Valley, the quintessential representation of the American West, you’ll probably want to visit some of the nearby attractions. You’ve driven all the way into the desert, after all. You should see what’s nearby.

Four Corners Monument Navajo Tribal Park is close, and it’s the only place in the United States where you can be in four states at once. Straddle the borders of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and, of course, Utah. There is a small fee of $5 to enter the park.

Or head to Natural Bridges National Monument by way of Mexican Hat and the Valley of the Gods. We can safely say that you won’t forget this amazing drive. Natural Bridges is a collection of three of the best and longest natural arches in the world.

We at the Lodge at Red River Ranch love finding new and exciting places to write about for this blog. Those places primally are in Southern Utah, since, you know, that’s where we are. But every so often we like to recommend destinations that are a little further afield, in case any of our guests are planning one heck of a roadtrip. We like to call these places Nearly Nearby Attractions. And it just so happens that we’ve know of a little place in Colorado that meets these requirements. It’s called the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, and it’s pretty darn cool.

Photo by Vincent Ledvina via unsplash.com

How Nearby Are We Talking?

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park is located in western Colorado, near the town of Montrose. (See it on a map here.) So it’s within easy driving distance of most places in Southern Utah. You can get there in about three and a half hours if you leave from Moab, Utah. And if you leave from Capitol Reef National Park, you can get there in under four and a half.

Photo by Vincent Ledvina via unsplash.com

Sounds Exciting, Tell Me More

There are lots and lots of spectacular canyons in the American West. Some are really famous – think the Grand Canyon – and some are barely noticed. The Black Canyon of the Gunnison isn’t particularly well known, even by residents of Utah or Colorado, so it kind of gets passed over. Which is a shame, because it just might be the most dramatic canyon in this country.

The park is a geological marvel. It contains the tallest sheer cliffs in the state of Colorado, measuring 2250 feet from rim to bottom. In fact, the canyon is so deep that, in certain places, daylight only reaches the bottom for 33 minutes a day. Hence the name, the Black Canyon. And you really need to see it in person to grasp it’s true depth and wonder. As author Duane Vandenbusche once said, “Several canyons of the American West are longer and some are deeper, but none combines the depth, sheerness, narrowness, darkness, and dread of the Black Canyon.”

Photo by Rich Martello via unsplash.com

Ok I’m Sold, What Do I Do Once I Get There?

It’s totally cool to visit Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park just for the views. There’s a scenic drive on the South Rim, which should afford you plenty of good vistas. Be sure to stop at the South Rim Visitor Center, and walk out to Gunnison Point. But if you want your site-seeing to be a little more involved, there are a couple of really great trails that we like. You can get more trail descriptions here on the park’s website.

Exclamation Point – This hike is probably our favorite in the park. Take the North Vista Trail which starts at the North Rim Ranger Station and follow it through the pinyon forests until you get to the rim. There are several overlooks along the trail, so be sure to check them all out. But we think you’ll agree the best overlook is at Exclamation Point. The hike on the North Vista Trail to Exclamation Point is about three-miles roundtrip.

Chasm View Nature Trail – This short hike on the North Rim is perfect for casual hiking, since it’s less than half a mile roundtrip. You will emerge from a nice forest walk to the edge of the canyon. Walking along the rim for a short distance, you’ll come to another lookout point, with great views of Painted Wall and Serpent Point.

Additional Details

There’s an entrance fee of $25 to get into the park, which gives you seven days of access. There are also two campgrounds, one on the north side, and one on the south. If you have an RV, be sure to go to the south rim campground, there are no hook-ups on the north rim. You can reserve spots at the South Rim Campground at recreation.gov.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison is a spectacular national park, and in our opinion at least, well worth the extra drive it takes to get there from Southern Utah.

Photo by Nick Dunlap via unsplash.com

Every so often we at the Lodge like to suggest that you check out a location that might seem a little, well, out of the way. But we know that a lot of our guests are road trippin’ it, and they might like the idea of expanding their Southern Utah vacation with a little jaunt across the state line. So when we have a section of our blog for just such posts – Nearly Nearby Attractions. And this time, we’re highlighting Vermilion Cliffs National Monument.

Vermilion Cliffs National Monument. Photo the John Fowler via unsplash.com

That Sounds Familiar…

You’ve probably heard of Vermilion Cliffs before, and probably in the context of the very famous geographical feature that it contains – the Wave. We’ll talk about that in a second, but first a little general information: The national monument is located just south of the Utah border, in Arizona. It protects some really cool, and really remote desert scenery, places like Coyote Gulch and Paria Canyon. The area is serviced by the town of Kanab, so you’ll need to gas up and stock up there. (In fact, even though there is primitive camping available in the monument, we recommend that you stay in Kanab.) There is no fee to enter Vermilion Cliffs, but there also isn’t a visitor center. And services are limited. But there are plenty of stunning views!

The Wave. Photo the Gert Boers via unsplash.com

The Wave

You’ve seen pictures of this before. It’s a favorite spot for outdoor enthusiasts and social media influencers alike. It’s extremely cool, and everybody wants to see it in person. But unfortunately, that kind of traffic would destroy the site, so the Bureau of Land Management, which manages the monument, has set up a daily-visitor lottery system to limit tourist damage. (We’ve talked about this issue before.) There is an online lottery, and an in-person lottery. We highly recommend that you do the in-person lottery, because you will have much less competition. (Around 200 people, versus everybody in the world.) You’ll need to show up to the BLM office in Kanab. (Which is why you should stay in town, then you can try for the permit everyday that you’re there.) Here’ s the address of the BLM office. Be there by 8:30am.

745 East Highway 89 Kanab Utah
(across from the Wendy’s and gas station)

Also here’s the link to the online lottery. You could always try your luck, somebody’s got to win, right? If you get the permit, go see the Wave! It’s awesome. However, it’s only one of the cool things that you can find at Vermilion Cliffs National Monument. So let’s talk about what else you’ll want to see.

White Pocket. Photo the John Fowler via unsplash.com

White Pocket

Our favorite spot in the monument is actually White Pocket. It’s a lot like the Wave, but a little rougher and has some white sandstone mixed it. (Hence the name.) But you can visit without a permit. And hardly anybody goes there. However, it can be tricky to find, and you will need a high-clearance vehicle to get to the parking area. So get a good map and bring the Jeep.

Vermilion Cliffs

There are a lot of arches and natural bridges in the monument. Wrather Arch is one of the longest (and hardest to get to) arches in the United States, but the overlook is pretty cool. Vermilion Arch is set high up in the cliffs, and the path is strenuous and tricky, but it can be worth the hike. And Double Barrel Arch is spectacular, and is also a much easier hike, only two miles, in and out. So when you’re in the monument, maybe think about doing a tour of some of the arches set in those Vermilion Cliffs.

Near Buckskin Gulch. Photo the Joshua Gresham via unsplash.com

And More…

Of course there’s more to see in this amazing monument. Luckily we’ve covered a bit of it before, so check out our write up on Paria Canyon and Buckskin Gulch. And next time you’re vacationing in Southern Utah, consider hopping across the border to see Vermilion Cliffs National Monument.

Being Utah residents, we at the Lodge at Red River Ranch usually write about the attractions that are found in Southern Utah. But, of course, every state has its own collection of amazing locations. And since, in nature, there are no state lines, we’ve added a special section to our blog – “Nearly Nearby Attractions.”

Everyone in the United States (and in most places in the world) knows about the Grand Canyon. We at Lodge want to encourage you to visit this wonder of the world. Even if you have to add it onto your Southern Utah adventure. So, to help encourage you, we’ve come up with some suggestions about what to see on your trip to Grand Canyon National Park.

Photo by Hugo Soons G via unsplash.com

The South Side

Most people visit the south side of the Grand Canyon. (Probably because they fly to Phoenix or drive in from California.) The south side has a lot of scenic overlooks and hiking trails to explore. Check these ones out:

South Kaibab Trail – provides the best views of any short hike. It is well maintained but steep in spots. Water is not available along the trail and there is little shade.

Bright Angel Trail – this is a popular trail for day hikers. It offers shade in some spots, and water is usually available at drinking fountains. Also well maintained.

The Rim Trail– a fairly easy hiking with few elevation changes. It does not enter the canyon, but provides some amazing views.

Photo by Jennifer Rogalla via unsplash.com

The North Side

If you’re coming down from Southern Utah, you’ll probably end up on the north side of the canyon. It’s a bit less popular and a bit more rugged. If you want more of a “backcountry” feel to their Grand Canyon experience, opt for the north side. Of course, there are plenty of hikes on both sides. Check these ones out on the north side:

North Kaibab Trail – the overlooks are perfect “mile markers” for day hikes of various lengths. Supai Tunnel is 1.8 miles down and is definitely worth checking out. Roaring Springs is only a few more miles down the trail.

Widforss Point Overlook Trail– this scenic route is about 10 miles round trip. It’s well-maintained and has shade in some areas. It’s an excellent hike, but is best suited for more advanced hikers.

When you visit the Grand Canyon, on either the north or south side, be sure to stop by one of the many visitor centers. You’ll want to not just for up-to-date trail information and weather conditions, but also because there is a lot of cool educational content to absorb. Visit the official site here to start planning your trip to this so-close-to-Southern-Utah-we-had-to-write-about-it national park! Enjoy!

Seeing as how we at the Lodge live in Southern Utah, we typically write about Southern Utah stuff in this blog. But since natural geography only sometimes contributes to the formation of political boundaries, there are a lot of cool places in the surrounding states. So some of the locations that we want to talk about might be just over the border in Arizona, Nevada, or in today’s case, Colorado. So let’s talk about the Black Ridge Canyons Wilderness and Rattlesnake Canyon.

Black Ridges Canyon Wilderness. Photo by Matt McGrath Black via Wikimedia Commons.

The What Now?

The Black Ridge Canyons Wilderness is a region of Western Colorado that just barely makes its way into Utah. If you can image driving east from Moab, Utah to Grand Junction, Colorado, then you’ve got a pretty good idea of where it is. The wilderness area protects seven canyons that dissect the Colorado Plateau. The rivers of these canyons all empty into the mighty Colorado River, and, along the way, they create some pretty remarkable scenery. Our favorite of the seven canyons is Rattlesnake Canyon

Unknown, Undeveloped, and Under-appreciated

Rattlesnake Canyon has the second-highest concentration of natural arches in the world. The only other place on earth with a higher concentration is Arches National Park. But since Rattlesnake Canyon isn’t a national park, and doesn’t have the same amount of development, nobody really knows about it. So here are a couple of suggestions to help you explore Rattlesnake Canyon and the Black Ridge Canyons Wilderness area in general

Cedar Tree Arch. Photo by Pretzelpaws via Wikimedia Commons.

How To Explore Rattlesnake Canyon

• You can get to the more accessible part of Black Ridge Canyons Wilderness via Highway 340, from Fruita, Colorado. But to get to Rattlesnake Canyon you’ll need to enter what’s known as the High Country via Glade Park, Colorado. Here it is mapped.
• Have we mentioned that the area is undeveloped? You’ll need to take a high-clearance, four wheel-drive vehicle on these primitive roads. Also keep in mind that the roads are closed seasonally.
• Once you get there, hike the Rattlesnake Canyon Arches trail, you’ll get to see all the best that the canyon has to offer. Including the majestic Cedar Tree Arch. Trail details here.