Go to Category
June, 2026
Education, Nature, Outdoor adventures
The First Fruit Of Summer
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. […]
May, 2026
Nature, Outdoor adventures, Special Places
The Milky Way Wakes Up: Stargazing in Capitol Reef
May is a transition month. The bright band of the Milky Way’s core is waking up after a winter of being on the wrong side of the sun. […]
May, 2026
Nature, Outdoor adventures, Wildlife
What’s Moving in the Cottonwoods: Spring Birding
Most people come to Capitol Reef for the rocks. That’s fair. The rocks are why the park exists, and they’re unavoidable. […]
May, 2026
Outdoor adventures
The 100-Mile Wrinkle: Capitol Reef’s Waterpocket Fold
So here’s a fun one. You know how Capitol Reef is full of cliffs and domes and canyons that don’t look quite like anywhere else? […]
May, 2026
Outdoor adventures
Cathedral Valley: Capitol Reef’s Remote North
There’s a version of Capitol Reef that most visitors never see. It starts about an hour north of the Fruita Visitor Center, at the end of a set of dirt roads that stay impassable for much of the year. […]
April, 2026
Outdoor adventures
A Spring Break Family Itinerary for Capitol Reef National Park
Spring break with kids is its own particular kind of trip planning. You need things that hold a ten-year-old’s attention and don’t completely exhaust a seven-year-old. […]
April, 2026
Outdoor adventures
Private Waters and Blue Ribbon Trout
When people think about the Lodge at Red River Ranch, they think about Capitol Reef. The hiking, the red rock, the quiet remoteness of it all. And that’s fair — the park is right out the front door, and it tends to be the main event. […]
April, 2026
Outdoor adventures
The Fruita Orchards in Spring: Capitol Reef’s Most Overlooked April Moment
Most people associate the orchards of Capitol Reef with summer — baskets of peaches, apricots straight off the branch, the satisfying ritual of a u-pick afternoon. And that’s all real, and it’s all worth doing. […]
March, 2026
Education, Nature, Outdoor adventures
Wildflowers and Blossoms: When the Desert Comes Alive in March
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. […]
March, 2026
Nearly Nearby Attractions, Outdoor adventures, Travel
The Best Spring Hikes at Capitol Reef in March
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. […]