Cathedral Valley - Utah
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JK Super Freak
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 1,108
Likes: 1
From: SLC, Utah
Cathedral Valley - Utah
Details on the Cathedral Valley Loop for those who want them.
Travel Time: Capitol Reef National Park is about 5 hours drive time from Salt Lake City. This trail is also close to Moab and could be done on the way to/from MOAB.
Lodging: The closest town is Torrey Utah and they have several hotels and restaurants for all budgets. There is also an RV campground. There is also a campground along the Cathedral Valley loop trail about 3 hours in. I do not know what permissions if any are needed to use the campground. You could drive from SLC and get to the Cathedral Valley campground in about 8 hours.
Trail Info: The trail is 70 miles and takes about 6 or 7 hours if you stop at everything there is to see. You could probably do the trail in 5 hours without any stops. The trail is well marked and not difficult. Check with the park rangers for conditions before starting the trail.
Tail Advice: Start the trail at the Freemont river ford because it would really suck to travel 6 hours and be in sight of the main road and not be able to cross the river to get there. It's best to get the river out of the way first and be done with it. On the paved road heading east through Capitol Reef there is just a little sign near the east end of the park that says River Ford. Most of the year the river is between 1 and 2 feet deep. There are a few sections that are rocky so make sure you have a good spare tire and a jack. Also, this area is remote so make sure you have emergency water, shelter, and food in case of a break down. You have to travel through several dry washes one the way out and back so do not attempt the trail if there is rain in the area due to the possibility of flash floods. Also, there is no mobile phone coverage out there so you will be on your own unless somebody comes by. On the day we went in late May we saw about a dozen other vehicles on the trail and one cowboy on a horse. We finished the trail and burned less than a quarter tank of fuel in the Jeep.
Close by Sites: Capitol Reef is very close to Goblin Valley, Bryce Canyon, Cainville, and Hanksville. Zion's NP, Arches, Canyon Lands, and the Grand Canyon are only a few hours from Capitol Reef so its something you could see on the way to any of these other places. The Notom Road Scenic Byway goes through Capitol Reef and connects to the Burr Trail on the way to Bullfrog and Lake Powel. Both the Notom Road and Burr trail are very scenic routes.
Temple of the Sun and Moon
Notom Road Capitol Reef NP
Some of the close by attractions:
Bryce Canyon NP
Zion's NP
Travel Time: Capitol Reef National Park is about 5 hours drive time from Salt Lake City. This trail is also close to Moab and could be done on the way to/from MOAB.
Lodging: The closest town is Torrey Utah and they have several hotels and restaurants for all budgets. There is also an RV campground. There is also a campground along the Cathedral Valley loop trail about 3 hours in. I do not know what permissions if any are needed to use the campground. You could drive from SLC and get to the Cathedral Valley campground in about 8 hours.
Trail Info: The trail is 70 miles and takes about 6 or 7 hours if you stop at everything there is to see. You could probably do the trail in 5 hours without any stops. The trail is well marked and not difficult. Check with the park rangers for conditions before starting the trail.
Tail Advice: Start the trail at the Freemont river ford because it would really suck to travel 6 hours and be in sight of the main road and not be able to cross the river to get there. It's best to get the river out of the way first and be done with it. On the paved road heading east through Capitol Reef there is just a little sign near the east end of the park that says River Ford. Most of the year the river is between 1 and 2 feet deep. There are a few sections that are rocky so make sure you have a good spare tire and a jack. Also, this area is remote so make sure you have emergency water, shelter, and food in case of a break down. You have to travel through several dry washes one the way out and back so do not attempt the trail if there is rain in the area due to the possibility of flash floods. Also, there is no mobile phone coverage out there so you will be on your own unless somebody comes by. On the day we went in late May we saw about a dozen other vehicles on the trail and one cowboy on a horse. We finished the trail and burned less than a quarter tank of fuel in the Jeep.
Close by Sites: Capitol Reef is very close to Goblin Valley, Bryce Canyon, Cainville, and Hanksville. Zion's NP, Arches, Canyon Lands, and the Grand Canyon are only a few hours from Capitol Reef so its something you could see on the way to any of these other places. The Notom Road Scenic Byway goes through Capitol Reef and connects to the Burr Trail on the way to Bullfrog and Lake Powel. Both the Notom Road and Burr trail are very scenic routes.
Temple of the Sun and Moon
Notom Road Capitol Reef NP
Some of the close by attractions:
Bryce Canyon NP
Zion's NP
Last edited by porters; Aug 27, 2009 at 10:14 PM.
JK Jedi Master
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 14,800
Likes: 374
From: Midwest City, OK
Was just out that way a couple weeks ago. On the Ranger's advice, we drove through Waterpocket Fold because they said it was the most scenic. I'd like to get back and drive through Cathedral Valley, and perhaps spend the night on the trail at one of the primitive campsites you mention (FYI, no prior reservations are required or accepted). If you're interested, you can see what's on the south side of the park in my thread here (post #3) ...
Moab--Beyond the Tease
Moab--Beyond the Tease
Thread Starter
JK Super Freak
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 1,108
Likes: 1
From: SLC, Utah
We did the Notom road to the south also on our way over to Bryce Canyon, the Grand Canyon, and Zion’s. It is quite a beautiful ride as you pictures show. The park ranger was on drugs as Cathedral Valley is by far the most impressive scenery of all the National parks we saw. As you say in your thread the northern trail is a proper 4x4 trail but nothing on the scale of Fins and Things. There are spots where there are sharp rocks, some switchbacks and a few short ledges but its nothing the average 4x4 could not handle with good tires.
The only thing I will stress is that the northern loop travels heavily through dry river washes and the potential for flash floods is extreme. Only attempt in good weather.
One interesting side note. When my dad was a kid he did surveying work on the Notom road area and he and his group had a camp out off the main road. To get to camp you had to drive up a dry river bed. Dad and his buddy were taking their old war surplus Jeep up the river bed when they heard the flash flood coming. In desperation they tried to climb up the banks but the banks were too steep and they had to abandon the Jeep. The next day they found the jeep about a mile down the wash almost completely buried in sand. Being a Jeep they dug it out and hired a local mechanic to take it all apart and put it all back together. It worked as good as new he says.
The only thing I will stress is that the northern loop travels heavily through dry river washes and the potential for flash floods is extreme. Only attempt in good weather.
One interesting side note. When my dad was a kid he did surveying work on the Notom road area and he and his group had a camp out off the main road. To get to camp you had to drive up a dry river bed. Dad and his buddy were taking their old war surplus Jeep up the river bed when they heard the flash flood coming. In desperation they tried to climb up the banks but the banks were too steep and they had to abandon the Jeep. The next day they found the jeep about a mile down the wash almost completely buried in sand. Being a Jeep they dug it out and hired a local mechanic to take it all apart and put it all back together. It worked as good as new he says.
JK Enthusiast
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 370
Likes: 0
From: Leavenworth, WA
We tried to go to Cathedral Valley is March, but it had been raining and no one had been there in several day, so the ranger advised not to go.
Thanks for the picture, would like to see more, I have to go there now.
Thanks for the picture, would like to see more, I have to go there now.
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JK Newbie
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 14
Likes: 0
From: Port Townsned, WA
We did it in April after the Easter Jeep Safari. It was beautiful? We ran into group of about 10 people (Mormons?) who were using a push cart for there transport. Sure was glad I was in the jeep!
Win Tweedie
Win Tweedie
Thread Starter
JK Super Freak
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 1,108
Likes: 1
From: SLC, Utah
A push cart in the middle of the desert? That doesn’t sound like any Mormons I know. Mormons usually drive Suburban’s, locally known as Mormon Assault Vehicles.
There are several programs out in the desert where young kids who are getting into drugs are sent by their parents. It's like a boot camp for wayward youth where they do stuff like make you push a handcart through the desert to scare you straight. Could it have been something like that?
There are several programs out in the desert where young kids who are getting into drugs are sent by their parents. It's like a boot camp for wayward youth where they do stuff like make you push a handcart through the desert to scare you straight. Could it have been something like that?
