Great page! It's probably new (don't remember it from my first visit a few years back), but the Cafe Diablo in Torrey is a truly excellent restaurant--prices to match that excellence, but well worth it.
There's so much to Capitol Reef National Park and the surrounding area that it's about impossible to cover everything. This is a good over-view, well done. The great thing about this park is that it's overlooked. People swarm Zion's and the surrounding area, so Capitol Reef is open with light traffic. I brought my daughter out over spring break (spent 3 days, stayed in Torrey). The locals said that it's as busy as they've seen it in a long time and it wasn't crowded at all, traffic great. For the people that go to Capitol Reef Park, most of them do the Cathedral Valley. When I went down the Waterpocket Fold and back using the Burr Trail (a loop of over 100 miles), I saw half a dozen vehicles out there the whole day. My pre-teen really enjoyed it and never complained of being bored, I call that a big win for this place.
I agree, this area is certainly one of my favorite areas in all of the US. Sounds like a great trip you had. I've spent many good days in Capitol Reef in my heydays as a late teen early 20s age range
Something I want to add is that the Waterpocket Fold and Burr Trail are VERY remote with no cell phone coverage. Getting stuck out there could quickly become a survival situation. Make sure you set out with a full tank of gas, have good maps, GPS navigation is probably a good idea, and you may want something that has satellite communication capability. Having a car that is in good repair and an aired-up spare tire is also a must. The park was "busy" over spring break and I saw maybe a half-dozen other vehicles the whole day. I saw no park rangers, cops, or anybody else official out there at all. Fantastic beautiful area but keep in mind that any kind of emergency help is hours away and that's IF you can communicate with anybody. Definitely bring extra food, water, and reasonable survival/safety gear.
HA! My friend and I drove the entire Burr trail back in March 2010 in a blizzard with a foot of snow covering it...in an old Subaru. We were nearly stuck for good, a couple times. Could have been a real bad problem if we didn't make it all the way down to the paved areas at the southern end.
Mark Doiron - Aug 15, 2013 4:56 am - Voted 10/10
Cafe Diablo in TorreyGreat page! It's probably new (don't remember it from my first visit a few years back), but the Cafe Diablo in Torrey is a truly excellent restaurant--prices to match that excellence, but well worth it.
http://www.cafediablo.net/
--mark d.
1L-19 - Aug 23, 2018 4:26 pm - Voted 9/10
Nice pageThere's so much to Capitol Reef National Park and the surrounding area that it's about impossible to cover everything. This is a good over-view, well done. The great thing about this park is that it's overlooked. People swarm Zion's and the surrounding area, so Capitol Reef is open with light traffic. I brought my daughter out over spring break (spent 3 days, stayed in Torrey). The locals said that it's as busy as they've seen it in a long time and it wasn't crowded at all, traffic great. For the people that go to Capitol Reef Park, most of them do the Cathedral Valley. When I went down the Waterpocket Fold and back using the Burr Trail (a loop of over 100 miles), I saw half a dozen vehicles out there the whole day. My pre-teen really enjoyed it and never complained of being bored, I call that a big win for this place.
Matt Lemke - Dec 25, 2018 7:22 am - Hasn't voted
Re: Nice pageI agree, this area is certainly one of my favorite areas in all of the US. Sounds like a great trip you had. I've spent many good days in Capitol Reef in my heydays as a late teen early 20s age range
1L-19 - Aug 23, 2018 4:34 pm - Voted 9/10
Very remote areaSomething I want to add is that the Waterpocket Fold and Burr Trail are VERY remote with no cell phone coverage. Getting stuck out there could quickly become a survival situation. Make sure you set out with a full tank of gas, have good maps, GPS navigation is probably a good idea, and you may want something that has satellite communication capability. Having a car that is in good repair and an aired-up spare tire is also a must. The park was "busy" over spring break and I saw maybe a half-dozen other vehicles the whole day. I saw no park rangers, cops, or anybody else official out there at all. Fantastic beautiful area but keep in mind that any kind of emergency help is hours away and that's IF you can communicate with anybody. Definitely bring extra food, water, and reasonable survival/safety gear.
Matt Lemke - Dec 25, 2018 7:20 am - Hasn't voted
Re: Very remote areaHA! My friend and I drove the entire Burr trail back in March 2010 in a blizzard with a foot of snow covering it...in an old Subaru. We were nearly stuck for good, a couple times. Could have been a real bad problem if we didn't make it all the way down to the paved areas at the southern end.