This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Planning a visit to Capitol Reef National Park? Here are five things you should do while you are there
Pick fruit • The historic Fruita orchards of Capitol Reef National Park contain more than 3,000 trees. Visitors can pick cherries, apricots, peaches, pears, apples, plums, mulberries, walnuts and almonds, when in season. The fruit is free when consumed in the orchard. A minimal fee is charged for larger quantities. Call the park's fruit hot line — 435-425-3791 — for details.
Buy a pie • The Historic Gifford Homestead, about a mile from the visitors center on the Scenic Drive, has fresh pies available in season.
Visit the north end • The majority of visitors to Capitol Reef stick to the roads or trails near Highway 24. A smaller percentage visit the eastern and southern parts of the park. Few visit the remote and rugged terrain of the Cathedral Valley.
Camp • Some call the Fruita Campground at Capitol Reef one of the gems of the National Park Service system. The campground is surrounded by orchards, flanked by the Fremont River and has a grass carpet throughout. The campground is first-come, first -served. Primitive camping is available in other areas of the park.
Hike to the pioneer registry • The Capitol Gorge is an easy hike through the bottom of a deep canyon leading to the Pioneer Register, an historic location containing the name of some of the first pioneers in the area. A little farther down the path a climb to the "tanks" — water pockets in the sandstone — is worth the effort. Look for bighorn sheep in the surrounding canyons.
— Brett Prettyman