The Serene Beauty of Canyonlands and Capitol Reef National Parks

 

Many people don't realize it, but just down the road from Arches National Park, lies two other gems. While they may not attract as many visitors each year, Canyonlands National Park and Capitol Reef National Park each contain scenery that richly rewards those who take the time to explore their serene beauty.

Canyonlands National Park

This national park actually consists of three separate and unique natural areas ... Islands in the Sky, The Needles, and The Maze. The Colorado and Green Rivers formed the canyons that give this park its amazing character and separate the natural areas. 

We spent time in the most popular area, Islands in the Sky. Located just thirty minutes from Arches National Park, it is a great alternative or addition to a visit to Arches. We were struck with how similar it seemed to the Grand Canyon, but even better in that Canyonlands offered ...

great views + great hiking + great solitude. 

We were able to get one of the first-come, first-serve campsites at Willow Flats Campground in the center of the park which gave us easy access to hiking by day and spectacular views of a total lunar eclipse by night.

We quickly realized that there are so many great hikes to choose from in this huge park! Just find the trailhead and follow the ''cairns'' (small unique rock sculptures) that mark the trails.

The Islands in the Sky area, as the name implies, lies atop the mesa. The hikes in this area are mostly flat, and the views are breath-taking.

For the more adventurous at heart who also have a vehicle more nimble then ours, the White Rim Road awaits you. We were thoroughly entertained by just watching the high-clearance, four-wheel-drive vehicles slowly inch their way down to the canyon floor and then put the ''pedal to the metal'' as they attempted to climb back up again.

Canyonlands National Park doesn't need to be worried about the possibility of being overshadowed by its nearby sister park of Arches. Its serene beauty rewards all who travel a little further down the road to pay a visit.

Capitol Reef National Park

Two hours further west, the rock formations took on a ''twisted'' sort of form as we entered Capitol Reef National Park. It may be one of the smaller national parks, but the layers of colorful rock that have been lifted and folded over time make it a unique area to explore. 

The geologic feature that gives Capitol Reef its claim-to-fame is called a Waterpocket Fold. The Visitors Center did a great job in explaining this phenomenon, so I won't bore you with the details. Let's just say that the unique way that the layers of rock lifted and intermingled with each other made for some spectacular views.

Once again we were able to secure a site at the park service-operated campground in the center of the park. Fruita Campground lies in the center of what can best be described as an oasis in the desert because of the abundance of water that comes from the adjacent rivers. The area started out as a small Mormon community filled with orchards of fruit trees. Many of these trees are still present today. The restaurant in the historical village serves up fruit pies like those of bygone days ... but I suspect that this ''deer'' park visitor prefers his fruit right just off the trees.

We did two hikes that rewarded us with spectacular views.

Chimney Rock trail gave great views of the namesake rock structure as we worked our way over, around, and in between massive boulders.

The Fremont River Trail led us up to a viewpoint where we could see the dome-shaped landmark that gave this park part of its unique name. The white pointed rock in the distance is said to have resembled the dome of our nation's capitol building. That, along with the fact that the twisted rocks look somewhat like coral reef, gave the name of yet another serene national park that is definitely worth a visit.

After our time there, it seemed almost mandatory that we stop in Salt Lake City for some ''dome'' comparisons. I'm seeing a definite resemblance!

 While in Salt Lake City, it was time to make a definite decision ... north to Alaska or hang out in the lower 48 this summer??? Fuel prices and a few other issues had me re-thinking our plans.

But views like this as we hiked in the foothills of Salt Lake City (and Doug's gentle persuasion) convinced me that the Last Frontier is indeed calling our names!

Print this post