Of the Beehive State’s five national parks, Capitol Reef National Park is the park with the fewest visitors. We’re not sure why this park gets so much less love than the others, but it certainly deserves your attention. When you are searching for the best national park to visit in Utah, this park must be high on your list. Here are just nine reasons why you’ll fall in love with this under-appreciated national park in the Beehive State.

1. Capitol Reef National Park gets just one-fourth as many visitors as Utah's most popular park, which means fewer tourists to share your space with.
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Zion National Park had 5.04 million visitors in 2021, the most visitors of all of Utah's national parks. With just 1.4 million visitors in 2021, Capitol Reef is the least appreciated of all our national parks.
2. You can find solitude here.
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Some parts of the park are remote and have very few visitors, making it possible to truly find solitude here.
3. Some of the park's history is ancient.
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The Fremont People left petroglyphs in several places in the park, dating back from AD 600 to 1300.
4. There's plenty of more recent history, too.
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The Fruita Rural Historic District preserves some of the park's more recent history. Mormon pioneers settled in this area in the mid-1800s and planted tons of fruit trees.

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5. The hiking at Capitol Reef is amazing.
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You'll find 15 day hikes, ranging in length from 0.25 miles to more than 10 miles. Some are super easy, others are strenuous, but all of them take you to amazing places.
6. You don't need a special pass to worship at these temples.
Robert Shea/flickr
The Temples of the Sun, Moon, and Stars are majestic entrada sandstone monoliths that tower above the valley floor. They're 160 million years old!
7. The park is perfectly picturesque.
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Capitol Reef has many of the same features that draw visitors to our other national parks — the vast, open skies, magnificent rock formations, and stunning beauty — but without the crowds. Don't forget your camera!
8. During the "Golden Hour," as the sun sets, the rich colors at this park are simply amazing.
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The sunsets alone are plenty of reason to stick around.
9. After the sun sets, the park gets even better.
Capitol Reef National Park
Capitol Reef National Park has been designated as a gold-tier International Dark Skies Park, which means that the light pollution is so low here that you can clearly see millions of stars.

What national park do you plan to visit in Utah? Have you visited Capitol Reef National Park lately? If so, tell us all about it in the comments! If you need help planning your trip to this incredible national park, visit the National Park Service website.

Outside of Capitol Reef is the small town of Torrey, which is the perfect staycation destination. Here are just a few reasons you should make plans to stay in this charming small town in Utah.

 

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Capitol Reef, Utah, USA