I'm not sure how much searching you did on this board, but there are more "Utah Advice" threads here than for any other state. If you want to fill knowledge holes, or just read more, a search will dredge up more info!
(Not stating to be a wise guy, it just occurred to me however)

Yea, distances are road miles. You'll have to research any given hike to get an idea of its distance / difficulty.


It's been a while since I was there, but I remember trailhead markings to be rather erratic. Popular stuff like Spooky and Devil's Garden had a nice sign, but the more esoteric sites (about 97% of what's out there!) were completely unmarked. Suggest you buy a GPS toy and map critical intersections and trailheads. It's best to 'know where you're going' before you arrive. You can buy several pretty good maps of the area at any of the GSENM BLM centers, at area stores or, possibly, the Zion or Bryce visitor's centers.

I remember this being pretty good, if not quite as comprehensive as a large USGS quad map. http://shop.nationalgeographic.com/ngs/product/maps/travel-and-hiking-maps/trails-illustrated-hiking-and-recreation-maps/utah/710-canyons-of-the-escalante-trail-map

When do you leave?

Just came back from a week-long Utah trip myself, where I got to see some parks for the first time: Bryce NP, Capitol Reef NP, Goblin Valley SP, Canyonlands NP (Island in the Sky), Dead Horse Point SP, and Arches NP (I've been to Dead Horse Point and Arches before though). So it was a really whirlwind tour and I wasn't expecting many ops for great photos anywhere but I got surprisingly great lighting & conditions at some of them.

My favorite park by far was Capitol Reef, which rarely gets mentioned in Utah discussions, but it was probably the most amazing that I saw. The rock formations at Capitol Reef were simply epic and surprisingly colorful. If you have time, I'd recommend stopping by there.

Of course all the parks were amazing, but Capitol Reef especially blew me away with its colorful rocks, tall & long cliffs, and expansive badlands.

I did already have a copy of that book "Photographing the Southwest" Volume 1, which was invaluable btw.

Capital Reef is kind of the forgotten step child of the parks.

Capitol Reef is a beautiful park. And an especially nice, quiet place to stay in the campground. Plus it backs up to the Henry Mountains and the bison (good luck finding them!). Everyone seems to love it but what it doesn't have is icons on the level of Arches, Canyonlands, or Zion. Yes there are the Temples, and Waterpocket Fold, but you have to work a little for those, they aren't instant gratification.

And if it stays relatively small, and relatively obscure - well that's fine with me!

ckcarr wrote:
I'm not sure how much searching you did on this board, but there are more "Utah Advice" threads here than for any other state. If you want to fill knowledge holes, or just read more, a search will dredge up more info!
(Not stating to be a wise guy, it just occurred to me however)


I totally forgot to use that feature . Most of my research was just google

Greg Campbell wrote:
Yea, distances are road miles. You'll have to research any given hike to get an idea of its distance / difficulty.


It's been a while since I was there, but I remember trailhead markings to be rather erratic. Popular stuff like Spooky and Devil's Garden had a nice sign, but the more esoteric sites (about 97% of what's out there!) were completely unmarked. Suggest you buy a GPS toy and map critical intersections and trailheads. It's best to 'know where you're going' before you arrive. You can buy several pretty good maps of the area at any of the GSENM BLM centers, at area stores or, possibly, the Zion or Bryce visitor's centers.

I remember this being pretty good, if not quite as comprehensive as a large USGS quad map. http://shop.nationalgeographic.com/ngs/product/maps/travel-and-hiking-maps/trails-illustrated-hiking-and-recreation-maps/utah/710-canyons-of-the-escalante-trail-map

When do you leave?

thanks for the tips.

I'll be leaving on oct 17th and leave on the 21nd.

Asrale wrote:
Just came back from a week-long Utah trip myself, where I got to see some parks for the first time: Bryce NP, Capitol Reef NP, Goblin Valley SP, Canyonlands NP (Island in the Sky), Dead Horse Point SP, and Arches NP (I've been to Dead Horse Point and Arches before though). So it was a really whirlwind tour and I wasn't expecting many ops for great photos anywhere but I got surprisingly great lighting & conditions at some of them.

My favorite park by far was Capitol Reef, which rarely gets mentioned in Utah discussions, but it was probably the most amazing that I saw. The rock formations at Capitol Reef were simply epic and surprisingly colorful. If you have time, I'd recommend stopping by there.

Of course all the parks were amazing, but Capitol Reef especially blew me away with its colorful rocks, tall & long cliffs, and expansive badlands.

I did already have a copy of that book "Photographing the Southwest" Volume 1, which was invaluable btw.


Awesome! How was the crowd at Zion and Bryce? a lot of tourists and photogs out there?


When I googled Utah for photography, capitol reef gets mentioned but really does gets over shadowed by the other parks.

Jason