We covered a lot of ground during our three day trip to Capitol Reef National Park in southern Utah. Here’s a quick summary of our trip from Salt Lake City to Torrey, the highlights from our one day inside Capitol Reef, our favorite restaurants in Torrey and Hanksville, and our visit to Goblin Valley State Park.
Salt Lake City to Torrey, Utah
We traveled the Sunday before Memorial Day so there seemed to be a lot of people on the road. The trip from Salt Lake City to Torrey was a little over three hours so we decided to space out our driving by stopping in Richfield, Utah. To our surprise, every. single. hotel. in Richfield was totally booked Sunday night…ugh.
There we were… 10 o’clock on a Sunday night, with a delirious toddler (who was in a surprisingly good mood), an overtired baby, and all we heard over and over again was “No room in the Inn.” So, we ended up backtracking about 30 minutes to the Scipio Hotel because that was the closest hotel room we could find. Note to my sometimes spontaneous self– if it’s Memorial Day Weekend, book your hotel room BEFORE you leave on your trip; don’t “wing it” on holiday weekends.
We were a little skeptical of the Scipio Hotel, but we were pleasantly surprised with our one night stay. They offered a clean room, free breakfast and Wi-Fi, and an indoor pool/hot tub at an awesome rate! We plan to go back on our trip to Yuba State Park later this year.
On Day 2, we hit the road early and arrived in Torrey, Utah in under two hours. We ate lunch at the CUTEST little café– The Wild Rabbit Cafe. We enjoyed great food, even better coffee, and Dax got to choose a coloring book to work on while we waited. If you’re ever passing through Torrey, you’ve gotta check it out!
One Day in Capitol Reef
After lunch, we made our way to the Capitol Reef Visitor’s Center. We collect magnets of places that we visit as a family so of course we chose our favorite magnet, and Dax got to put a stamp in his National Park Passport.
We then started the “Scenic Drive” through Capitol Reef. The drive is a little under 8 miles, and it leads you to a dirt road that you can take to get back to the Capitol Gorge Trailhead. I loved this “off-roading” experience–bonus points that we had four-wheel drive and a sunroof!
We also explored the Gifford House, the Freemont River, the Schoolhouse, the Petroglyphs before driving east to Hanksville.
Hanksville, Utah
Hanksville is a TINY town about 30 minutes north east of Capitol Reef. We grabbed dinner there at Stan’s Burger Shak— incredible burgers, onion rings, and shakes! Then, we stayed the night in a super cute and affordable Airbnb called Granny’s Nook.
Before hitting the road for day three of our trip, we got breakfast at Duke’s Slickrock Grill. Highly recommend! Can you tell we like food!?
Goblin Valley State Park
We visited Mars…. I mean Goblin Valley State Park on day three of our trip. The park was like nothing I have ever seen before. Dax (two years old) thought he hit the playground jackpot with this place.
We loved that you could spread out among the “goblins” and blaze your own trail. My slight complaint was that it.was.HOT. Don’t forget the sunscreen!
Now, off to the next adventure–naps and laundry for days.