Southern Utah’s National Parks - American Southwest - page 580

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Prospectors and other travelers passed through Capitol Gorge in the late 1800s, leaving
their names on a wall of rock that came to be known as the Pioneer Register. You can
reach it on a 2-mile loop; see below under “Outdoor Pursuits.”
Mormon pioneers established the appropriately named community of Fruita when
they discovered that this was a good spot to grow fruit. The tiny 1896 Fruita School-
house served as a church, social hall, and meeting hall, in addition to being a one-
room schoolhouse. The school closed in 1941, and it has been restored and furnished
with old wood-and-wrought-iron desks, a wood stove, a chalkboard, textbooks, and even
the hand bell that used to call students to class. Nearby, the orchards planted by the
settlers continue to flourish, tended by park workers who invite you to sample the “fruits”
of their labors.
The historic Gifford Farmhouse, built in 1908, is a typical early-20th-century Utah
farmhouse. It offers displays of period objects and often schedules demonstrations of
pioneer skills, such as quilting and rug making. Park across the road at the picnic area; a
short path leads to the farmhouse.
OUTDOOR PURSUITS
This is the real Wild West; little has changed from the way cowboys, bank robbers, set-
tlers, and gold miners found it in the late 1800s. Among the last areas in the continental
United States to be explored, many parts of Capitol Reef National Park are still practi-
cally unknown, perfect for those who want to see this rugged country in its natural state.
Several local companies offer guide and shuttle services. They include Hondoo Rivers
and Trails, 90 E. Main St. (P.O. Box 98), Torrey, UT 84775 ( & 800/332-2696 or
435/425-3519; www.hondoo.com); and Wild Hare Expeditions, 116 W. Main St. (P.O.
Box 750194), Torrey, UT 84775 ( & 888/304-4273 or 435/425-3999; www.color-
country.net/~thehare).
Those who strike out on their own will find the park's hiking trails offer panoramic
views of colorful cliffs and soaring spires, eerie journeys through desolate steep-walled
canyons, and cool oases along the tree-shaded Fremont River. Watch for petroglyphs and
other reminders of this area's first inhabitants.
Among the best short hikes is the 2.5-mile round-trip Capitol Gorge Trail . It's
easy, mostly level walking along the bottom of a narrow canyon, but looking up at the
tall, smooth walls of rock conveys a strong sense of what the pioneers must have seen and
felt 100 years ago, when they moved rocks and debris to haul their wagons up this can-
yon. Starting at the end of the dirt Capitol Gorge Road, the hiking trail leads past the
Pioneer Register , where prospectors and other early travelers carved their names. The
earliest legible signatures were made in 1871 by J. A. Call and “Wal” Bateman.
A more strenuous hike is the 3.5-mile round-trip Cassidy Arch Trail. This route offers
spectacular views as it climbs steeply from the floor of Grand Wash to high cliffs over-
looking the park. From the trail, you'll see Cassidy Arch, a natural stone arch named for
outlaw Butch Cassidy, who is believed to have used the Grand Wash as a hideout. The
trail is off the Grand Wash dirt road, which branches off the east side of the highway
about halfway down the park's Scenic Drive.
As in most national parks, bikes and four-wheel-drive vehicles must stay on estab-
lished roads, but Capitol Reef has several so-called roads—actually little more than dirt
trails—that provide exciting opportunities for those using 4WD or pedal-power. ATVs
are not permitted. Both the Grand Wash and Capitol Gorge roads, plus several much
longer dirt roads, are open to mountain bikes as well as to four-wheel-drive vehicles.
Details are available at the visitor center.

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