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See the best sights along the way, not just the ones at the final destination.
Know where to go, when to arrive, what to see, and how to organize your time in Capitol Reef.
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Skip the endless tabs and conflicting recommendations.
Go beyond the obvious stops with local-style recommendations and historical stories.
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Hey, We’re Matt and Cheryl and we are on a mission to help people have amazing vacations. Not only do we write easy-to-follow itineraries, but we love to share interesting stories in our audio guides about all of our favorite places!
We live in Utah, just four hours away from awesome national parks like Zion and Yellowstone, and have spent our lives exploring the West and the Rocky Mountains. We often travel with both sets of our retired parents (they like each other!) and our four teenagers (who like to travel…sometimes).
We met in a history of Utah class at Weber State University and tied the knot in 2002. Matt worked for Social Security and taught adjunct history classes at our alma mater. Cheryl taught special education for 28 years and continues to volunteer by teaching a weekly dance fitness class.
We took a shot at our dream in 2020 and started making YouTube videos about the national parks we know so well. We now have over 20 million views and have sold over 34,000 guides. We are delighted to help travelers fulfill dreams of their own!
We love trying out all the activities and working with local experts to give the best, most up-to-date travel advice out ther
At We're in the Rockies, we believe in education and donate 5% of the proceeds of your purchase to the Gene Sessions History Scholarship to make education affordable to future park rangers and history teachers.
Watch Cheryl show you how to plan out your travel day in minutes.
Although you could stretch this itinerary into 4 days, we would recommend spending time at Utah’s other national parks if you have extra time. They are all close by and all have something different to offer.
You can do the days in any order that works for you. Just start make sure you start each day where the guide says.
You can also begin your adventure from Bryce Canyon National Park or from Arches/Canyonlands National Parks. This guide includes transition days to both of these parks so you have a good game plan of what to see and do along the way.
Mid-March through October, is when this guide will work best.
We like to wait until later April/early May when the fruit trees are blossoming.
It’s also great to be there when the fruit is on, July through September, because U Pick is offered.
We have visited this park several times and done practically everything there is to do within the park and the surrounding areas.
We travel with our 4 kids (who are now teens) and our retired parents so we get a lot of perspectives.
We try to add lots of variety including hikes, drives, good places to eat, and activities. We usually give backup options for longer hikes and activities that cost.
We are of the mindset that you have a plan so you can be flexible.
We lay out what we believe are the best activities for your time and money but we all have different preferences.
Because each activity listed has a star rating, approximate time frame, and cost, you’ll easily be able to adjust to best suit your group’s interests.
We surveyed our customers and they reported that our guides saved them 10-20 hours of trip planning research, on average.
Although much of the information included in this guide can be found with significant research, this guide combines what you need to know into one place and it is from a source committed to giving you the best information.
This guide cost us over $2,732 to create when you combine travel expenses, map creation, and formatting. In addition, we have spent hundreds of hours visiting this park and doing additional research at home.
Many of our travelers enjoy the confirmation that they have already created a good plan and may even find a thing or two to add to it.
Other travelers may find that our plan is similar to what they had already pieced together on their own.
If you’ve already spent hours planning, you may not find maximum value in this guide.
Yes! We travel with our 4 children and both sets of our retired parents. Although not every activity is for everyone, there are always backup suggestions.
We write these guides so all the work you should need to do is obtain your lodging and reservations. We include maps, the time needed to complete drives and activities, and lodging recommendations. We put boxes throughout the guide indicating it’s an item that you will need to take care of before you leave. We also give links to websites we think you should check before you leave (Ex: Capitol Reef National Park’s website)
You will need a car to visit Capitol Reef. There are many scenic drives you won’t want to miss and there is no shuttle system.
Yes. We give approximate time frames that are needed to complete an activity. The schedule is generally not so packed that you have to be a quick traveler. But, if you know you generally need more time, you can make adjustments. If you are quick, there are suggestions for additional activities
This is a digital download so it will be EMAILED to you. That way you can have access immediately and have the option to download it to any device you want.
Many travelers, including us, prefer to print the itinerary and take it with us as we travel.
The itinerary and audio guide are available immediately upon purchase, right on this webpage. You will also receive an email within 30 minutes with download links in case you need to revisit the links and download the items later. If you don’t receive your email, check your junk mail folder. If it’s not there, contact mattandcheryl@wereintherockies.com and we’ll be in touch with you within 1 business day. Also, the guides will be available in your account, if you choose to establish one (we highly encourage it).
If you are only visiting Capitol Reef National Park, this is the only guide you need. If you are also interested in visiting other Utah National Parks, we recommend the Utah Parks Bundle. It will give you full itineraries and audio guides for all of Utah’s national parks and includes an Overview that shows you the most efficient way to see the parks together and the best routes depending on which airport or direction you are coming from. Plus, it’s cheaper than if you were to buy each of the guides individually.
If you are doing an even bigger trip, just email us at mattandcheryl@wereintherockies.com and tell us where you want to go. A real human will email you back within one business day.
Yes! You can easily visit all of Utah’s national parks (Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Arches and Canyonlands) in a week. Each park is different and we show you how to piece this entire trip together in the Utah Parks Bundle. It’s also at a discounted rate compared to buying each guide individually.
National parks constantly change, including timed-entry requirements, construction, fires, and closures. To keep you updated on the most current things going on, we have a Parks Updates page that we update every week with important information. We recommend you look at this as soon as you begin planning your trip, as well as a few days before you leave.
Guides are automatically updated to the latest version when you create an account.
In addition to that, we also send an email notification out when a guide is updated. Just make sure to stay subscribed to our email list so we can reach you.
Because the download is a PDF file, you can do it on any device: computer, iPhone, Android, tablet, etc.
Stuff like this happens. We get it.
If you created an account, just log in again and download your guides.
If you didn’t create an account or forgot your password, just email us and we can resend your links.
For step-by-step instructions (including pictures) check out our Help With Downloads page.
If you still need help, reach out to us at mattandcheryl@wereintherockies.com We’ll get back to you as soon as possible to help. We’re even happy to jump on a phone call with you if needed.
Capitol Reef is open year-round, but this guide is meant to be used mid-March through October.
Yes!! We update our guides as needed, but write the concepts to intentionally be as timeless as possible. We encourage you to purchase the guide as soon as you know you will be traveling. It will help you determine which areas to stay and how many days to obtain lodging. Upon purchase, you’ll be guided to create an account on our website. If we update the guide, it will automatically show in your account. Your purchase includes free updates for life.
It is not required but is HIGHLY recommended. We encourage you to create an account when purchasing the guides because you’ll have access to the links at any time.
You will have access to the updated guide through your account (another reason to create an account) for life. We generally send an email announcement when we do an update as well.
We believe that once you buy a guide from us, you should be able to use it to visit a 2nd, 3rd, or 4th time.
If you created an account, just log in and download your guide again.
If you didn’t create an account, just email mattandcheryl@wereintherockies.com and let us know you want us to resend your guide links.
We put approximate price ranges on all our activities so you know what to expect.
Capitol Reef is fairly inexpensive to visit. Your biggest expense will be your lodging. In addition to your Capitol Reef entrance fee, Utah state parks also have an entrance fee if you choose to visit Anasazi or Goblin Valley State Parks.
Although we do suggest some hikes, we offer plenty of alternatives if hiking is not desirable, including viewpoints and drives.
Yes. It would be very easy to download this itinerary and head out the door. Capitol Reef National Park does not require any reservations.
$24.00
Plan an unforgettable trip through Capitol Reef and southern Utah with our detailed Capitol Reef Itinerary. It includes practical planning tips, a step-by-step trip plan, must-see sights, scenic drives, hikes, viewpoints, and everything you need to explore Capitol Reef National Park, Scenic Byway 12, Goblin Valley State Park, and the incredible stops in between.
My family of 5 which is my husband and myself and 3 kids ages 10, 8, and 6 just came back from our trip to the mighty 5 in Utah! We had the most amazing trip. We are from Pa and have never been out west and had no idea where to even begin planing for our trip or how to use our time wisely. I’m so thankful that I stumbled upon Matt and Cheryl’s YouTube videos and these guides! So full of extremely valuable information purposefully written out in an easy to use not overwhelming way and maps and wonderful audio guide stories to play on your way to the park when you’re driving or while driving through the park. The whole family loved learning more about the beautiful places we were visiting. I can’t recommend it enough! It really felt like we were traveling with friends who knew the best hikes and how to get to them, the best places to eat, and told engaging relevant stories along the way.
Last two weeks in May ’24. Colder than I anticipated in early morning. I actually had your itineraries printed and bound at FedEx Office before I left so they could be used more easily. The extra cost was well worth it. I would do it again. The little money the guides cost is nothing compared to the cost of the vacation, and I got to see so much more because of my investment. Great work. I wish I knew of you folks before I went to the other Utah parks.
In May 2023, we led 6 jeeps on a trip to Capitol Reef. We had watched your videos and that inspired us to purchase the itinerary, which we used as a basis for our trip itinerary. We opted for the 3 days in park schedule, with our own twist. So day one for us was the full Cathedral Valley Loop, including the river crossing. Per the Ranger’s advice, we ran the loop clockwise beginning with the river crossing. The Ranger pointed out that if we had a problem with the crossing, better to find out before having driven the whole day only to have to double back! Our second day we spent in Fruita. We drove the Gorge early, since it gets crowded quickly along that narrow but so scenic path. From there, we headed back into town, exploring the other gorge before ending up at Gifford House for pies. When we finished with Fruita, our group headed out to Goblin State Park. After playing in the goblins, we dined at Dukes Grill for dinner before driving back to Torrey. Day three was the entire Loop the Fold, with an offroad drive up the Muley Twist spur which is just past the switchbacks (Muley is 4×4 only). Per your itinerary, we dined in Boulder at the Burr Trail grill… excellent as promised. Thanks for all of your route suggestions and useful tips! Worth every penny of the minor cost of the itinerary. We do recommend that travelers use one of the GPS navigation apps such as onX or GAIA to help you find your way. Suggestion…. Perhaps you could include some .gpx files?
So much to see so thank you for prioritizing for us!!!
Thank you for your quick response! I was able to log on and I purchased another guide, plus downloaded the updates to the previous purchased guides. You all do a great job! Your guides and youtube videos helped us a great deal on our first trip out west in 2024, after we retired. It was the best trip ever, and we were gone about 2 months from home. (We worked way too much and didn’t know how much we missed. We’re trying to make up for lost time. lol) We want to repeat that trip some day! I want to see the redwood trees next. Thanks again.
Our family of three (Mom, Dad, 13 y/o daughter ) got this guide as part of a Capitol Reef / Arches / Canyonlands road trip. I had done a bunch of research online, but Matt and Cheryl took it to the next level! From the scoop on sites to places to stay, eat, and visit, it made our trip planning that much easier (and I am a type A do-it-all-myself kind of guy). Thank you, Matt and Cheryl (and the rest of the team) for all your work and putting these guides together! We are planning another epic road trip next year and will be getting some more of your guides soon!
We really appreciated having the guide. I loved reading the history of the area, the maps were very helpful, lots of inside tips we would not have known.
My family of 5 which is my husband and myself and 3 kids ages 10, 8, and 6 just came back from our trip to the mighty 5 in Utah! We had the most amazing trip. We are from Pa and have never been out west and had no idea where to even begin planing for our trip or how to use our time wisely. I’m so thankful that I stumbled upon Matt and Cheryl’s YouTube videos and these guides! So full of extremely valuable information purposefully written out in an easy to use not overwhelming way and maps and wonderful audio guide stories to play on your way to the park when you’re driving or while driving through the park. The whole family loved learning more about the beautiful places we were visiting. I can’t recommend it enough! It really felt like we were traveling with friends who knew the best hikes and how to get to them, the best places to eat, and told engaging relevant stories along the way.