After sleeping in the campground, which is like a grassy park, with the deer wandering around and amazing stars on a clear night, we took it easy in the morning but still fit in a few hikes. I highly recommend the campground if you can get a spot.
Grand Wash
We hiked the Grand Wash when we were here a couple of years ago so this time we started from the other end. It is out and back unless you have another car at the other end, which we did not either time, and both times we didn't hike the entire way before we turned around. So now Mark and I have hiked the entire thing!
I had planned we would hike the capital Gorge Trail this time, but due to recent rains and flooding that wasn't an option.
Grand Wash is listed as an easy hike, 2.2 miles one way, and 200 ft of elevation gain. It is a wash and some parts are narrower than others but most of it is pretty wide. However, you wouldn't hike it in a storm due to risk of flash floods! But it's kind of a must do walk if you are at Capitol Reef. Since we started from highway 24 on the east side of the wash, we didn't even need to pay the entrance fee to the park. Across the highway from the east end trailhead you can walk down to the Freemont River and that was a pleasant diversion and lovely place to cool off.
See the warning sign? That warns you to avoid hiking in canyons when storms are present!!!
There was rain in the week or two before we visited.
You can see how the water ran across the dirt and sand.
This is the geology in the wash.
We are standing in one of the narrower areas.
It is a deep narrow canyon, but not a narrow slot canyon.
Sulpher Creek
Even thought the Sulpher Creek trail ends up at the visitor center, it is considered a back country hiking route, which means it is not a maintained trail. It starts on highway 24 and goes 5.8 miles through a deep canyon with a stream in it, and ends near the visitor's center. You need to leave a vehicle at each end, or hike for 3.3 miles along highway 24 to the starting point, or hitchhike! Instead of any of those options we chose to hike from the bottom up to the 3rd waterfall, so we didn't do the entire hike, which I am sure was fabulous, but hiking to the 3rd falls and back was well worth it even though it is just a small portion of the trail. No regrets. And this section would be doable for young kids. The entire thing would not. However, I do think hiking from top to bottom would be amazing, even though getting down the 3rd falls would definitely be an adventure. Some people would not be up to that. I'm not sure about me!
So here is our experience:
To hike up the trail from the end, you go behind the visitor center where you will see Sulpher Creek. You walk upstream, in or out of the water. I had on sandals that were good for the water, except they did get all kids of small rocks inside which made for frequent emptying, but the point is I was prepared to walk in the water and did so most of the way. Mark was not. He was able to go all the way to the 3rd falls without getting his feet in the water.
You just follow the creek and it looks like this.
This is the third waterfall, and this is as far as we went. The people in the water were coming from the top of the Sulphur Creek trail. When you get to the third waterfall you have to jump in the water. It was maybe a 6 foot jump. Some were jumping in at the middle section of the photo and many would go over to the ledge to the right, jump in and repeat.
This was an interesting optical illusion.
The water is flowing right to left but it looks impossible.
That's why it is an optical illusion. Maybe you just have to be there.
It was less than a mile(.7 mile) from the visitor center to the third waterfall, and then back, but if you aren't going to do the entire thing then its worth going at least that far. It is not a hard hike at all but it is kind of slow since you are going through water.
Doable for kids, and it could take longer if you were playing in the water.
note: another great place for enjoying the water is downstream Sulphur Creek, near the picnicking area, before it joins the Freemont River!
Sunset Point Trail
This is a short, easy, little walk with a view at the end. I guess it's a good place to see the sunset but we weren't there then. We were leaving the park and just stopped for one last look around. It is out and back, .4 miles one way.
The trail is easy to follow. It is mostly flat but at the end
you realize you are up high and there are some cliffs.
Ethan climbed the rocks and it was a great photo opportunity
but if I had small children I would hold on to them tightly!
This was such a short hike but a good view,
if you have time while you are driving by you should do it.
There is another viewpoint that starts at the same trailhead, goosenecks overlook, and it is only .1 miles. We didn't walk to that viewpoint because we were ready to be on our way home and had already had a good view at sunset point.
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