Hickman Bridge Trail
Easy–Mod
1.7 mi+400 ft~1.5 hr
A steady climb to a 133-foot natural bridge with views back over the Fremont River valley. No permit.
Capitol Reef · Mile 01 · The Story
The quiet fifth of
Utah's Mighty Five.
Capitol Reef gets a fraction of the crowds that pour into Zion or Arches, and almost everyone who has been to all five will tell you that's the park's real advantage. Its defining feature is the Waterpocket Fold, a nearly 100-mile wrinkle in the earth's crust where rock layers buckled upward instead of breaking, creating a wall of cliffs and domes that early Mormon settlers thought resembled the U.S. Capitol building, which is where the park gets half its name.
The other half comes from a literal reef: early travelers found the sandstone cliffs as much a barrier to wagon travel as any ocean reef was to ships. In the middle of all that rock sits Fruita, a small orchard community settled in the 1880s that the park still maintains, with historic fruit trees visitors can pick from in season for a small self-serve fee.
Come for the quiet. Stay for the orchard, the arch, and the fact that you'll likely have most of it to yourself. Read the story, trust the live data above for what is open today, and when you leave, mark it visited.
From $37.32
Premium matte paper, museum-quality print. Ships in a protective tube. Price varies by size, chosen at checkout.
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