Capitol Reef National Park is located in Utah, USA. It was established as a national park in 1971 and is open all year. The park contains multi-colored canyons, ridges, buttes and monoliths. The area called the Waterpocket Fold is a 100 mile long rocky spine that extends from Thousand Lake Mountain to Lake Powell. The most scenic part of the Waterpocket Fold is named the Capitol Reef. Capitol is for the white domes that remind visitors of capitol building domes and reef is for the rocky cliffs that resemble a coral reef.

Visitors will notice many green and red rocks. This is caused by the oxidized iron in the rock. The black boulders at the park came from volcano lava flows that surfaced about 20 million years ago.

The Capitol Reef National Park contains pinyon-juniper, perennial streams, dry washes and rock cliffs. Some rare and protected plants can be seen at the Capitol Reef National Park. They include the Wright’s fishhook cactus, Rabbit Valley gilia, Maguire’s daisy, Harrison’s milvetch, Pinnate spring-parsley and Barneby reed-mustard. Some of the wildlife visitors can see at the park are shrews, bats, black and grizzly bears, raccoons, ring-tailed cats, skunks, badgers, weasels, otters, wolves, fox, mountain lion, bobcat, deer, elk, moose and bison.http://www.nps.gov/care/faqs.htm

• Activities and Attractionss a 200-acre frontier settlement. There are seven stops with a number of historic structures.http://www.nps.gov/care/planyourvisit/historicfruitatour.htm

• Rock Climbing is available at the park. A free permit is required to camp overnight on a climb.http://www.nps.gov/care/planyourvisit/rockclimbing.htm

• Road Tours - The Cathedral District tour and Waterpocket District tour are two of the scenic drives areas available. There is also a Scenic Drive with an entrance fee of $5.http://www.nps.gov/care/planyourvisit/roads.htm

• Hiking - There are a number of trails located in the park rated from easy to strenuous from the 1/3 mile Sunset Point with views of cliffs and domes to the strenuous 4.5 mile Navajo Knobs that follows the Rim Overlook. Backcountry at the park offers hiking for the backpacker who enjoys the remote areas. Some of the most popular backcountry hikes are in the Upper and Lower Muley Twist Canyons and Halls Creek.http://www.nps.gov/care/planyourvisit/hiking.htm

• Bicycling is permitted in the park but bicycles must stay on designated roads at all times.http://www.nps.gov/care/planyourvisit/biketours.htm

• Horse and Pack Animal Use is permitted but there are some requirements.http://www.nps.gov/care/planyourvisit/horsepack.htm

• Camping - Backcountry, group, primitive and developed camping are all available at the park. Backcountry camping requires a free permit. Group camping can hold a maximum of 40 people. Reservations are required. The Primitive campsites, Cathedral Valley and Cedar Mesa campgrounds are both first-come, first-served. Both campgrounds are open all year and have a pit toilet but no water. The Fruita Campground is a developed campground. It has 71 RV/tent sites. Each site has a picnic table and grill. A RV dump station is available during the summer. Heated restrooms with running water and flush toilets with no showers are offered. $10 per night, first-come, first-served.http://www.nps.gov/care/planyourvisit/things2do.htmhttp://www.nps.gov/care/planyourvisit/groupcampsite.htm

A native people called the Fremont culture lived near the Fremont river around the year 1,000 CE. Due to a prolonged drought in the area, the Freemont villages were abandoned. Many years later, the Paiutes and Ute came to the area. Alan H. Thompson, a surveyor explored the area in 1872. In the 1870’s, settlers moved into the valley starting the towns of Loa, Fremont, Lyman, Bicknell and Torrey. The 1880’s brought the Mormons to the Fremont River valley and they established Fruita, Canineville and Aldridge. Some of the areas remained isolated and were later abandoned. The National Park Service has restored some of the buildings. The area became a national monument on August 2, 1937. On December 18, 1971, President Richard Nixon signed into public law the establishment of the Capital Reef National Park.http://www.nps.gov/care/historyculture/index.htm