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jvett77
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Cathedral Valley is in the northern part of Capital Reef, UT, and is only accessible by sandstone/gravel unimproved roads that are not in the park. If weather is very good it's worth the effort. AWD/4WD is required with some height. A lot of large ruts and sloppy washes in the roads. Rains can make some areas on the roads inaccessible as I learned the hard way.
Entrance to Cathedral Valley Rd off route 24 at Caineville.
Typical road quality every 1/2 mile.
Temple of the Sun at 15 miles.
Temple of the Moon
Upper Cathedral Valley In Capital Reef near Park Campsite
At this point you can exit the park towards Fremont and route 72 or head south on Hartnet road that parallels Cathedral Valley Rd for 30 miles back toward route 24. I was up for more exploring so I chose the latter. Bad idea.
After a few hours and 29 miles of tough driving, it was after 8 PM, I stopped after seeing blackness through my headlights and hearing raging water flow. I was a few miles north of route 24 facing a large creek. No cell/IN access. Now I know what the sign meant when it said "Route 24 via Ford River.
So, a great place to spend the night! Fortunately, the clouds moved on and it was a clear, 29 degrees, starry night. Any rain and I may have been stuck here for a few days. Had plenty of food and water.
Beautiful weather in the morning so I headed back north and after two hours, I was back in Cathedral Valley, averaging about 20 mph. The range on my dash said 49 miles to empty. Amazingly, I made it to a town, Loa, for a 20 gallon fillup. Probably had a pint left in the tank. What a trip!
Entrance to Cathedral Valley Rd off route 24 at Caineville.
Typical road quality every 1/2 mile.
Temple of the Sun at 15 miles.
Temple of the Moon
Upper Cathedral Valley In Capital Reef near Park Campsite
At this point you can exit the park towards Fremont and route 72 or head south on Hartnet road that parallels Cathedral Valley Rd for 30 miles back toward route 24. I was up for more exploring so I chose the latter. Bad idea.
After a few hours and 29 miles of tough driving, it was after 8 PM, I stopped after seeing blackness through my headlights and hearing raging water flow. I was a few miles north of route 24 facing a large creek. No cell/IN access. Now I know what the sign meant when it said "Route 24 via Ford River.
So, a great place to spend the night! Fortunately, the clouds moved on and it was a clear, 29 degrees, starry night. Any rain and I may have been stuck here for a few days. Had plenty of food and water.
Beautiful weather in the morning so I headed back north and after two hours, I was back in Cathedral Valley, averaging about 20 mph. The range on my dash said 49 miles to empty. Amazingly, I made it to a town, Loa, for a 20 gallon fillup. Probably had a pint left in the tank. What a trip!
