Utah

A Dog-Friendly Trip to Capitol Reef National Park

A dog-friendly trip to Capitol Reef National Park, including Capitol Gorge Road, and Gifford House.

A Dog-Friendly Trip to Capitol Reef National Park
If that's not cool, I'm not sure what is.

On our April 2025 road trip from Colorado to California, we visited Capitol Reef National Park. We stayed in Torrey, Utah, which was very conveniently located for visiting the national park.

Is Capitol Reef National Park Dog-Friendly?

Sort of! This certainly wasn't the most restrictive of the parks we visited on this trip. Dogs are allowed a couple of places, but we mostly stuck to driving through. I'll give this park extra points because we could see so much from the car (which was great with the dogs).

They also had a very good bandana for Maya.

Where Are Dogs Allowed?

  • The trail from the visitor center to the Fruita Campground
  • The Fremont River Trail from the campground to the south end of Hattie's Field (where there is a gate
  • Unfenced and/or unlocked orchards
  • Chesnut and Doc Inglesby picnic areas
  • Campgrounds
  • Within 50 feet of center line of roads (paved and dirt) open to public vehicle travel
  • Parking areas open to public vehicle travel

Where Aren't Dogs Allowed?

  • Hiking trails (other than the the trail from the visitor center and the Fremont River Trail)
  • Public buildings
  • The backcountry
Before you take your pet to a national park, check the park policies on the National Park Service website. Every national park has different policies, and they are periodically updated!

Capitol Reef National Park Scenic Drive

From the Visitor Center, you can get into S Scenic Drive to take a drive through the park (this is an out-and-back road).

I liked the marmot sign, with two sizes of marmots.

The scenic drive is beautiful, with stunning views. I really liked the contrast of the lush greenery and the dramatic red rock formations.

Capitol Gorge Road

If you go to Capitol Reef, you have to take Capitol Gorge Road. This drive was one of the highlights of the entire trip (which is saying a lot, when you've just seen five national parks). You get to drive in the actual gorge, surrounded by amazing geological sights.

Capitol Gorge Road is at the end of the scenic drive. This road is a bit more rustic, so you want to have a capable car (though honestly, it wasn't that treacherous). You'll want to pay attention to the weather, because this area can flood quickly.

Gifford House

On the way out of Capitol Reef, we stopped at the Gifford House for some baked goods. Adam hung out with the dogs in the little picnic area while I went inside. The building is small, and was pretty crowded when we were there, but they bake fresh pies and have a variety of cute goods for sale.

Reflections

We didn't have a lot of expectations for Capitol Reef, but it was one of our favorite stops on the trip. The drive through the gorge was spectacular – we loved getting such an up-close view of the rock formations.

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