Capitol Reef Country - Wayne County
Far off the main roads, Capitol Reef sees fewer visitors but has no less astounding scenic delights. The benefit of this is that you have fewer people to compete with for seasonal fruit picking in the park system's oldest orchards (peaches, apricots, plums, apples, pears, and much more), hiking to astounding views of the Waterpocket Fold, or overnighting it in the sandstone-blanketed backcountry. Geologists around the planet are familiar with the land's tilt that created the monocline known as the Waterpocket Fold; an easier way of describing this distinctive natural feature is to call it a huge wrinkle in the earth's crust that revealed many rock layers. The only Utah park that doesn't require a fee to drive through it (vehicles are charged to travel down the Scenic Drive south of the visitor's center); most of Capitol Reef's trails are easily accessed from the road. Be sure to stop in at the pioneer museum/store, the Gifford House, for delicious miniature pies made from the park's own in-season fruit trees.