Introduction:
What? :
Located at the
west section of Capitol Reef National Park along highway 24 you can find The
Goosenecks Overlook.
The very short,
5 minutes’ walk, trail leads from the parking area to a ridgeline overlooking
Sulphur Creek Canyon 800 feet below you.
From the
parking lot you walk over the small hill and the “official”, fence protected
overlook platform, is located on the far side just below the summit of the
hill.
To the left or
right sides of this location there is no fence at the rim edge so make sure you
are not getting too close to the cliff.
At this point
and to the right (west) the Sulphur Creek deep canyon make some tight “goosenecks”
turns when it carved its way through the sandstone rocks.
Here you can
see the river 800 ft below you as well as on the other side the sandstone and
limestone, colored layers forming the canyon walls rock.
I saw that if I walk few hundred feet to the right of the viewing point I will have a nicer view of the large canyon bend.
Be carful because this is a loss rock section,
and the canyon cliff are very dangerous.
You should plan
for about 20-30 minutes for your visit here, including driving in and out and
the walk itself.
From the left
side of the parking area, you can find the trail for Sunset Point. Another easy
trail that’s less than a mile out and back. I did not have the time to visit
here so I can’t provide additional information.
Additional related Blogs:
Where? :
If you are
coming from the Park Visitor Center you need to drive west on highway 24 for
2.4 miles, you will see the clear turnout to the left into Panorama Point.
If you are
coming from Torrey, Utah, this will be 7.5 miles driving east from the junction
of highway 12 and highway 24. When driving east on highway 24, 0.8 miles after
passing the Chimney Rock parking on your left you will see the Panorama Point
turnoff your right.
From Panorama
Point the Goosenecks Overlook is about 1 mile drive on a well-maintained
dirt-road. From the large parking take the left dirt road leading down, the
road is drivable by all vehicles, just take it slow.
After going
down, looping to the right, and up you will reach to the end of the road
parking lot.
Looks like that
this gravel road does not cover with mud so you can drive here also when it
rains. When it snows, it is not recommended to drive here.
Google Map Link
When? :
The park is
open year-round.
Spring and Late
Fall tend to be the best times to hike here, it is not too hot or too cold.
Although this is the less visited of Utah National parks it is relatively busy
in spring through fall, it can be difficult to find parking at popular
trailheads.
Plan for all
types of weather.
The summer hot
is intense and mid-day is easily more than 100f.
The summer (usually
from July to September) can also bring monsoon rains and dangerous flash
floods.
It is very
dangerous to hike in the narrows during thunderstorms. If rain is in the
forecast, avoid hiking the narrows at that time.
Winter are cold
and you can have rainstorms and even snow is possible.
Due note 1:
This is a
National Park, there is entrance fee of $20 per car or you can by a yearly pass
for all America National Parks for $80. There is no entrance gate, you need to
pay at the park visitor center.
Capitol Reef is
open all day long, every day.
The visitor
center is located at the intersection of UT-24 and the Scenic Drive is open
daily, except for some major holidays.
Due note 2:
The visitor
center has limited public WiFi.
There is very
little to no cellular reception in the park. The closest towns with reception
and internet are Torrey (11 miles west of the visitor center) and Hanksville
(37 miles east of the visitor center).
Due note 3:
This is a very
short walk to the viewing platform, no more than 5 minutes.
Due note 4:
There are no
restrooms at the parking lot, No water, No/limit cellular service.
Additional Pictures:
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