If you haven’t explored Southern Utah, you’re missing out! The State of Utah is an amazing place to visit and live! Filled with mountains, red rocks and waterfalls—and a gazillion hikes to be found!
I’d like to fill you in on a cool place to visit, if you haven’t been already. And hopefully it will spur some fun ideas for your next getaway!
For Spring break, this year, I took my family to see Capitol Reef State Park and Goblin Valley. My husband, Mike, has never seen Goblin Valley and has been dying to go for years. We were finally going! I invited my parents to come along; and my older sister and her 3 kids joined us, too. We were off on an adventure!
When going to Capitol Reef there are several places to stay, but we chose to rest easy at the Capitol Reef Resort. It was a cabin-type experience and very cozy.
We prepared and cooked our breakfasts and dinners in the cabin, including street tacos and spaghetti. For lunches, we packed up and took it with us on the hikes. This is one way our family saves money when going on trips. We either look for places with a kitchen so we can prepare our own food or we find places with breakfast included.
We enjoyed a couple of different hikes—the Sulfur Creek hike and the Capitol Gorge hike. Sulfur Creek hike starts at Chimney Rock and is all downhill (a win-win for younger kids). It ends at the Capitol Reef Visitor’s Center. You may want to have a family member drive your car and park it at the visitor’s center like we did.
Sulfur Creek is filled with all kinds of surprising elements including hiking in and around water—so, bring your water shoes! There are also waterfalls and beautiful red rock surrounding the whole area. It closes in like a canyon, at times, and then opens up again. It’s amazing! My younger boys, ages 6 and 9, both loved it and uttered no complaints!
The Capitol Gorge Trailhead was much simpler but probably every bit as beautiful! We saw petroglyphs along the rock walls and huge “tanks” to which we climbed up. They were supposed to be filled with water; but, because of our lack of rain, they were only partially filled.
Don’t forget to stop at the Gifford House (just down the road from the Capitol Reef Visitor’s Center). This place is a hidden gem! Two years ago, my Dad visited the Gifford House; and he remembered eating the most delicious cherry pie. He had a hankering for another!
Inside the Gifford House (which looks like a cottage) is a darling curio cabinet filled with all sorts of homemade pies! Just the right size for 2 people! Or three, if you’re willing to share a little more. Each pie is $6.00 and the flavors included: Peach, Strawberry-rhubarb, apple, cherry, and mixed berry. Mmmm! We enjoyed eating them on the picnic tables outside, along with the little $1.00 ice-cream cups they have for sale.
Goblin Valley was next! It was like a GIANT playground! The best part was letting my kids climb on all the mushroom-like sculptures—so tall and so short! So wide and narrow! I even found one in the shape of an eagle’s beak.
My husband was so excited to be there! Crossed it off his bucket list now!
Next, onto the coolest hike you might ever go on—ok, that’s my opinion! The Little Wild Horse Slot Canyon! This is near Goblin Valley and also a hidden gem! This slot canyon is, in fact, very well hidden! You start out your hike going up and over a steep incline.
Wild Horse Slot Canyon has so many twists and turns, alcoves and inlets, narrow walkways that splice through the earth. You can go as far as 8 miles, if you’d like. Every one of my kids ended up loving the hike. And my 16-year-old thought it was cool to be like Spiderman and climb the walls with his cousin. I was amazed at my parents, ages 71 and 73 for taking on this hike! They were rock stars!
Next, we visited “The Wedge” or the “Little Grand Canyon.” Warning: This was around a 34-mile dirt road drive to get to. But it was well worth it! Such an awe-inspiring sight to see the steep rocky cliffs and the gorge below. Truly a magnificent sight! No hiking up here but plenty of amazing views from any direction!
Utah has so much to offer! Now, you have a couple cool ideas of where to go!
