Popular trails, portion of road reopen at Capitol Reef amid ongoing construction

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KEY TAKEAWAYS

Popular trails and a road section at Capitol Reef National Park reopened this week with another section reopening next month.
More temporary closures are expected in early 2025 for ongoing improvement projects.

TORREY, Wayne County — A few popular trails and a section of a major road within Capitol Reef National Park reopened this week, but more temporary closures are expected in early 2025 as crews complete park improvement projects.

Visitors again have access to the Chimney Rock Trail and Spring Canyon areas after the trail's parking lot reopened on Monday, according to park rangers. The lot closed in early October for repairs, including parking area adjustments and drainage improvements and new vault toilets were also installed.

Park officials said some "finishing work" was possible this week, so visitors were urged to be cautious around any lingering construction.

A section of Scenic Drive reopened on Tuesday, offering visitors access up to a little past the Grand Wash intersection. The other closed section of the road — Grand Wash to Capitol Gorge — is expected to reopen next month, and it will include more new restrooms and access to the Capitol Gorge lot.

But park officials said Friday a "delayed schedule and colder temperatures" prevented crews from completing Scenic Drive paving. Another temporary closure of Scenic Drive is projected to take place sometime in the spring of next year, so crews and lay down a second layer of pavement.

The project's "final reopening" will take place after that. The $12-million project was planned in coordination with the Federal Highway Administration to address facilities that were "in need of repair and refurbishment," including roads and park areas as the park's popularity has scored with time, park staff explained last year.

Despite this year's construction, Capitol Reef has already surpassed its visitation levels of the past two years, according to National Park Service visitation data. Nearly 1.3 million people visited the park between January and October, which already makes 2024 its second-busiest year on record.

Its record remains 2021, which garnered a little more than 1.4 million visits.

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