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Cathedral Valley 2.0

A great trail through majestic Cathedral Valley with hoodoos, buttes and other interesting geologic formations.

This trail starts from Highway 24, loops through the northern part of Capitol Reef National Park then returns to Highway 24 in a different location. 

The eastern leg is suitable for almost any vehicle, although it may have washboarding.  This leg is the actual Cathedral Valley.  The western leg is somewhat rocky and bumpier and also requires fording Fremont River.  It is a nice trip if you simply drive the eastern leg to where the road climbs out of the valley then return the same way, thus avoiding the bumps and the ford.

There is a GPS - gpx track file at the bottom of the page.
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North end of Cathedral Valley
This is a wide valley with hoodoos along canyon walls almost the entire way.  We think they are beautiful.
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Entering Cathedral Valley
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Hoodoos along canyon walls
Hoodoos along the edge are not the only attractions.  There are things to see inside the canyon walls.
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Wall next to the road
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Temple of the Sun (larger) and Temple of the Moon
Glass Mountain is a real oddity.
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Glass Mountain
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Glass Mountain crystals
These buttes are near the north end of the valley.  All of the sandstone in the area consists of horizontal sedimentary layers.  It appears to us (non-geologists) that lava intruded upward through the sandstone layers and now shows up as vertical layers.  What do you think?
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Buttes and lava intrusion
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Two layers of lava intrusions (front and back)
Gypsum Sinkhole is unusual for this area.

The road turns and climbs out of the valley at the north end.  This is the place to turn around if you do not want to do the western leg.
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Gypsum Sinkhole
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Approaching north end
The western leg is considerably bumpier and slower.  You will have the chance of a couple overlooks and will pass through the Bentonite Hills.  Ford the Fremont River just before reaching Highway 24.
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Bentonite Hills
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Fording Fremont River
Page updated 2017.

Picture

cathedral_valley_2.0.gpx
File Size: 326 kb
File Type: gpx
Download File

  • Jeep The USA
  • Trails
    • Arizona Jeep Trails >
      • Apache Junction Jeep Trails
      • Kingman Jeep Trails
      • Lake Havasu - Parker Jeep Trails
      • Phoenix to Flagstaff Jeep Trails
      • Quartzsite Jeep Trails
      • Tucson - Benson Jeep Trails
    • California Jeep Trails >
      • Death Valley
    • Colorado Jeep Trails >
      • Breckenridge Jeep Trails
      • Buena Vista Jeep Trails
      • Grand Junction Jeep Trails
      • Montrose Jeep Trails
      • Silverton - Ouray Jeep Trails
    • Nevada Jeep Trails >
      • Las Vegas Jeep Trails
      • Mesquite Jeep Trails
    • New Mexico Jeep Trails >
      • Elephant Butte Jeep Trails
      • Las Cruces Jeep Trails
    • South Dakota Jeep Trails >
      • Black Hills Jeep Trails
    • Texas Jeep Trails >
      • Big Bend Jeep Trails
    • Utah Jeep Trails >
      • Blanding Jeep Trails
      • Green River -Hanksville Jeep Trails
      • Moab Jeep Trails
      • Page - Escalante - Kanab Jeep Trails
      • Saint George Jeep Trails
    • Wyoming Jeep Trails >
      • Bighorn Mountains Jeep Trails
      • Lander Jeep Trails
  • Difficulty Ratings
  • Use GPX
  • Interactive map Tutorial