chimney rock trail

Capitol reef is a National Park with nit much crowds. Today november 7th we had not a lot of time and went for this walk. It starts before your visit to the visitors centre. It is one of the few loops in this park and has two big climbs, but the are really good doable. Watch where you go, because the dried up rivers are much like the trails so a mistake is easily made. The trails are guded by stones. The vistas over the whole area are stunning. Many nice Kodakmoments. The last half a mile are the same as the start. It is a nice hike with a good overview over the park

Really just stumbled onto this, and had planned on a warm-up hike for my first day there. After speaking to another hiker, I decided to go up to the ridge. You can travel along a lengthy section of the ridge which overlooks southward toward the park and Fruita. The views in the late afternoon were just amazing an the entire loop would take longer. The rest of the loop follows a descent and meanders back to the parking area.

Took this hike late in the day so we did not have time to finish the loop but recommend it highly. Fabulous views and a good hike.

A very interesting hike through the fault zone. Read the sign on the highway before you go so you have an appreciation for the dynamic landscape. The views are just awesome from the top...the early morning light made for great photos. We added on a walk up Chimney Rock Canyon to the Spring Canyon cutoff...that was the best part of the hike as far as I was concerned...the loop is quite out in the open and on the way out in the heat of the day it was a bit much...the canyon was cooler and more interesting to me.

...so far. I went in the late afternoon and got some incredible pictures. Aside from a family heading back as I started up the trail, I had it all to myself, with its beautiful views throughout, especially at the top where you can look down onto the scenic drive and view the Waterpocket Fold glow in the evening sun.

At only 3.5 miles you can fit this in early in the day. It gives good views across the park, steep to start with but soon levels off. Combine with a short hike along Chimney Rock Canyon to Spring Canyon to get some great views of the canyon walls.

Moderate to easy loop trail, a couple of hours so it doesn't take the whole day. Lots of interesting scenery and close to the Fruita campground.

We wanted to squeeze one more trail in at the end of the day; the ranger at the visitor center had mentioned the Chimney Rock trail. It is off the main highway rather than on the Scenic Drive. We got to the trail head at about 4:30/5:00 pm to find only one other car in the parking lot. We saw three people total on the trail.I do think that the 810 feet of elevation that they mention in the trail guide must be total...there was some up and down. The main elevation push is early in the trail (before you get to the loop) in the form of switchbacks. I didn't think it was bad at all. It was 3.5 miles in length.We did the loop counter-clockwise (to the right). We felt the best views were heading out on the loop rathern than coming back. But, we were more than happy it was a loop for you just get to experience different scenary coming back! As for the "Chimney Rock" - it was really not the highlight of the trail at all (in our opinion), rather, it was the views of the waterpocket fold. There was a pit toilet at the trailhead.

The trailhead for the Chimney Rock trail is located on the north side of Hwy 24 between the town of Torrey and the Capitol Reef visitor center. There is parking and a clean pit toilet at the trailhead. Besides the 3.5 mile (5.7 k) loop trail, this is where the Junior Geologist program meets. Our kids have been fans of the Jr. Ranger program for some time so they were quite interested in participating is this ranger program. The program was quite good and while it is targeted to kids, all the parents appeared to be engaged as well. During the program, not much of the trail is actually covered but one can continue further on the trail after the program as returning to the trailhead is not part of the program. The kids stated that they preferred the Jr. Geologist over the park’s Jr. Ranger program so if you are at Capitol Reef with your kids on a day the Jr. Geologist is offered we would recommend participation in the program. We did hike some of the trail further after the program but not all of it so the rating is more for the program than the trail itself.

Chimney rock itself didn't strike me as anything special or amazing, and neither did this loop walk. There were some nice views, but if you're pushed for time you'd be better off looking at other hikes to do. This is one to do if you're looking to kill a few hours before moving on to your next destination.

We asked at the Visitors Center for a hike recommendation - "... if we could only do one... probably no more than 3 miles or so..." . The ranger recommended Chimney Rock, and it was a 'home run' in our book!The trail is a loop, and you get to see many different and striking vistas - our favorite kind of scenery. We would stop occasionally and just sit down to enjoy the views and the peacefulness.And we only saw of few others during the entire hike. What a pleasant change after the Grand Tetons!make time for Capitol Reef, a little known treasure that we first heard about on Trip Advisor!

This is a great hike. If you do the whole loop it can take 2-3 hours. Incredible views all around.

Der Chimney Rock ist nicht zu übersehen, er befindet sich gleich neben dem Hwy 24, ungefähr in der Mitte zwischen Torrey und dem Visitor Center des Nationalparks.Ein drei Meilen langer Rundweg führt von einem kleinen, gekennzeichneten, Parkplatz direkt zum Felsen, der besonders am Abend bei Sonnenuntergang in ein leuchtendes Dunkelrot getaucht wird. Zu dieser Zeit gelingen auch die eindrucksvollsten Fotos.Am Anfang führt der Weg etwas steil auf die Mesa und wird dann flacher und leichter begehbar. Im Sommer sollte man genügend Wasser mitnehmen.