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We were lucky enough to do the Cathedral Valley Loop near Capitol Reef National Park again this past weekend. This trip we used a Toyota 4Runner rented from Utah Wanderlust Rentals in Salt Lake City. The 4Runner was equipped with a rooftop tent which made for the ultimate car camping/van life experience. If you are visiting from out of town, or you’re a local without an off-road capable vehicle, definitely check out this set up as the Cathedral Valley Loop requires a 4WD vehicle. However if you are looking for something a little less intense, check out this post on the best scenic drives in Utah.

Note: This post is sponsored by Utah Wanderlust Rentals, but all experiences documented are my own opinions.

Cathedral Valley Loop

This loop goes in and out of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands as well as Capitol Reef National Park. The first thing you might notice from this map of the Cathedral Valley Loop is that it says it will take longer than 4 hours to go 68 miles. It’s definitely not one of those “beat the GPS” situations. This road is not for the speed demons.

The road conditions can be pretty dicey, even with a 4WD. In fact, we got our Jeep Wrangler stuck there last year. So if you are considering doing this drive, ALWAYS check with the park service prior to embarking on your trip. Specifically ask about the water crossing level (how deep it is), if there is excess sand, or other deep mud. You can also check for recent reviews on AllTrails to get an idea, although the park service is probably most up to date.

Points of Interest

The drive has many scenic spots, so I won’t be able to cover them all here, however here are some of the popular points of interest:

• Temple of the Sun
• Temple of the Moon
• Cathedrals Trail
• Cathedral Valley Campground – not pictured but an option for a place to stay overnight within Capitol Reef National Park, spaces limited
• Cathedral Valley Overlook
• Bentonite Hills

Where to Stay

As our Toyota 4Runner was equipped with a rooftop tent, we were fortunate to have our place to sleep traveling along with us. However, if you are considering driving the Cathedral Valley Loop, here is where you should consider staying:

Camping

If you plan to camp while on your trip, there are many options either on the loop or before or after you finish your drive.

• BLM Lands – The Cathedral Valley Loop is partly in Capitol Reef National Park and partly within BLM lands, meaning you are never very far from dispersed camping. To learn more about camping on BLM lands check out this link here. This is the option that we went with.
• Cathedral Valley Campground – This remote campground is about halfway along the route. This is a no fee location, with 6 sites, a pit toilet and no water available. Check out this link for more information.
• Fruita Campground – This campground is located within Capitol Reef National Park on the main road. This is potentially the best option if you have a trailer as you will likely not want to take it on the Cathedral Valley Loop Road. This campground is also significantly more developed and does charge a fee. To learn more about this campground, check out this link here.

Hotels

Although on this trip we stayed in our rooftop tent, I have previously stayed at several hotels in the area. None of them that I have stayed in are incredibly nice, but fortunately they are not usually very expensive either.

• Rodeway Inn – I haven’t ever stayed at this location but it is located in Caineville and very close to one of the entrances of the Cathedral Valley Loop from the main road.
• Capitol Reef Inn & Cafe – This is one we did stay at during our second excursion to the Cathedral Valley Loop. It was inexpensive but rather old.
• Airbnb – There are also other options in the area outside the hotels such as renting an Airbnb. If you have never used Airbnb before, you can use this link for up to $50 off your first stay.

Our Camper Set-Up

We rented a Toyota 4Runner with a rooftop tent from Utah Wanderlust Rentals in Salt Lake City for this trip. To be totally honest, I never thought much about rooftop tents before this trip but it was a completely upgraded experience from camping on the ground. If you are familiar with rooftop tents then this will be old news – but the tent is actually comfortable. It has a mattress inside it and it made for a side-sleeper’s paradise (normally even with an inflated pad it’s hard to side sleep).

The Toyota 4Runner from Utah Wanderlust Rentals was equipped with everything we could possibly need including: linens, pillows, blankets, cookware, stove, utensils, refrigerator, portable toilet, table, chairs and so much more. This makes it the perfect option to rent if you are coming in from out of town and don’t want to bring all of your equipment with you.

Things to Do

Obviously you can spend several days on the Cathedral Valley Loop Road, but if you are looking for nearby options before or after your trip here are a few things you could consider.

• Capitol Reef National Park – This one is pretty obvious but should still be stated. The Cathedral Valley Loop drive goes in and out of Capitol Reef National Park boundaries but this is not the main area of the park. Consider doing the Capitol Reef Scenic Drive or hiking to Hickman Natural Bridge or the Grand Wash.
• Take a scenic drive – If you haven’t had enough driving, Capitol Reef is in the center of the state and well-located to begin some of the best scenic drives in Utah,
• Swing Arm City OHV Area – If the Cathedral Valley Loop was not “off road” enough for you, consider Swing Arm City OHV area. An ATV/OHV/dirt biker’s paradise, this would be THE destination if you are into that sort of thing.

Cathedral Valley Loop

Have you done this loop before? What was your favorite part? Let me know in the comments.

You May Also Enjoy These Posts:

• Best Hikes in Utah
• 21 Places to Visit in Utah that aren’t National Parks
• 11 Things to do in Kanab
• Visiting the Utah Mighty 5 National Parks
• Best Scenic Drives in Utah

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