Alerts & Conditions

Alerts

Capitol Reef National Park Operations

Capitol Reef National Park is fully open.

• The park is open 24 hours a day.
• Visitor Center Hours
  • Spring through fall hours (began March 8): 8:00 am to 4:30 pm, daily.
  • Winter hours (begin end of November): 9:00 am to 4:30 pm, daily.
• The Gifford House is open for the season.
  • Operating hours are 9:00 am to 4:30 pm, daily.
• Operations are subject to change at any time.
• Ranger programs will be listed at the visitor center and on bulletin boards.
• Backcountry camping permits can be obtained at the visitor center, during open hours. Please arrive early enough to complete the permit process before closing.
• Most Canyoneering routes are open (with a permit). Check alerts above for seasonal closures.
• The Fruita Campground is reservable year-round. Reservations for the Fruita Campground, including the Group Site, are available through recreation.gov. Dates are available up to six months in advance (one year in advance for the group site). Generators are only permitted in the C loop except during the winter closure of the C loop, then they are permitted in A and B loops.

 

Orchard Updates

August 11, 2026 Updates

• Flemish Beauty pears will open Thursday, 8/13, in the Gifford and Johnson orchards. Price will be $2.00 per pound, no bushel pricing available. The Gifford will be open dawn until dusk and the Johnson from 9AM to 5PM, daily. Harvests are expected to last only a few days given the limited number of trees.
• Capitol Reef Red apples will also open Thursday, 8/13, in the Jackson orchard and Ginger Gold apples will also remain open for harvesting. Price is $2.00 per pound or $30 / 50-lb bushel in the Jackson on both varieties. The Jackson is open 9AM to 5PM, daily. The orchard will likely remain open for several more weeks.
• The Mott orchard will remain open for Ginger Gold apple harvest at $2.00 per pound, no bushel pricing available. The Mott is open dawn to dusk, daily.
• Late-season JH Hale and Elberta peaches will open for harvest in the Krueger orchard starting Friday, 8/14. Price will be $2.00 per pound, no bushel pricing available. The orchard will be open from 9AM to 5PM, daily. Harvest is expected to last through the weekend.

• Additional harvest updates will be posted as fruit become available.
• Harvest timing and fruit availability may change based on weather and growing conditions.
• You may see markers or materials in the orchards related to ongoing research, please leave them undisturbed.

 

Current Road Conditions

Select from the three park districts below to see road conditions. Please be advised that road conditions on the website are updated weekly. The park road condition phone line has the most up to date information. Conditions may change due to weather at a moments notice. Road conditions update as of 8/11/2026.
 

Condition:	Definition:
2WD	Two Wheel Drive. Accessible to standard vehicles.
HC2WD	High Clearance Two Wheel Drive.
HC4WD	High Clearance Four Wheel Drive.
Closed	Road is closed for travel.
Impassable	Conditions are too dangerous for travel.
Unknown	Conditions are unknown at this time.
Likely Impassable	While unknown, the road may be impassable.
Not recommended	High danger of travel on road.

High Clearance: Capitol Reef National Park defines high clearance as 8 inch minimum. Many outside agencies define it as 9 inches or more. In some situations, car length can make a difference, since washouts can get long-wheelbase cars stuck.

Fruita Historic District

Waterpocket District

Cathedral Valley District

 

Call 435-425-3791 to reach the automated phone tree, which has the weather forecast recorded daily; updates on road conditions as they change; and the fruit hotline for flowering and harvesting information.

Press #1 for information, then press:
#1 to have information mailed to you
#2 for campground information
#3 for the daily weather forecast
#4 for road conditions
#5 for orchard and fruit information
#6 for the visitor center bookstore
#7 for visitor center information
#8 to leave a message for visitor center staff

 

National Parks in Southern Utah

Are you visiting other national parks in southern Utah? Learn more about permits, shuttles, and reservations.