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Ganesh Raam
WorkWild
Park · Utah · Colorado Plateau

Capitol Reef

What makes it unique

The quietest of the Utah five, built around a hundred-mile fold in the earth and a pioneer orchard — which makes it the one Utah park with a harvest calendar as well as a weather calendar.

Acreage241,904
National park since1971
Best lightOct
Visited2026
Terrain profile · W→E across the Waterpocket Fold · 38.29°N · 5,131–6,732 ftElevation data · Open-Meteo

The photographs

26 selects
Capitol Reef, Capitol ReefCapitol Reef70mm · f/4 · 1/400s · ISO 64Capitol Reef's Folds, Capitol ReefCapitol Reef's Folds35mm · f/4 · 1/50s · ISO 64Gifford House, Capitol ReefGifford House32mm · f/4 · 1/50s · ISO 64The Fremont River Oasis, Capitol ReefThe Fremont River Oasis35mm · f/4 · 1/50s · ISO 64Capitol Reef Rocks, Capitol ReefCapitol Reef Rocks23mm · f/5.6 · 1/100s · ISO 100Waterpocket Fold, Capitol ReefWaterpocket Fold35mm · f/4 · 1/60s · ISO 100Waterpocket Fold, Capitol ReefWaterpocket Fold20mm · f/4 · 1/125s · ISO 100Capitol Gorge, Capitol ReefCapitol Gorge35mm · f/9 · 1/60s · ISO 100Gifford House, Capitol ReefGifford House35mm · f/9 · 1/80s · ISO 100Cathedral Valley Sunrise, Capitol ReefCathedral Valley Sunrise23mm · f/5.6 · 1/4s · ISO 50Cathedral Valley, Capitol ReefCathedral Valley138mm · f/6.3 · 1/10s · ISO 100Cathedral Valley, Capitol ReefCathedral Valley141mm · f/5 · 1/100s · ISO 100Temple of the Sun, Capitol ReefTemple of the Sun19mm · f/4 · 1/100s · ISO 100Cathedral Valley, Capitol ReefCathedral Valley24mm · f/4 · 1/100s · ISO 100Temple of the Moon, Capitol ReefTemple of the Moon34mm · f/5.6 · 1/100s · ISO 100Cathedral Valley, Capitol ReefCathedral Valley35mm · f/13 · 1/50s · ISO 100Temples of the Sun and Moon, Capitol ReefTemples of the Sun and Moon31mm · f/5 · 1/50s · ISO 100Temple of the Sun, Capitol ReefTemple of the Sun35mm · f/11 · 1/50s · ISO 64Cathedral Valley, Capitol ReefCathedral Valley35mm · f/11 · 1/50s · ISO 64Glass Mountain, Capitol ReefGlass Mountain19mm · f/5.6 · 1/400s · ISO 50Cathedral Valley, Capitol ReefCathedral Valley33mm · f/5.6 · 1/100s · ISO 80Bentonite Clay, Capitol ReefBentonite Clay20mm · f/4 · 1/40s · ISO 64Bentonite Clay, Capitol ReefBentonite Clay35mm · f/5 · 1/60s · ISO 100The Sign, Capitol ReefThe Sign35mm · f/5 · 1/60s · ISO 100Gifford House, Capitol ReefGifford House35mm · f/4 · 1/60s · ISO 125Capitol Reef Colors, Capitol ReefCapitol Reef Colors20mm · f/6.3 · 1/60s · ISO 100
Field notes

If you go

From Parks by Month →
A · When to go

Best for photography in Oct.

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B · Before you go
Access

Cathedral Valley and Notom-Bullfrog are unpaved and impassable when wet; call the visitor center the afternoon before. The Fremont River ford can run too high in spring.

Avoid

July and August bring monsoon flash floods through Grand Wash and Capitol Gorge, which are exactly the places you would otherwise be walking.

C · How I shot it

23 of 26 frames on the FE 16–35mm.

FE 16–35mm F4 ZA OSS23 of 26
FE 70–200mm F4 Macro G OSS II3 of 26
Most used35mm · 11 frames
Typical aperturef/4 – f/6.3
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