Canyoneering Route Description List:
Capitol Reef National Park, Utah.

Area Contact Info

Capitol Reef Visitor Center - (435) 425-3791.

Area Permitting Info

Capitol Reef National Park requires permits for all canyoneering and climbing activities in the park. Permits are free of charge and require self-registration at the Capitol Reef National Park Visitor Center or online on the park website.

No personal information is required. No limit to the number of permits given. Canyoneering group size limited to 8 people maximum. If you plan to camp overnight as part of a canyoneering trip, a free backcountry permit is also required and is available at the visitor center. At this time backcountry camping permits are not offered online. Other restrictions can be found on the Capitol Reef Canyoneering Permit page.

To acquire a permit online, email care_permits@nps.gov in the following format:
Subject: Name of canyoneering route and date you will be canyoneering
Email Body: Date of visit, canyoneering route, number of people, vehicle location, number of vehicles, vehicle descriptions. For more information visit the Capitol Reef Canyoneering Permit page.

Pandora's Box - Capitol Reef National Park, Utah. 3A or B IV

Time Required - 11 to 14 hours
Distance using Upstream Exit option - 10.5 miles Total, 1.5 miles Technical
Distance using Downstream Exit option - 13.9 miles Total, 1.5 miles Technical
Rappels - 7 Rappels, Longest Rappel 150 feet.
Elevation Range - 6515 - 7640 Feet
Shuttle Required -Opt. (3.5 miles for Downstream Exit option) Vehicle - Passenger (if you are careful) Permit Required - Yes

A-Door-Able Canyon - Capitol Reef National Park, Utah. 3A III (IV)

Time Required - 8 to 9 hours car to car. or 5 to 6 hours camp to camp if camped in spring canyon
Distance - 9 miles Total, 0.3 miles Technical
Rappels - 4 Rappels, Longest Rappel 280 feet. Final rap is longest and webbing must be extended to make length only 280 feet.
Elevation Range - 5920 - 6610 Feet
Shuttle Required - No Vehicle - Passenger Permit Required - Yes

Arch Nemesis Canyon - Capitol Reef National Park, Utah. 3A(B) II

Time Required - 2.5 to 3.5 hours
Distance - 1.6 miles Total, 0.3 miles Technical
Rappels - 9 Rappels, Longest Rappel 100 feet. Longest is actually 70 feet IF anchor webbing is extended.
Elevation Range - 5480 - 6000 Feet
Shuttle Required - No Vehicle - Passenger Permit Required - Yes

Bless Canyon - Capitol Reef National Park, Utah. 3A(B) IV(V)

Time Required - 12 to 16 hours
Distance - 15.3 miles Total, 0.5 miles Technical
Rappels - 4 Rappels, Longest Rappel 240 feet.
Elevation Range - 4870 - 5770 Feet
Shuttle Required - Yes 5.8 Miles Vehicle - Passenger Permit Required - Yes

Cassidy Arch Canyon - Capitol Reef National Park, Utah. 3A I (II)

Time Required - 2.5 to 4.5 hours
Distance - 2.3 miles Total, 0.4 miles Technical
Rappels - 8 Rappels, Longest Rappel 140 feet.
Elevation Range - 5390 - 5980 Feet
Shuttle Required - No Vehicle - Passenger Permit Required - Yes

Ex Wife Canyon - Capitol Reef National Park, Utah. 3A III

Time Required - 7 to 8 hours
Distance - 6.7 miles Total, 0.6 miles Technical (add 0.4 miles to also go up to the top to look over the edge).
Rappels - 4 Rappels, Longest Rappel 145 feet.
Elevation Range - 5390 - 6480 Feet
Shuttle Required - No Vehicle - Passenger Permit Required - Yes

Reef Ramble - Capitol Reef National Park, Utah. 3(4)A IV R

Time Required - 9 to 11 hours
Distance - 9.1 miles Total, 0.25 miles Technical (0.25 miles of technical is approximate as it is intermittent)
Rappels - 5 Rappels, Longest Rappel 110 feet.
Elevation Range - 6790 - 5075 Feet
Shuttle Required - Yes 20.7 Miles Vehicle - Passenger Permit Required - Yes

Shinob Canyon - Na-gah Fork - Capitol Reef National Park, Utah. 3A(B) I

Time Required - 3 to 4 hours for Na-gah only - add about 3 hours if also doing the Fern's Nipple side trip.
Distance - 2.3 miles Total, 0.4 miles Technical - add 2.4 miles if also doing the Fern's Nipple side trip.
Rappels - 3 Rappels, Longest Rappel 155 feet.
Elevation Range - 5390 - 6040 Feet (max elevation will be 7065 if also doing the Fern's Nipple side trip).
Shuttle Required -No Vehicle - Passenger Permit Required - Yes

Shinob Canyon - Timpie Fork - Capitol Reef National Park, Utah. 3A(B) I

Time Required - 4 to 5 hours for Timpie only - add about 2.5 hours if also doing the Fern's Nipple side trip.
Distance - 2.8 miles Total, 0.3 miles Technical - add 1.4 miles if also doing the Fern's Nipple side trip.
Rappels - 4 Rappels, Longest Rappel 275 feet. Last 50 feet of longest rap can be down climbed.
Elevation Range - 5390 - 6240 Feet (max elevation will be 7065 if also doing the Fern's Nipple side trip).
Shuttle Required -No Vehicle - Passenger Permit Required - Yes

Shinob Canyon - Nighthawk (Y-bru-sats) Fork - Capitol Reef National Park, Utah. 4A(B) II

Time Required - 7 to 9 hours for Nighthawk only - add about 2 hours if also doing the Fern's Nipple side trip.
Distance - 3.3 miles Total, 0.4 miles Technical - add 0.8 miles if also doing the Fern's Nipple side trip.
Rappels - 7 Rappels, Longest Rappel 200+ feet. (longest rap - right at 200 feet if webbing is extended - slightly longer rope recommended)
Elevation Range - 5390 - 6240 Feet (max elevation will be 7065 if also doing the Fern's Nipple side trip).
Shuttle Required -No Vehicle - Passenger Permit Required - Yes

Smokestack Canyon - Capitol Reef National Park, Utah. 3A III

Time Required - 5 to 7.5 hours
Distance - 5.2 miles Total, 0.9 miles Technical
Rappels - 2 Rappels, Longest Rappel 115 feet.
Elevation Range - 6000 - 6970 Feet
Shuttle Required - No Vehicle - Passenger Permit Required - Yes

Stem School Canyon - Capitol Reef National Park, Utah. 3A II

Time Required - 3 to 5 hours
Distance - 1.5 miles Total, 0.6 miles Technical
Rappels - 4 Rappels, Longest Rappel 140 feet but you will need 150 feet of rope.
Elevation Range - 5180 - 5600 Feet
Shuttle Required - No Vehicle - Passenger Permit Required - Yes

Stone Dagger Canyon - Capitol Reef National Park, Utah. 3A IV (V)

Time Required - 11 to 12 hours car to car. or 8 to 9 hours camp to camp if camped in spring canyon
Distance - 12.2 miles Total, 0.8 miles Technical
Rappels - 4 Rappels, Longest Rappel 140 feet. Will need 180 foot of rope due to anchor set back from drop.
Elevation Range - 5920 - 7070 Feet
Shuttle Required - No Vehicle - Passenger Permit Required - Yes

Strike 2 Canyon - Capitol Reef National Park, Utah. 3B III

Time Required - 5 to 7 hours
Distance - 1.4 miles total, 0.3 miles technical.
Rappels - 3 total, longest rap 200'.
The longest rap will be longer than 200 feet IF the anchor for rap 1 is not set very long. See route description for details.
7 other chimney drops of 30 to 50 feet may be considered rappels to some and down climbs to others.
Elevation Range - 5946 - 5130 feet
Shuttle Required - Yes - 7.2 miles Vehicle - High Clearance. Permit Required - Yes
Optionally a passenger car can be used, but you will need to walk the last 1.8 miles into the trailhead for the canyon.

Two-Can Canyon - Capitol Reef National Park, Utah. 3A III (IV)

Time Required - 8 to 10
Distance - 2.7 miles Total, 9.1 miles Technical
Rappels - 3 Rappels, Longest Rappel 150 feet. Did not get exact max rap length and have over rated to ensure enough rope is on hand.
Elevation Range - 5655 - 7210 Feet
Shuttle Required - No Vehicle - High Clearance, 4WD Permit Required - Yes

Watson Canyon - Capitol Reef National Park, Utah. 3A II

Time Required - 3 to 4 hours
Distance - 2.4 miles Total, 0.8 miles Technical
Rappels - 2 Rappels, Longest Rappel 15 feet. Will need at least 60 feet of rope.
Elevation Range - 8170 - 7500 Feet
Shuttle Required - No Vehicle - High Clearance, 4WD Permit Required - No

Wayne's Wonderland - Capitol Reef National Park, Utah. 4B III

Time Required - 6 to 8 hours
Distance - 0.7 miles Total, 3.2 miles Technical
Rappels - 5 Rappels, Longest Rappel 200 feet. A rope slightly longer than 200 is recommended.
Elevation Range - 5230 - 6140 Feet
Shuttle Required - No Vehicle - Passenger Permit Required - Yes

Wingate Wander - Capitol Reef National Park, Utah. 3A III

Time Required - 7 to 8 hours
Distance - 7.2 miles Total, 0.5 miles Technical
Rappels - 3 Rappels, Longest Rappel 140 feet.
Elevation Range - 6640 - 5650 Feet
Shuttle Required - No Vehicle - Passenger or High Clearance if bad road conditions Permit Required - Yes

The Wives - Capitol Reef National Park, Utah. 3A I or 4B I depending on canyon

Rating -All of the Wives including TOTGA are 3A I except for Wife 5. Wife 5 is 4B I.
Time Required - 3.5 to 8 hours depending on which or how many Wives are done.

Distance for one Wife - about 2.0 miles Total, 0.2 miles Technical
Distance for two Wives - about 3.0 miles Total, 0.4 miles Technical
Distance for three Wives - about 4.0 miles Total, 0.6 miles Technical

Rappels Wife 1 - 3 Rappels, Longest Rappel 60 feet.
Rappels Wife 2 - 3 Rappels, Longest Rappel 100 feet.
Rappels TOTGA - 0 Rappels, Longest Rappel NA feet. One down climb may require rope for belay.
Rappels Wife 3 - 2 mandatory and 1 optional Rappels, Longest Rappel 200 feet - if the webbing is extended.
Rappels Wife 4 - 1 Rappels, Longest Rappel 75 feet.
Rappels Wife 5 - 5 Rappels, Longest Rappel 100 feet.
Rappels Wife 6 - 3 Rappels, Longest Rappel 80 feet.

Elevation Range - 5450 - 6200 feet.
Shuttle Required - No Vehicle - Passenger Permit Required - Yes

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Canyoneering Route Description List: Capitol Reef National Park, Utah.