Fruita Orchards

Fruita Orchards is a cluster of historic fruit groves and pasture spread across about 100 acres in Capitol Reef’s Fruita District. Roughly 1,900 trees grow along the Fremont River and Sulphur Creek beneath the red-rock cliffs. I’d get out and walk here to connect the dramatic scenery with Fruita’s farming history.

You can stroll through any unlocked orchard and sample ripe fruit there. To take fruit away, use only an orchard posted for U-Pick, then weigh and pay at its self-service station. Which orchard is open and what is ripe shift with the season; cold or warm winters can move bloom and harvest by several weeks. Check at the visitor center or read the orchard signs before counting on a particular crop. Leashed pets are permitted in the orchards.

Farming depended on irrigation from the Fremont River. The flood-irrigation ditches Fruita’s settlers dug in the 1880s still water the trees, and the park continues the work of pruning, mowing, managing pests, and grafting. You can see the channels as part of the landscape that made a green farm community possible in this dry country.

The settlement was first called Junction; its origin is uncertain. Nels Johnson was the first recorded landholder, and the name changed to Fruita in 1902. No more than ten families lived here at one time. The last resident moved away in 1969, but the orchards and pastures remain part of the Fruita Rural Historic Landscape, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Before 1900, Fruita was known locally as the “Eden of Wayne County.” Fruit sales were a major source of income, and growers hauled wagonloads to Price and Richfield before the fruit had fully ripened.

The orchards include cherries, apricots, peaches, nectarines, pears, apples, plums, mulberries, quinces, almonds, pecans, and walnuts; many are heirloom varieties. That mix reflects the practical farm system that supported Fruita. The park has also added trees in individual orchard blocks as part of its ongoing orchard care.

Spring bloom is a good reason to see Fruita, and the orchard is one of the district’s designated scenic photo stops. From among the rows, let the flowering branches frame the red cliffs instead of filling the whole picture with blossoms. The summer canopy gives the groves a different, greener feel; fruit and harvest scenes depend on what is ripe and posted open.

For a food stop, the nearby Gifford Homestead farmhouse store sells locally made pies, jams, and ice cream during its seasonal operation. It’s a separate attraction from the orchards, so treat it as its own stop along the Fruita visit.