#3 of 48 trails in Capitol Reef
Capitol Reef National Park, UT
A gentle wash walk that tightens into shadowed sandstone narrows.
Overview
Map & elevation
Plan your hike
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Capitol Reef Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Capitol Reef National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Capitol Reef audio tourRecorded for this trailhead
Grand Wash Narrows“You're nearing the Highway 24 trailhead for Grand Wash Narrows, where sandstone walls close to about fifteen feet apart.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Capitol Reef Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Grand Wash Trail follows an easy, mostly level wash between UT-24 and the Scenic Drive side of Capitol Reef. The full corridor is listed at 2.2 miles one way, so walking from the UT-24 trailhead to the far end and back is about 4.4 miles. Allow around three hours for the round trip, including time in the narrows. The grade is gentle, though loose sand, gravel, and rock make it slower than a paved path.
From UT-24, the canyon tightens after about 1.3 miles. A shorter roughly 2.6-mile out-and-back reaches the narrow passage and returns the same way; most of the full-trail payoff comes before you have to commit to the other end of the wash.
The broad wash gradually pinches into winding narrows, with sheer sandstone walls about 15 feet apart at the tightest point. Continue west and the canyon widens again near the Scenic Drive side. The wash bed is the trail, so expect sand, dust, and loose rock underfoot rather than a packed tread. In the narrows, frame a bend in the wash beneath the full-height walls to show their scale.
Grand Wash is a flash-flood channel. Rain falling upstream can send water through the narrow walls, where there is little room to get out of the wash. Avoid entering when storms threaten and move to high ground if water rises. There is no water source along the route, and the open approach has little shade.
The tall canyon walls are Wingate Sandstone. Their sweeping cross-beds preserve the shape of ancient windblown dunes, exposed here where erosion cut down through the rock.
Near the Grand Wash mouth, gated openings mark the abandoned Oyler Uranium Mine, which opened in 1901 when uranium was used in some patent medicines. Cassidy Arch, on the canyon wall above the wash, carries Butch Cassidy's name; he is thought to have hidden in Grand Wash.
For the return walk, use the Grand Wash Trailhead pull-off on UT-24 at the east end. A one-way hike to the Scenic Drive side needs a second vehicle at the Grand Wash-Cassidy Arch Trailhead. The access road can close after snow, mud, ice, or flooding, so check conditions before staging a shuttle. Pets are not allowed on park trails.
Wildlife
50 sightingsBighorn SheepMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
322 sightingsMule DeerMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
70 sightingsMarmotMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
13 sightingsCottontail RabbitMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
33 sightingsTurkeyMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
14 sightingsRavenMost seen around 9 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Capitol Reef. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
ChallengingCassidy Arch Trail3.4 mi · 3.5 hr · 1.6 mi awayA steep climb to a walkable arch above Grand Wash.
ChallengingFrying Pan Trail4.4 mi · 4 hr · 2 mi awayA tough mesa crossing with its best views behind you.
ChallengingNavajo Knobs Trail9.4 mi · 7 hr · 2 mi awayA strenuous rim hike to a tiny summit and a huge panorama.
ChallengingRim Overlook Trail4.6 mi · 3.5 hr · 2 mi awayFruita and the Waterpocket Fold spread below this steep rim climb.
ModerateHickman Bridge Trail1.8 mi · 1.5 hr · 2 mi awayA moderate climb to a 133-foot bridge and a loop beneath it.
EasyFremont Petroglyph Boardwalks0.4 mi · 20 min · 2.8 mi awayTwo wooden boardwalks reveal Fremont rock art.
ModerateCohab Canyon Trail1.7 mi · 1.5 hr · 2.9 mi awayA steep Fruita climb opens into a sculpted sandstone canyon.
ChallengingFremont Gorge Overlook Trail4.6 mi · 3 hr · 3 mi awayA mesa climb ends above the Fremont River, 800 feet below.
Sight · 0.7 mi awayGrand Wash NarrowsA tight sandstone passage worth the walk from Highway 24.
Sight · 1.2 mi awayBehunin CabinA tiny cabin tells a surprisingly big pioneer story.
Sight · 1.7 mi awayNavajo Dome ViewpointA roadside look at Navajo Dome above the Waterpocket Fold.
Sight · 2 mi awayCapitol DomeSee the sandstone formation that helped give Capitol Reef its name.Sight · 2.2 mi awayCassidy ArchWalk across a sandstone arch with Grand Wash far below.Sight · 2.4 mi awayHickman BridgeA 133-foot bridge rewards a rocky climb past Fremont remains.
Sight · 2.5 mi awayNorth Fruita OverlookA steep climb pays off in a sweeping canyon view.
Sight · 2.5 mi awayOyler Mine ViewpointA quick roadside pause for Capitol Reef's uranium story.Parkwolf’s Capitol Reef ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
