Parking
Park at the end of Gypsum Sinkhole Spur Road in Cathedral Valley. A high-clearance vehicle is required for the approach.
Overview
About Gypsum Sinkhole Trail
Why go
- A dramatic, nearly 200-foot-deep sinkhole reached on a very short walk.
Heads up
- The short walk requires a high-clearance drive into remote Cathedral Valley.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Capitol Reef map
Full mapElevation6,030–6,056 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
2 active Capitol Reef alerts
- CautionFlash-flood hazard in canyons and washesHeavy rains can cause sudden flooding in Capitol Reef’s canyons and washes; do not hike or drive through floodwater.Official details
- CautionE. coli advisory for Fremont River and Sulphur CreekDo not swim in the Fremont River or Sulphur Creek or get water in your mouth: NPS reports elevated E. coli in both waterways, and Utah DEQ has issued a warning advisory. - DEQ reports Sulphur Creek E.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Capitol Reef Tour Guide
Your drive to Gypsum Sinkhole Trail, narrated.
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
Gypsum Sinkhole0:00 / 0:27
“Gypsum Sinkhole is coming up, with a short walk to a hole nearly two hundred feet deep.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Capitol Reef Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- How to Copy an Apple Tree
- Watch the Raven's Next Move
- Moccasins with Dewclaws
- Cathedrals Trail
- 116 audio storiesacross Capitol Reef’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Bighorn Sheep, Mule Deer, Marmot, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 48 trails, 52 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“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
Hiking Gypsum Sinkhole Trail
The short walkGypsum Sinkhole Trail is a very short out-and-back from the end of Gypsum Sinkhole Spur Road:…
Gypsum Sinkhole Trail is a very short out-and-back from the end of Gypsum Sinkhole Spur Road: about 0.1 mile round trip on a maintained, mostly bare-ground path. It rises a little west to a viewing point beside a nearly 50-foot-wide, 200-foot-deep hole. Allow about 15 to 20 minutes; this is a quick geology stop, not a substantial hike.
Getting thereThe trail is in remote Cathedral Valley.
The trail is in remote Cathedral Valley. A high-clearance vehicle is required for the approach, and wet weather can leave the roads impassable. Check current NPS road conditions before driving in. There is no potable water in the district, so sort that out before the drive. Pets are not allowed on this hiking trail; service animals are permitted.
Keep back from the rimThe rock around the hole is very soft and unstable and can collapse at any time.
The rock around the hole is very soft and unstable and can collapse at any time. Stay well back from the edge; don't approach it for a closer look or a photo. From a distance, a wider picture that keeps the layered rim and dark opening together shows the sinkhole's shape.
How it formedGroundwater dissolved a buried gypsum plug, leaving a cavity that collapsed under the rock…
Groundwater dissolved a buried gypsum plug, leaving a cavity that collapsed under the rock above it. The gypsum was deposited from evaporating seawater about 165 million years ago. After burial, the low-density mineral slowly moved upward along faults and fractures, setting up the collapse that opened this deep hole.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Capitol Reef
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.
