Capitol Reef National Park, UT
A short old-road walk to a remote ranching cabin.
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
Lesley Morrell Line Cabin“You're coming up on the short walk to Lesley Morrell Line Cabin, a one-room log cabin out on the sagebrush flat.”
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
Morrell Cabin Trail is an easy 0.4-mile out-and-back, about 0.2 mile each way, from Cathedral Road to Lesley Morrell's historic cabin. Allow under 30 minutes. It's a worthwhile short stop if you're already exploring Cathedral Valley; the remote drive is a much bigger commitment than the walk.
The roadside start is about 1.8 miles north of the Hartnet and Cathedral Roads junction. From there, follow the old road and path to the cabin, crossing a wash that may have shallow flowing water. Park to the side of Cathedral Road. This is an unmaintained backcountry route, so follow the mapped line and don't assume trail markers will be present.
Paul Christensen built the cabin in the 1920s as a summer house, and Lesley Morrell moved it to Cathedral Valley around 1935. It served as a cowboy camp until 1970, when the Morrell family sold it to the Park Service. You can look through the windows at the interior; the remains of a small corral lie south of the cabin near another wash.
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
EasyCathedrals Trail2.4 mi · 1.5 hr · 0.5 mi awayA short climb opens a front-row view of the Cathedrals.
EasyUpper Cathedral Valley Overlook0.2 mi · 24 min · 0.5 mi awayA short, rolling path ends at the Cathedrals panorama.
ModerateUpper South Desert Overlook0.4 mi · 24 min · 0.9 mi awayA brief climb opens onto a 360-degree desert view
EasyGypsum Sinkhole Trail0.1 mi · 15 min · 2.5 mi awayA short walk to a sinkhole nearly 200 feet deep.
ModerateLower Cathedral Valley Overlooks Route1.7 mi · 1.5 hr · 9.2 mi awayA rough 1.7-mile climb to a high view of the Temples
ModerateJailhouse Rock and Temple Rock Route4.5 mi · 2.5 hr · 10 mi awayFollow a fading desert track to a Temple Rock viewpoint.
EasyLower South Desert Overlook Trail0.6 mi · 20 min · 10.1 mi awayA short rim walk for a broad look at Jailhouse Rock.
ChallengingUpper Spring Canyon18.7 mi · 16 hr · 10.9 mi awayRemote traverse through Wingate narrows and a boulder filled wash.Sight · 0.2 mi awayLesley Morrell Line CabinA relocated ranching cabin and corral in remote Cathedral Valley.Sight · 0.5 mi awayUpper Cathedral Valley OverlookA short rim walk above Cathedral Valley’s sandstone cathedrals.
Campground · 0.7 mi awayCathedral Valley CampgroundA quiet six-site base for the long Cathedral Valley loop.
Sight · 1 mi awayUpper South Desert OverlookA rocky rise opens a 360-degree view over South Desert.
Sight · 2.5 mi awayGypsum SinkholeA 200-foot sinkhole worth adding to a Cathedral Valley loop.Sight · 9.2 mi awayLower Cathedral Valley OverlooksA rough walk for a rare bird’s-eye view of Capitol Reef’s temples.
Sight · 9.4 mi awayGlass MountainA 15-foot crystal mound framed by Temple of the Sun.
Sight · 9.4 mi awayTemples of the Sun and MoonTwo sandstone towers make the long Cathedral Valley drive worthwhile.Parkwolf’s Capitol Reef ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
