Parking
Use the Hickman Bridge-Rim Overlook-Navajo Knobs Trailhead off UT-24. Its lot serves several popular hikes and can fill during busy hours; roadside parking can be unsafe. Pit toilets are available at the trailhead.
Overview
About Rim Overlook Trail
Why go
- Wide views across Fruita and the Waterpocket Fold
- A Fremont granary sits on the shared approach
Heads up
- Steep switchback start followed by repeated wash descents and climbs
- Little shade, no trailhead water, and a cliff-edge destination
Rim Overlook Trail is a 4.6-mile out-and-back from the shared Hickman Bridge trailhead to a sandstone rim high above Fruita. Expect about 1,100 feet of climbing, steep steps and switchbacks, then repeated drops into washes and climbs back out. Allow 3 to 4 hours. I’d pick this for the long view over Fruita, the Fremont River valley, the Waterpocket Fold and the Henry Mountains; the payoff is broad, but you earn it all the way there.
Parkwolf’s verdictIs it worth the climb?Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Capitol Reef map
Full mapElevation5,338–6,407 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
2 active Capitol Reef alerts
- CautionE. coli advisory for Fremont River and Sulphur CreekMentions Fremont River, referenced in this guideDo 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
- 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
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Capitol Reef Tour Guide
Your drive to Rim Overlook 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
Hickman Bridge0:00 / 0:23
“You're approaching the Hickman Bridge trailhead, where a rocky hike leads to a 133-foot sandstone span.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Capitol Reef Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Navajo Dome Viewpoint
- Fremont Petroglyphs
- Cohab Canyon
- Gifford Homestead and Fruita Orchards
- 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 Rim Overlook Trail
Take the Rim branchStart by following the Fremont River east.
Start by following the Fremont River east. After about a tenth of a mile, the path climbs on steps and switchbacks before easing near a junction roughly a quarter-mile from the trailhead. Turn right for Rim Overlook; the left branch goes to Hickman Bridge. The trails share the approach, then split into separate hikes.
Expect four wash crossingsBeyond the junction, the route skirts pale drainages and crosses four washes, with repeated…
Beyond the junction, the route skirts pale drainages and crosses four washes, with repeated climbs of roughly 100 to 200 feet between them. Expect sand and slickrock, with scattered pinyon and juniper. Cairns mark the way where bare rock makes the tread harder to see. The last climb to the rim is the toughest. Turn around at Rim Overlook; Navajo Knobs continues past it and makes a much longer, more exposed hike.
Look over the FoldFrom the cliff-edge shelf, Fruita’s orchards, historic buildings and campground sit below, with…
From the cliff-edge shelf, Fruita’s orchards, historic buildings and campground sit below, with Cohab Canyon, the Henry Mountains and the Waterpocket Fold beyond. There’s a steep drop off the rim, so give the edge room. For a photo, include a bit of the near rim with Fruita and the tilted rock layers behind it; that keeps the depth in the frame.
Why the reef is foldedThe Waterpocket Fold is a nearly 100-mile bend in the rock layers.
The Waterpocket Fold is a nearly 100-mile bend in the rock layers. A buried fault moved again 50 to 70 million years ago as the Rocky Mountains were forming, lifting the west side by more than 7,000 feet; later erosion exposed the folded layers. “Reef” refers to the steep ridges that once made travel across this country difficult.
A granary on the shared approachOn the shared lower trail, look up to a Fremont granary built into the Kayenta cliffs.
On the shared lower trail, look up to a Fremont granary built into the Kayenta cliffs. Fremont people stored corn, beans, squash and gathered foods there between about 300 and 1300 CE. Don’t leave the trail to get closer; the site and surrounding ground are fragile.
Heat, water and parkingSpring and fall are the mildest seasons for hiking here.
Spring and fall are the mildest seasons for hiking here. There’s little shade on this route and no drinking water at the trailhead; summer temperatures can approach 100°F. Pit toilets are at the shared trailhead. The parking area serves Hickman Bridge, Rim Overlook and Navajo Knobs, and can fill during busy hours. Arrive early and don’t use unsafe roadside parking. Pets aren’t allowed on the trail.
If you want a shorter hikeHickman Bridge is a separate branch from the same trailhead and reaches the natural bridge…
Hickman Bridge is a separate branch from the same trailhead and reaches the natural bridge after 0.9 mile one way. It’s the better pick if you want a shorter walk with a clear destination; Rim Overlook is the bigger climb and the broader valley view.
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.
