Highway 24 Through Capitol Reef: A Backseat Geology Driving Tour
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About the Tour
About the Tour
Along Utah’s Highway 24, 250 million years of Earth’s history are hiding in plain sight. On this self-guided driving tour, you’ll go on a prehistoric safari, reading the rocks for traces of worlds that vanished long before humans arrived.
The tour starts in Torrey and heads east into Capitol Reef National Park, with its green valleys and towering red cliffs. As you drive, you’ll pass through ancient coastlines, immense deserts, and prehistoric floodplains where dinosaurs once roamed, before crossing the stark Caineville badlands.
The greatest surprise lies farther down the road. Here, in the heart of the Utah desert, you’ll enter the lost world of the Western Interior Seaway, an enormous ocean where giant marine reptiles and other fearsome predators hunted their prey. From there, the route crosses the San Rafael Swell. The tour ends where Highway 24 meets Interstate 70.
On this three-hour, 108-mile tour, you’ll have a chance to:
- Spot ripples left behind by ancient tides
- See sand dunes frozen in stone
- Look for colourful minerals in the rock layers
- Find fossils that reveal the creatures that once lived here
- Learn how the assembly and breakup of ancient supercontinents shaped the Colorado Plateau
- Find out why the plateau preserves such an extraordinary record of Earth’s changing environments
- Take in the landscape from your car, or see it up close at optional stops along the way
By the end of the drive, you’ll see the desert outside your window as a record of worlds long gone.
Tour Producer
Tour Producer
Backseat Geology
Do you want to learn to see the Earth the way an art critic sees a painting?
To turn the blur of the highway into a gallery of ancient worlds — dinosaurs included!
Backseat Geology is for travelers who want more than a souvenir photo. Most people already know more geology than they realize, they just haven’t been shown where to look. These tours are built to give you orientation as much as information: the backseat guidance that points out the right cliff, the right layer, the right clue, and then connects it to something you already understand.
On these tours, the road becomes your canvas and the rocks become the brushstrokes. We show you the patterns, the symmetries, and the underlying logic of the land. As your confidence grows, so does the meaning of every ridge and valley in your rearview mirror.
By the time you reach your destination, you won’t just be admiring a pretty view, you’ll be reading a masterpiece.
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Preview Location
Preview Location
Location 32
Capitol Dome
Straight ahead is Capitol Dome, a perfect white dome of Navajo Sandstone. To your left, in the direction you came from, is Navajo Dome. These are two of the many sandstone domes that inspired the name Capitol Reef. Early members of the John Wesley Po...
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Major Landmarks
Major Landmarks
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Capitol Reef National Park
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Caineville Reef
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Factory Butte
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Swing Arm City
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Hanksville
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Kathline Rock
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Goblin Valley State Park
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San Rafael Swell
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Temple Mountain
Getting There
Getting There
Route Overview
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Start location44 UT-12, Torrey, UT 84775, USA
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Total distance174km
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Final locationUT-24, Green River, UT 84525, USA
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Distance back to start location112km
Directions to Starting Point
The tour begins at the Wayne County Tourism Center on the eastern edge of Torrey, Utah. It is at the intersection of Highway 24 and Highway 12. It is directly across the street from the Taft Travel Plaza which is the central gas station in town.
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Tips
Tips
Places to stop along the way
Capitol Reef National Park: Visit the park's visitor center for exhibits and information, or take a short detour to the historic Fruita orchards. The Gifford Homestead is a favorite stop for locally baked fruit pies, available seasonally. Nearby picnic areas offer a peaceful place to relax beneath the cottonwood trees.
Hanksville: About halfway through your journey, Hanksville is a great place to stop for lunch and refuel. Try Stan's Burger Shak for burgers and milkshakes or Duke's Slickrock Grill for a sit-down meal. Don't miss the unusual Hollow Mountain convenience store, built into the sandstone.
Goblin Valley State Park: A short detour from Highway 24 leads to a remarkable landscape filled with thousands of mushroom-shaped sandstone formations. Visitors can wander among the goblins or enjoy a picnic before continuing toward I-70.
Beyond Hanksville, services are limited, so make sure you have enough fuel and water for the remainder of your journey.
Best time of day
Spring and fall offer the best weather for this tour, with mild temperatures and comfortable conditions for sightseeing. Start early in the day to ensure you have enough daylight to enjoy the scenery and stops along the way.
The tour is accessible year-round, but summer brings extreme heat exceeding 90°F (32°C) and seasonal monsoon thunderstorms that can cause flash flooding. In winter, snow and ice may create hazardous driving conditions.
Precautions
Highway 24 travels through remote desert country with limited services and unreliable cell reception. Download the tour and any necessary maps before setting out. Begin with a full tank of gas, plenty of drinking water, and snacks.
Bring sun protection, comfortable walking shoes, and layers of clothing. Temperatures can change significantly throughout the day.
Summer thunderstorms can cause dangerous flash floods, particularly in narrow canyons and washes. Never attempt to drive through floodwater. Winter visitors should check road conditions for snow and ice.
This is a driving tour, so please keep your attention on the road. Stop only in designated parking areas or safe pullouts, and never stop in a travel lane to take photographs.
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