Torrey, Utah / Tours / Cathedral Valley
The north district of Capitol Reef
Cathedral Valley Tours From Torrey, Utah
A Cathedral Valley tour is the best day you can buy out of Torrey, and it is also the one trip most visitors could do themselves if they knew one thing about the road. Here is what the loop actually requires, the river crossing you can skip, and every operator running it with prices and phone numbers.
The thing nobody tells you
You can see the Temples without crossing the river
Almost every write up treats Cathedral Valley as one thing: a 57.6 mile loop that starts by fording the Fremont River, so if you cannot cross, you do not go. That is not how the road is built.
The loop is two roads joined end to end. The Hartnet Road leaves Highway 24 about 11.7 miles east of the visitor center and runs 27.8 miles north, and the ford sits right at its southern end. The Cathedral Road, which people also call the Caineville Wash Road, leaves Highway 24 about 18.5 miles east of the visitor center and has no river on it at all. The Temples of the Sun and Moon, the two monoliths that sell this place, sit up that second road, with the Park Service putting Temple of the Moon 17.1 miles in.
So the honest answer to "can I do Cathedral Valley" is usually yes. Drive in from the east, spend an hour at the Temples and Glass Mountain, drive back out. Around 34 miles of dirt, three or four hours, no water crossing. You skip the overlooks on the Hartnet side, and you skip the ford, and that is the trade.
Book a guided Capitol Reef tour for this when you want the whole loop, when you are in a low car or a rental with an unpaved roads clause, or when you would rather look out the window than read a road. Not because the district is closed to you.
Pick your version
Three ways to do Cathedral Valley
The Park Service says vehicles with high clearance, even without four wheel drive, can usually manage these roads. Usually is carrying weight in that sentence. Conditions after rain or snowmelt decide it, and they change fast.
| Version | Dirt miles | Time | Vehicle | Ford |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The full loop, driving yourself | 57.6 | 6 to 8 hours | High clearance. Four wheel drive is not always needed but it is the thing you want when it is | Yes |
| Temples out and back from the east | About 34 | 3 to 4 hours | High clearance | No |
| Guided, half day | Someone else drives | 3 to 5 hours | Theirs | Depends on the route |
| Guided, full loop | Someone else drives | 7 to 8 hours | Theirs | Yes, and they know it |
About that ford
There is no bridge over the Fremont River. The Park Service describes the crossing as a hard packed rocky bottom with water normally a foot or less deep, and normally is doing the same work as usually above. After a storm or during spring runoff it can be impassable, and the official advice is not to drive flooded roads but to wait.
On clearance, the park sets its own floor at eight inches and notes that many outside agencies use nine or more. Look up your vehicle by model rather than trusting the word SUV.
Check before you commit. The park road information line is 435 425 3791, press #1 then #4, and the staff at the visitor center will tell you what the crossing looked like that morning. Our road conditions guide covers every backcountry route in the park the same way.
What renting a Jeep actually costs
A Wrangler out of Torrey runs about $249 a day with 150 miles included and $0.35 a mile after that. The full loop plus the highway either side comes to a little over 100 miles from Torrey and back, so you stay inside the included mileage with room to spare.
That makes self driving cheaper than two guided seats and more expensive than one. The math only favors you if you actually want to drive it. See Jeep tours and rentals compared.
The route
What you actually stop for
Driving the loop counterclockwise, which is the usual direction, gets the ford out of the way while you are fresh and puts the Temples in afternoon light. Clockwise puts them in the morning, which most photographers prefer.
The Fremont River ford
Hartnet Road, 11.7 miles east of the visitor center
The first decision of the day and the only one that can end it. Walk it before you drive it if the water looks unfamiliar.
Outside the park
The Bentonite Hills
Early on the Hartnet, on BLM ground
Banded hills of brown, red, purple, gray and green clay, and the reason this site is the color it is. They sit outside the park boundary, which surprises most people.
Lower South Desert Overlook
Short spur off the Hartnet Road
A five minute walk to a rim above an empty desert basin. Almost nobody stops, which is the point.
Upper Cathedral Valley Overlook
Near Hartnet Junction, 27.8 miles in
The view that gave the valley its name, looking down on reddish brown monoliths rising off the floor. The best single stop on the Hartnet half.
Temples of the Sun and Moon
Temple of the Moon is 17.1 miles up the Cathedral Road from Highway 24
The two monoliths everyone comes for, with Glass Mountain, a mound of selenite crystal, sitting between them. Reachable from the east with no river crossing.
Gypsum Sinkhole
Spur off the Cathedral Road
A deep shaft where a gypsum plug dissolved out from underneath. Stand well back from the rim and keep children close.
There is one campground out here, six sites, free, first come first served, with a pit toilet and no water, about 36 miles from the visitor center. It is the best free night in the park if your vehicle can get there. More in our Capitol Reef camping guide.
Who runs it, and for how much
Every Cathedral Valley tour you can book
Prices published by each company in September 2026. Read the per person and per trip column carefully, because it is the difference between a good deal and a bad one depending on how many of you there are. We take no commission from anyone listed.
| Operator and phone | Trip | Length | Published price | What to know |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Backcountry Outfitters435 425 2010 | Cathedral Valley four wheel drive tour | Returns to the office between 4 and 5pm | $150 | The lowest published price of the lot. Their page does not say whether it is per person or per vehicle, so settle that on the phone |
| Backcountry Safaris307 413 9300 | Cathedral Valley, and a shorter Temple of the Sun trip | Half day, April to October | From $230, and from $180 for the Temple trip | The only operator on this page that states on its own site that it is an authorized National Park Service permittee |
| Capitol Reef Outfitters435 425 3999 | Jeep tour, two lengths | 5 hours, or the complete 8 hour loop | $210 adult and $180 child for 5 hours. $230 adult and $200 child for the loop | The only one publishing a child rate, which matters if you are four. Same phone as Fremont River Guides, one operation, two brands |
| Meridian Tours435 491 0150 | Full loop, or a short loop | All day, or half day | $350 per passenger full loop. $220 per person short loop. Tax included | Two passenger minimum. Departs Torrey or Teasdale, so ask which suits your lodging |
| Waterpocket Adventure Company801 400 7558 | Temples of the Sun and Moon, or the full Cathedral Valley day | 3 to 4 hours, or 7 hours and up | $350 to $540 half day. $540 to $720 full day | Priced per trip rather than per head, so it is the best value on this page for a family of four and the worst for a solo traveler |
| Western Whiptail Adventures801 946 6879 | Temples of the Sun and Moon | Not published | Not published | Runs private and shared departures out of Teasdale, and sells shuttles as well, which is useful if you are combining this with a hike |
| Capitol Reef Jeep Rentals435 425 3500 | Self drive Wrangler, no guide | Pick up after 8am, back by 7pm | $249 a day, 150 miles included, then $0.35 a mile | The loop and the highway either side fits inside the included mileage. You are on your own at the ford, which is the whole question |
2
Where guided wins
Two people on Meridian's short loop is $440. A rental is $249 plus fuel and the ford is yours to judge. At two the numbers are close enough that the decision is about whether you want to drive.
4
Where the per trip pricing wins
Four people on a per head tour is $880 to $1,400. The same four on Waterpocket's per trip pricing is $540 to $720 for the full day. Always ask how a company prices before comparing headline numbers.
Before you go
What to bring, and what actually goes wrong
The Park Service warning, in its own words
Out here, help may not arrive for hours or even days. That is not scare copy, it is the official language, and it is the reason this is the one day in Capitol Reef where preparation matters more than fitness.
Assume no cell signal. Tell someone at your hotel where you are going and when you expect to be back, and mean it.
Pack list for the day
- Four liters of water per person. There is none out there, at the campground or anywhere else.
- A full tank. The nearest fuel is Torrey or Caineville.
- A real spare, a jack that works and the knowledge to use both.
- Downloaded offline maps. Do not rely on a live route.
- Sun cover, because most of the day is spent in the vehicle and the stops are unshaded.
- Layers. The valley floor is warm and the overlooks at 7,000 feet are not.
| Season | The road | The light | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| March to May | Drying out through April. Runoff can raise the ford early in the season | Long and low, and the bentonite colors are strongest after rain | Best overall |
| June to August | Firm and dusty until the monsoon arrives around mid July, then washouts happen fast | Harsh in the middle of the day. Go at either end of it | Watch the sky |
| September to October | Usually the most reliable stretch of the year | Warm days, cold clear nights, and the best light of the year on the Temples | Best overall |
| November to February | Snow, mud and freeze thaw. Guided trips thin out and some operators stop entirely | Low sun all day, and snow on red rock if you are lucky | Experienced only |
Timing the whole trip rather than just this day? Our month by month guide to visiting Capitol Reef covers weather at both elevations, and the planning hub has fees, permits and drive times in one place.
Straight answers
Cathedral Valley questions
Can I drive the Cathedral Valley loop in a rental car?
Almost certainly not under your rental agreement, which will forbid unpaved roads, and that clause is what voids your cover if anything happens. Physically, the Park Service says high clearance vehicles can usually manage these roads even without four wheel drive. A standard sedan is not that vehicle, and the ford is the part that ends the argument.
How deep is the Fremont River ford?
Normally a foot or less, over a hard packed rocky bottom, with no bridge. After storms or during runoff it can be impassable. Call the park road line on 435 425 3791, press #1 then #4, the morning you plan to go. If it is running high, do not try it. The official advice is to wait for floodwater to drop rather than drive through it.
Can I see Cathedral Valley without crossing the river?
Yes. Take the Cathedral Road, sometimes called the Caineville Wash Road, which leaves Highway 24 about 18.5 miles east of the visitor center and has no river crossing. The Temples of the Sun and Moon are 17.1 miles up it. Out and back is roughly 34 miles of dirt and three to four hours, and you still see the two monoliths the district is famous for.
Do I need four wheel drive?
Not always. The Park Service says high clearance vehicles, even those without four wheel drive, can usually negotiate the roads, and that word usually is doing real work. Recent weather decides it. Four wheel drive is the thing you are glad of on the one day the road is not in the condition you were told about.
How long does the Cathedral Valley loop take?
Six to eight hours for the full 57.6 mile loop if you are driving yourself and stopping properly. Guided full loop trips run seven to eight hours, half day trips three to five. The Temples out and back from the east is three to four.
Is there an entrance fee for Cathedral Valley?
No. Capitol Reef collects its $20 vehicle fee at a self pay station on the Scenic Drive, which is nowhere near this district. You can spend a whole day in Cathedral Valley without paying anything. More on what the park actually costs to enter.
Can I camp in Cathedral Valley?
Yes, at a free six site primitive campground about 36 miles from the visitor center, first come first served, with a pit toilet and no water. Bring everything, including all your water, and be certain your vehicle can get back out.
Sources for the road figures on this page: the National Park Service pages for Cathedral Valley and park roads. Prices come from each operator's own website and were checked in September 2026.
Next step
Decide the vehicle, then book the bed
Cathedral Valley fills a whole day, so the useful next decisions are what you are driving and where you are sleeping the night before. Both are covered here.
Coming from further out? See getting to Torrey and what one day in the park should look like, or read who writes this site.