Torrey
If you can’t find me, I’ll probably be in the town of Torrey, Utah. With its chill vibe, amazing food & coffee, and awesome views, it’s worth a stop. While it’s not a buzzing metropolis, it’s an adorable small town with some of the best food, coffee & ice cream we’ve ever found (and we are kind of food, coffee & ice cream snobs).
Capital Reef National Park – if you’re in Torrey, you’ve gotta stop by one of Utah’s big five and the history of this national park is really interesting. In the 1800s, Mormon families settled in this area, planted orchards, built a school and houses that event became the town known as Fruita. Today, the orchards are still maintained and preserved by the national park, so it’s a really unique national park to visit. We were only here for one day (we planned two, but 40 mile an hour winds and icy rain didn’t sound like a fun day to hit the trails). But here were our favorite things that we did in Capital Reef National Park:
Stop to see the Petroglyphs Panel. The history of the area dates back even further than 1800s – thousands of years ago, Native Americans called this area home and the petroglyphs are an interesting stop to learn about the past.
Drive the scenic route and make a stop at the Gifford House. This house used to be the meeting place for the families who lived in Fruita and where the matriarchs of the families would gather to quilt and sew. Today, it is a homage to Fruita and unique shop where you can learn more about the history of the area and buy homemade crafts and treats. GET THE PIE AND ICE CREAM! It makes the perfect post-hiking snack and oh my gosh, it’s so delicious.
Hike the Cohab Canyon Trail – while you are parked near the Gifford House, hop across the street and start the Cohab Canyon Trail. The first bit of this hike is switchbacks straight up, so we would consider it to be moderately challenging, but once you get in the canyon, it’s mostly flat terrain. This is just over a 3-mile out and back hike.
Don’t forget to pick up your Junior Ranger book to earn a badge! We really liked this JR book, it was full of history, so it was perfect for a homeschool history day.
Where we stayed: We boondocked in an incredible area called Beas Lewis Flats. This is BLM land, so it is completely free to stay here and the views are spectacular, even though you have to “rough it” with no hook-ups. It is a well-known boondocking spot in the area, so while there is plenty of room, it can get busy on the weekends in good weather, so plan to arrive early to secure a spot. This location is also just minutes from the small and absolutely adorable town of Torrey and 15-minutes to Capital Reef National Park.
Favorite Food Spots: Capital Burger – this is a downright delicious food truck serving up quite possibly the best burger that I’ve ever had (and we’re from Texas, so we eat a LOT of burgers)! The blue cheese mushroom burger was SO good, you have to do yourself a favor and stop by this food truck to snag one while you are in the area. And after your burger, pop down the street to get ice cream at Color Ridge for THE BEST HOMEMADE ICE CREAM! The flavors here are so unique and creamily fantastic. And they do ice cream flights…so yeah, sign me up! In the same shop as Color Ridge Ice Cream, you will find The Wild Rabbit and Shooke Coffee. Be sure to come back to The Wild Rabbit for breakfast (or lunch), grab a coffee and then some delicious small-batch roasted coffee to go from Shooke Coffee Roasters. This little shop is absolute tri-fecta ofall of our favorite things…if there was a brewery next door, we might actually never leave (business idea?!). Point is, don’t miss it – trust us.