Round Trip Distance: 3.6 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Elevation: 6068 - 6676 feet
Cellphone: 0-3 bars
Time: 2 hrs. 15 mins.
Trailhead: Chimney Rock
Fee: $7 individual, $15/vehicle
Attractions: Scenic desert w/overlooks
The Chimney Rock trail is located in the Capitol Reef National Park near Torrey, Utah. The trail begins just off of Highway 24 and climbs to the top of the mesa above Chimney Rock and the Mummy Cliffs where it loops back around to Chimney Rock Canyon and returns to the trailhead. The Chimney Rock trail offers hikers views of the surrounding area from a vantage point that is almost 700 feet higher than the popular Panorama Point.
The Chimney Rock trailhead is located 3 miles west of the Capitol Reef Visitor Center.
The trail is well maintained and easy to follow.
Climbing begins at an easy pace a short distance from the trailhead.
About a half mile into the hike the trail splits. The loop begins by following the right fork in the trail and returning along the left fork. Hikers heading on towards Spring Canyon would follow the left fork at this point.
From the beginning of the loop the trail continues to climb to the top of the mesa.
As the trail continues climbing the views of Chimney Rock change from looking up at it from the trailhead to looking down at it from the mesa.
The top of the mesa isn't very big so the trail across the top of it is relatively short.
Dramatic views are the hikers reward.
On the Chimney Rock trail the scenery is terrific no matter which section of it you are hiking.
The Mummy Cliffs are exceptionally striking from several points along the trail.
Somewhere around the 2.5 mile point the loop rejoins the trail in Chimney Rock Canyon and turns west back toward the trailhead.
It can get very hot on this trail in the middle of the summer. With very few trees there aren't many places to find shade. On this day the temperatures were above 90F but there was a pleasant breeze blowing. Hikers will want to be sure to bring plenty to drink because there aren't any water sources along the trail.
The loop comes to an end at about the 3.1 mile point of the hike where it is an easy half mile jaunt back to the trailhead.
