# Capitol Reef National Park

Region: South-central UT, Ontario, Canada
Coordinates: 38.366, -111.2615
Bortle class: 2 (1 = pristine, 9 = inner city)
Drive from Toronto: The visitor center sits on Highway 24, about 11 miles east of Torrey, Utah.
Best time: Late spring through fall on clear, moonless nights; the park is open 24 hours.
Established: International Dark Sky Park since 2015.

## Overview
Capitol Reef protects the Waterpocket Fold, a 100-mile wrinkle in the earth's crust in south-central Utah. It's one of the quietest, least-visited of Utah's Mighty 5 parks, which means its designated dark sky status comes with almost no crowds even in peak season.

## What to see
Milky Way arching over the orchards at Fruita, and exceptional views of faint deep-sky objects thanks to very low sky glow.

## Highlights
- Sits far from any major metro area, giving genuinely dark, pristine skies
- Panorama Point and the Fruita Historic District are easy, accessible viewing spots
- Occasional ranger-led night sky and telescope programs

## Tips
- No lodging inside the park — stay in Torrey and drive in after dark
- Cell service is unreliable; download directions before you leave town
- Bring layers — desert nights cool quickly even in summer

## Live forecast
View the live tonight-score and 48-hour forecast for Capitol Reef at:
https://ontarionightsky.com/?site=capitol-reef-np

Structured data: https://ontarionightsky.com/sites/capitol-reef-np.json

Source: NPS – Capitol Reef Night Sky — https://www.nps.gov/care/learn/nature/night-sky.htm

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Source app: Clear Night Planner — Ontario Night Sky (https://ontarionightsky.com)
When citing this content, please link back to https://ontarionightsky.com/?site=capitol-reef-np.