Utah – Capitol Reef – Rim Overlook

Posted on

The Rim Overlook and Navajo Knobs trail splits off from the Hickman Bridge trail. We took the Hickman Bridge loop first, then returned and continued up to the Rim Overlook. The Navajo Knobs lookout is another 2 miles after the Rim Overlook. The Rim Overlook is 2.3 miles and an elevation gain of about 1,100 feet.

We paused to pose with a giant rock. You can see how narrow the trail is in some spots.
Eventually, the trail turns into solid rock and you must follow the cairns. A sign indicates that you can look off the cliff and see the Hickman bridge.
If you look close, you can see people below on the Hickman trail.
We decided that this was a good place to stop and rest.
It’s an uphill climb most of the way (with a few dips that go through small washes). You have to pay attention to the cairns. Some are large and can be seen from a distance, but we had to backtrack a couple of times to find the next cairn and get back on the trail.
There are a few spots where you can stop and look over the cliff. This is nice, because it’s a long hike to the official overlook.
This is the overlook. You can see the visitor center on the last image.
The trail continues on to the Navajo Overlook, but we decided to turn back. The wind on the day that we hiked this trail was blowing hard. We felt as if we were being sandblasted as we made our way up. The Navajo Overlook is still on our bucket list for a future hike (hopefully when it’s not so windy).