Just a few miles from Capitol Reef National Park, this quaint small town in southern Utah is a destination in itself.
By Bianca Dumas
May/June 2025
I’ve spent a lot of my life in Torrey, Utah. I first came to town in the late 1990s when my husband and I were guiding backpacking trips for at-risk youth. We led many of those trips in the desert east of Capitol Reef National Park: hiking; cooking over open fires; and watching the sun set spectacularly over the Waterpocket Fold, the defining geologic feature of the park. That was long before Notom Road and the Burr Trail were paved, and visitors to little Torrey were few.
Things have changed with Utah’s Mighty Five travel campaign, which promotes a driving loop of all five Utah national parks. While nearby Capitol Reef National Park now gets its share of attention, Torrey is still easy to miss, especially in the summer months. The town is approximately 8 miles from the west entrance to the park.
It shouldn’t be missed. The town of 200 permanent residents is utterly picturesque, its Main Street settled in the shade of a double row of cottonwood trees planted by early pioneer settlers. Many of the buildings are made of wood cut from Boulder Mountain or from locally quarried red sandstone.
In Torrey, you can find food and drink of the quality you’d expect in a big city. A stop at the Wayne County Farmers’ Market in the town park on a late Saturday afternoon is a great way to stock up on homemade sourdough bread, locally grown vegetables, and even goat cheese and yogurt. There’s usually a band playing old-time music, and often kids doing cartwheels on the grass.
Hunt and Gather is a slow-food restaurant in Torrey.
For more great food, make a reservation to eat at Hunt and Gather, a slow-food restaurant whose name comes from the way the Native Americans of the area traditionally found their food. Chef Chet Saign offers wild game, locally raised bison, and vegetarian dishes accompanied by hard cider from nearby Etta Place Cidery. Etta Place has its own bar and one pull-through RV spot on site. I recommend the 435 Hopped Cider when they have it in stock; it’s dry-hopped like an IPA, but the tasting notes come from fruit instead of grain. Varieties of ciders and meads change with the season and with the fruit harvested from their local orchard.
The campgrounds in Torrey are nothing less than scenic. At Wonderland RV Park, I think owner Tracy Potter trims the green, green grass with a pair of scissors, and the bathrooms are the cleanest you’ll ever see. At Thousand Lakes RV Park, you’ll find Torrey Grill & BBQ. Don’t underestimate this little spot, where chef Peter Cole offers perfectly cooked meats in a rustic outdoor setting.
Thousand Lakes RV Park is home to Torrey Grill & BBQ.
Great food and drink, outdoor activities, and opportunities for relaxation are seemingly around every corner. So, why do people miss Torrey? I blame it on a right turn, and the wrong temperature.
Most people who do the Big Five national parks loop travel down Utah State Route 12 (a designated scenic byway) off Boulder Mountain. The first stop sign they reach is at the intersection of state routes 12 and 24, where they often turn right, heading into Capitol Reef National Park and beyond, to the town of Hanksville and then to Moab.
They simply don’t know what they’re missing. A glance at a map shows Torrey as a tiny dot, and drivers may assume that Taft Travel Plaza there at the intersection is the whole of the town. They couldn’t be more wrong. Turn left at that stop sign and spend a good three days in Torrey. Make it your base camp for a driving tour or hike with Sleeping Rainbow Adventures; a fishing trip guided by Chunky Trout Outfitters; an amazing night-sky photo tour with Hunter Page Photography; or a canyoneering trip with Capitol Reef Adventure Company. In town, the Entrada Institute hosts summer lectures on everything from history to animal behavior, book and poetry readings, and concerts at the Robbers Roost.
The other reason people bypass Torrey is a misunderstanding about its temperature. Because of the red-rock landscape, people think Torrey must be as hot as Moab in the summer months, but it isn’t. Torrey is in a high-elevation desert, sitting at 6,830 feet. Temperatures in July and August are moderate, maxing out at 90 degrees on the hottest summer days. The arid conditions also work in your favor, causing the temperature to fall by 20 degrees overnight, so summer mornings and evenings are very pleasant. Those in the know might even bring a sweatshirt when they wander over to The Wild Rabbit Cafe for a pastry and an early-morning cup of locally brewed Shooke Coffee.
Then there’s the monsoon season in July, August, and September, which also benefits visitors. Torrey often experiences a single rainstorm in the late afternoon, with dry conditions before and after; this lowers the temperature and raises the humidity level just a touch, which you’ll be grateful for. Remember to stock your RV with body lotion and lip balm — items essential to an arid high-desert dweller. You can buy grocery store brands at The Chuckwagon general store.
Something to be aware of is the potential for flash flooding during monsoon season. You’re not in any danger while in the town of Torrey, and if you’re on an excursion, your guide will keep you safe. The danger lies in getting trapped in a narrow canyon, even if the rain falls miles away. Rain runs off the sandstone into the canyons, which act as temporary riverbeds, funneling the water downstream, all at once. To stay safe, just practice a little bit of awareness. Stop at the Capitol Reef National Park visitor center before you go out hiking and ask which trails are the best for that day. Of course, seek shelter inside if you see lightning — at The Torrey Gallery, you can view inspiring depictions of the landscape by several notable Utah artists while you wait out the storm. It’s really that simple. High-desert thunderstorms are short-lived, and Torrey has more than 300 blue-sky days each year.
Capitol Reef is typically 10 degrees warmer than Torrey on a summer day, so plan hikes in the morning or evening. You’ll want to see Capitol Dome in that golden evening light, anyway. Composed of Navajo sandstone, the domelike formation reminded early explorers and settlers of capitol buildings, according to the National Park Service.
In addition to hot beverages, Dark Sky Coffee in Torrey serves iced drinks, ice cream, breakfast foods, and snacks.
Having an ice-cream cone in town, or trying a pizza at the Rim Rock Patio, are good ways to relax and beat the heat; then grab a cup of coffee from Dark Sky Coffee for the drive to an even higher elevation. Boulder Mountain and Fish Lake, north and south of the valley in which Torrey finds itself, soar to an elevation of more than 11,000 feet, so you can always “get up high,” as the locals say. Boulder Mountain offers hikes and fishing. Fish Lake, Utah’s largest natural mountain lake, is home of the Pando, a giant colony of quaking aspens (we just call them “quakies”), which, because of its single root structure, is one of the world’s largest living organisms.
I could go on and on about little Torrey. I haven’t even mentioned getting burgers at Capitol Burger food truck or eating Mexican molé at Chak Balam (which means “Red Jaguar” in the Mayan language), but you get my point. When you plan your road trip through the Mighty Five, turn left when you reach the northern end of State Route 12. You’ll be glad you did.
AREA CAMPING
Capitol Reef RV Resort and Glamping
visitcapitolreef.com
Sand Creek RV Park
sandcreekrv.com
Thousand Lakes RV Park
thousandlakesrvpark.com
Wonderland RV Park
capitolreefrvpark.com
THE MIGHTY FIVE
Utah boasts five spectacular national parks: Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and Zion. Learn more about these gems and the Beehive State’s countless other attractions at visitutah.com.