Notom-Bullfrog Road — Capitol Reef to Lake Powell via the Waterpocket Fold

The Waterpocket Fold is one of the most dramatic geologic features in North America — a 100-mile wrinkle in the Earth’s crust where tilted sandstone layers expose a rainbow of Jurassic and Cretaceous rock in bold, unambiguous color. The Notom-Bullfrog Road runs its full length, starting from Highway 24 near Capitol Reef and dropping south 70 miles through the Henry Mountains foothills to Lake Powell at Bullfrog. You pass through the raw canyon country of Halls Creek, skirt the base of the Henry Mountains (highest point: Mount Ellen at 11,522 feet), and drop into the slickrock badlands approaching the lake. Sandy wash crossings at Halls Creek and Oak Creek can be deceptively deep after monsoon rain — several vehicles have been swallowed here by fast-moving flash flood debris.

The road is two-wheel-drive passable in dry weather for most of its length, but two sections near the Henry Mountains foothills and the wash crossings require high-clearance. After any rain, the clay sections become impassable for anything. This is serious desert — temperatures exceed 100°F in summer, and there’s no water, fuel, or cell service for the entire 70-mile corridor. Carry at minimum 5 gallons of water per person. The nearest fuel is Torrey to the north or Bullfrog Marina to the south (call ahead, Bullfrog’s services are seasonal and unreliable). Best season is March-May and September-November. Dispersed camping is permitted throughout the BLM corridor outside the National Park boundary. This is one of the great lonesome desert drives in the American Southwest.