Historic canyon
Grand Wash
A narrow, steep-walled wash through the Waterpocket Fold, with an easy walk through its narrows and the trail to Cassidy Arch on its north wall.
Grand Wash cuts through the Wingate sandstone cliffs of Capitol Reef. A dirt spur road off the Scenic Drive leads into the canyon to a trailhead, and from there the Grand Wash trail continues 2.2 miles one way through the narrows to Highway 24, with about 200 feet of elevation change. The park rates it easy. The Cassidy Arch trail climbs from the same trailhead.
At the mouth of the wash, gated holes mark the old Oyler uranium mine, opened in 1901. The arch on the north wall is named for Butch Cassidy, who the park says is thought to have hidden in Grand Wash at times.
Safety
The park warns that Grand Wash is subject to flash floods that often arrive with little warning, and that storms to the west can flood the park where no rain has fallen. In June 2022 a flood washed three vehicles down Grand Wash. Park only in designated areas and stay out when storms threaten.