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I'm finally getting around to posting on this. My husband, a friend, and I were in the Capitol Reef National Park (south central Utah) over Memorial Day week. The plan was to do a few scenic drives and lots of hiking. We're in Wisconsin so we road tripped it out in my Mav.

Firstly, the Mav is a pretty comfortable road trip vehicle. Nice to drive, very comfortable, and having the bed for all our stuff was perfect. (We were in a cabin so no camping gear - definitely more than enough space in the bed). One thing of note, the back seat was a little tight for taller/larger folks (considering we had some bags in the bag seat) but definitely manageable. Overall, very pleased.

As for the trip, the photos are from two scenic drives while we were out there. The Maverick did excellent for both!

The first drive was Cathedral Valley, which we did on Memorial Day since it was going to be much less crowded than doing activities in the main areas of Capitol Reef. The Cathedral Valley loop actually starts just east of the park on Hwy 24 and heads northwest back into the park before looping again towards the southeast and back onto 24.

95% of the road for Cathedral Valley was pretty easy going. Light bumps and rocks but very manageable. The other 5% was dicey going over some bigger rocks or, most commonly, rough terrain when going in and out of washes. I have the Fx4 package and there were a couple of instances where I was very glad I had skid plates. Additionally, a little more clearance on the Maverick would have been great for this but overall it handled it just fine, when driving carefully.

This was taken just off Hwy 24 by the western entrance of the park.
Ford Maverick The Mav and a Capitol Reef Adventure capitol reef mav 1


A shot by the Bentonite hills.
Ford Maverick The Mav and a Capitol Reef Adventure cathedral valley2


My absolute favorite photo of the entire trip that my husband took. The color, composition - everything is perfect. This is the road going through the Bentonite hills. I'm in front of the truck and our friend is at the rear. It would make a great advertising image and I think Ford could sell a lot of trucks with it!
Ford Maverick The Mav and a Capitol Reef Adventure cathedral valley bentonite hills mav view


The Maverick by the gypsum sinkhole (not pictured but it was VERY cool) off the Cathedral Valley loop.
Ford Maverick The Mav and a Capitol Reef Adventure capitol reef mav2


Towards the end of the Cathedral Valley loop.
Ford Maverick The Mav and a Capitol Reef Adventure cathedral valley


The other major drive was "Looping the Fold" where you drive around Capitol Reef (also called the Waterpocket Fold, hence the name of the drive). This drive was much easier since it's partly on pavement and partly on a dirt road. Beyond some wash boarding in a couple of areas, the dirt road was easy. In non-rainy conditions, any car could do this just fine. Despite the ease of the drive, we only saw 4 other cars the entire day!

This was a very scenic drive that also started east of the park and follows Notom-Bullfrog road south. One could take this all the way to the Bullfrog Marina on Lake Powell, but our turn off was the Burr Trail Switchbacks, which was built on an old cattle route. The switchbacks are the only way to get up the fold.

Once on top of the fold, we took the 3 mile drive to the Strike Valley Overlook, which was totally worth it. This optional sidetrip would not be suitable for just any car as this was a rough road - very rutted and rocky. Taking it slow - the Maverick handled this beautifully as well.

As we continued the drive, the paved road came back when entering into the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument (another fantastic place to visit) and the road heads down into Long's Canyon. The Burr Trail eventually went to Boulder on Hwy 12.

Hwy 12 between Escalante in Boulder is an incredible drive. Knowing that, we took our friend to The Hogback on Hwy 12, which is a fantastic section of the highway where both sides of the road completely drop off for small stretch. It's fun to drive and the views are amazing. From there, we headed up back to Torrey, the town outside Capitol Reef.

The Mav with all the wild flowers off Notom road and a section of the fold in the background.
Ford Maverick The Mav and a Capitol Reef Adventure notom road


The parking area for the Strike Valley Overlook.
Ford Maverick The Mav and a Capitol Reef Adventure mav strike valley


My Maverick on The Hogback off Hwy 12.
Ford Maverick The Mav and a Capitol Reef Adventure mav hwy 12



Overall the trip was great, the Mav did great, and we can't wait to go on another one!
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Edge Haley

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Great ride report....Capital Reef is pretty amazing.
 

Shane75796

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Very nice! I agree that one photo is wonderful.. Ive spent some good time out there and it's such beautiful country :). Did he take the photos with a phone? Glad you all had an amazing road trip and the little MAV made it just that much more enjoyable ;)
 

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I'm finally getting around to posting on this. My husband, a friend, and I were in the Capitol Reef National Park (south central Utah) over Memorial Day week. The plan was to do a few scenic drives and lots of hiking. We're in Wisconsin so we road tripped it out in my Mav.

Firstly, the Mav is a pretty comfortable road trip vehicle. Nice to drive, very comfortable, and having the bed for all our stuff was perfect. (We were in a cabin so no camping gear - definitely more than enough space in the bed). One thing of note, the back seat was a little tight for taller/larger folks (considering we had some bags in the bag seat) but definitely manageable. Overall, very pleased.

As for the trip, the photos are from two scenic drives while we were out there. The Maverick did excellent for both!

The first drive was Cathedral Valley, which we did on Memorial Day since it was going to be much less crowded than doing activities in the main areas of Capitol Reef. The Cathedral Valley loop actually starts just east of the park on Hwy 24 and heads northwest back into the park before looping again towards the southeast and back onto 24.

95% of the road for Cathedral Valley was pretty easy going. Light bumps and rocks but very manageable. The other 5% was dicey going over some bigger rocks or, most commonly, rough terrain when going in and out of washes. I have the Fx4 package and there were a couple of instances where I was very glad I had skid plates. Additionally, a little more clearance on the Maverick would have been great for this but overall it handled it just fine, when driving carefully.

This was taken just off Hwy 24 by the western entrance of the park.
capitol reef mav 1.jpg


A shot by the Bentonite hills.
cathedral valley2.jpg


My absolute favorite photo of the entire trip that my husband took. The color, composition - everything is perfect. This is the road going through the Bentonite hills. I'm in front of the truck and our friend is at the rear. It would make a great advertising image and I think Ford could sell a lot of trucks with it!
cathedral valley bentonite hills mav view.jpg


The Maverick by the gypsum sinkhole (not pictured but it was VERY cool) off the Cathedral Valley loop.
capitol reef mav2.jpg


Towards the end of the Cathedral Valley loop.
cathedral valley.jpg


The other major drive was "Looping the Fold" where you drive around Capitol Reef (also called the Waterpocket Fold, hence the name of the drive). This drive was much easier since it's partly on pavement and partly on a dirt road. Beyond some wash boarding in a couple of areas, the dirt road was easy. In non-rainy conditions, any car could do this just fine. Despite the ease of the drive, we only saw 4 other cars the entire day!

This was a very scenic drive that also started east of the park and follows Notom-Bullfrog road south. One could take this all the way to the Bullfrog Marina on Lake Powell, but our turn off was the Burr Trail Switchbacks, which was built on an old cattle route. The switchbacks are the only way to get up the fold.

Once on top of the fold, we took the 3 mile drive to the Strike Valley Overlook, which was totally worth it. This optional sidetrip would not be suitable for just any car as this was a rough road - very rutted and rocky. Taking it slow - the Maverick handled this beautifully as well.

As we continued the drive, the paved road came back when entering into the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument (another fantastic place to visit) and the road heads down into Long's Canyon. The Burr Trail eventually went to Boulder on Hwy 12.

Hwy 12 between Escalante in Boulder is an incredible drive. Knowing that, we took our friend to The Hogback on Hwy 12, which is a fantastic section of the highway where both sides of the road completely drop off for small stretch. It's fun to drive and the views are amazing. From there, we headed up back to Torrey, the town outside Capitol Reef.

The Mav with all the wild flowers off Notom road and a section of the fold in the background.
notom road.jpg


The parking area for the Strike Valley Overlook.
mav strike valley.jpg


My Maverick on The Hogback off Hwy 12.
mav hwy 12.jpg



Overall the trip was great, the Mav did great, and we can't wait to go on another one!
I'm finally getting around to posting on this. My husband, a friend, and I were in the Capitol Reef National Park (south central Utah) over Memorial Day week. The plan was to do a few scenic drives and lots of hiking. We're in Wisconsin so we road tripped it out in my Mav.

Firstly, the Mav is a pretty comfortable road trip vehicle. Nice to drive, very comfortable, and having the bed for all our stuff was perfect. (We were in a cabin so no camping gear - definitely more than enough space in the bed). One thing of note, the back seat was a little tight for taller/larger folks (considering we had some bags in the bag seat) but definitely manageable. Overall, very pleased.

As for the trip, the photos are from two scenic drives while we were out there. The Maverick did excellent for both!

The first drive was Cathedral Valley, which we did on Memorial Day since it was going to be much less crowded than doing activities in the main areas of Capitol Reef. The Cathedral Valley loop actually starts just east of the park on Hwy 24 and heads northwest back into the park before looping again towards the southeast and back onto 24.

95% of the road for Cathedral Valley was pretty easy going. Light bumps and rocks but very manageable. The other 5% was dicey going over some bigger rocks or, most commonly, rough terrain when going in and out of washes. I have the Fx4 package and there were a couple of instances where I was very glad I had skid plates. Additionally, a little more clearance on the Maverick would have been great for this but overall it handled it just fine, when driving carefully.

This was taken just off Hwy 24 by the western entrance of the park.
Cactus gray Maverick sitting by red rocks on Hwy 24 in Utah


A shot by the Bentonite hills.
cathedral valley2.jpg


My absolute favorite photo of the entire trip that my husband took. The color, composition - everything is perfect. This is the road going through the Bentonite hills. I'm in front of the truck and our friend is at the rear. It would make a great advertising image and I think Ford could sell a lot of trucks with it!
cathedral valley bentonite hills mav view.jpg


The Maverick by the gypsum sinkhole (not pictured but it was VERY cool) off the Cathedral Valley loop.
capitol reef mav2.jpg


Towards the end of the Cathedral Valley loop.
cathedral valley.jpg


The other major drive was "Looping the Fold" where you drive around Capitol Reef (also called the Waterpocket Fold, hence the name of the drive). This drive was much easier since it's partly on pavement and partly on a dirt road. Beyond some wash boarding in a couple of areas, the dirt road was easy. In non-rainy conditions, any car could do this just fine. Despite the ease of the drive, we only saw 4 other cars the entire day!

This was a very scenic drive that also started east of the park and follows Notom-Bullfrog road south. One could take this all the way to the Bullfrog Marina on Lake Powell, but our turn off was the Burr Trail Switchbacks, which was built on an old cattle route. The switchbacks are the only way to get up the fold.

Once on top of the fold, we took the 3 mile drive to the Strike Valley Overlook, which was totally worth it. This optional sidetrip would not be suitable for just any car as this was a rough road - very rutted and rocky. Taking it slow - the Maverick handled this beautifully as well.

As we continued the drive, the paved road came back when entering into the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument (another fantastic place to visit) and the road heads down into Long's Canyon. The Burr Trail eventually went to Boulder on Hwy 12.

Hwy 12 between Escalante in Boulder is an incredible drive. Knowing that, we took our friend to The Hogback on Hwy 12, which is a fantastic section of the highway where both sides of the road completely drop off for small stretch. It's fun to drive and the views are amazing. From there, we headed up back to Torrey, the town outside Capitol Reef.

The Mav with all the wild flowers off Notom road and a section of the fold in the background.
notom road.jpg


The parking area for the Strike Valley Overlook.
mav strike valley.jpg


My Maverick on The Hogback off Hwy 12.
mav hwy 12.jpg



Overall the trip was great, the Mav did great, and we can't wait to go on another one!
As a long time Ranger with the National Park Service, glad you are enjoying your National Parks
 

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I'm finally getting around to posting on this. My husband, a friend, and I were in the Capitol Reef National Park (south central Utah) over Memorial Day week. The plan was to do a few scenic drives and lots of hiking. We're in Wisconsin so we road tripped it out in my Mav.

Firstly, the Mav is a pretty comfortable road trip vehicle. Nice to drive, very comfortable, and having the bed for all our stuff was perfect. (We were in a cabin so no camping gear - definitely more than enough space in the bed). One thing of note, the back seat was a little tight for taller/larger folks (considering we had some bags in the bag seat) but definitely manageable. Overall, very pleased.

As for the trip, the photos are from two scenic drives while we were out there. The Maverick did excellent for both!

The first drive was Cathedral Valley, which we did on Memorial Day since it was going to be much less crowded than doing activities in the main areas of Capitol Reef. The Cathedral Valley loop actually starts just east of the park on Hwy 24 and heads northwest back into the park before looping again towards the southeast and back onto 24.

95% of the road for Cathedral Valley was pretty easy going. Light bumps and rocks but very manageable. The other 5% was dicey going over some bigger rocks or, most commonly, rough terrain when going in and out of washes. I have the Fx4 package and there were a couple of instances where I was very glad I had skid plates. Additionally, a little more clearance on the Maverick would have been great for this but overall it handled it just fine, when driving carefully.

This was taken just off Hwy 24 by the western entrance of the park.
Cactus gray Maverick sitting by red rocks on Hwy 24 in Utah


A shot by the Bentonite hills.
cathedral valley2.jpg


My absolute favorite photo of the entire trip that my husband took. The color, composition - everything is perfect. This is the road going through the Bentonite hills. I'm in front of the truck and our friend is at the rear. It would make a great advertising image and I think Ford could sell a lot of trucks with it!
cathedral valley bentonite hills mav view.jpg


The Maverick by the gypsum sinkhole (not pictured but it was VERY cool) off the Cathedral Valley loop.
capitol reef mav2.jpg


Towards the end of the Cathedral Valley loop.
cathedral valley.jpg


The other major drive was "Looping the Fold" where you drive around Capitol Reef (also called the Waterpocket Fold, hence the name of the drive). This drive was much easier since it's partly on pavement and partly on a dirt road. Beyond some wash boarding in a couple of areas, the dirt road was easy. In non-rainy conditions, any car could do this just fine. Despite the ease of the drive, we only saw 4 other cars the entire day!

This was a very scenic drive that also started east of the park and follows Notom-Bullfrog road south. One could take this all the way to the Bullfrog Marina on Lake Powell, but our turn off was the Burr Trail Switchbacks, which was built on an old cattle route. The switchbacks are the only way to get up the fold.

Once on top of the fold, we took the 3 mile drive to the Strike Valley Overlook, which was totally worth it. This optional sidetrip would not be suitable for just any car as this was a rough road - very rutted and rocky. Taking it slow - the Maverick handled this beautifully as well.

As we continued the drive, the paved road came back when entering into the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument (another fantastic place to visit) and the road heads down into Long's Canyon. The Burr Trail eventually went to Boulder on Hwy 12.

Hwy 12 between Escalante in Boulder is an incredible drive. Knowing that, we took our friend to The Hogback on Hwy 12, which is a fantastic section of the highway where both sides of the road completely drop off for small stretch. It's fun to drive and the views are amazing. From there, we headed up back to Torrey, the town outside Capitol Reef.

The Mav with all the wild flowers off Notom road and a section of the fold in the background.
notom road.jpg


The parking area for the Strike Valley Overlook.
mav strike valley.jpg


My Maverick on The Hogback off Hwy 12.
mav hwy 12.jpg



Overall the trip was great, the Mav did great, and we can't wait to go on another one!
My neck of the woods. Legit places all around - Nice pics. Utah red clay dust looks great on the Cactus Grey -)
 

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I'm finally getting around to posting on this. My husband, a friend, and I were in the Capitol Reef National Park (south central Utah) over Memorial Day week. The plan was to do a few scenic drives and lots of hiking. We're in Wisconsin so we road tripped it out in my Mav.

Firstly, the Mav is a pretty comfortable road trip vehicle. Nice to drive, very comfortable, and having the bed for all our stuff was perfect. (We were in a cabin so no camping gear - definitely more than enough space in the bed). One thing of note, the back seat was a little tight for taller/larger folks (considering we had some bags in the bag seat) but definitely manageable. Overall, very pleased.

As for the trip, the photos are from two scenic drives while we were out there. The Maverick did excellent for both!

The first drive was Cathedral Valley, which we did on Memorial Day since it was going to be much less crowded than doing activities in the main areas of Capitol Reef. The Cathedral Valley loop actually starts just east of the park on Hwy 24 and heads northwest back into the park before looping again towards the southeast and back onto 24.

95% of the road for Cathedral Valley was pretty easy going. Light bumps and rocks but very manageable. The other 5% was dicey going over some bigger rocks or, most commonly, rough terrain when going in and out of washes. I have the Fx4 package and there were a couple of instances where I was very glad I had skid plates. Additionally, a little more clearance on the Maverick would have been great for this but overall it handled it just fine, when driving carefully.

This was taken just off Hwy 24 by the western entrance of the park.
Cactus gray Maverick sitting by red rocks on Hwy 24 in Utah


A shot by the Bentonite hills.
cathedral valley2.jpg


My absolute favorite photo of the entire trip that my husband took. The color, composition - everything is perfect. This is the road going through the Bentonite hills. I'm in front of the truck and our friend is at the rear. It would make a great advertising image and I think Ford could sell a lot of trucks with it!
cathedral valley bentonite hills mav view.jpg


The Maverick by the gypsum sinkhole (not pictured but it was VERY cool) off the Cathedral Valley loop.
capitol reef mav2.jpg


Towards the end of the Cathedral Valley loop.
cathedral valley.jpg


The other major drive was "Looping the Fold" where you drive around Capitol Reef (also called the Waterpocket Fold, hence the name of the drive). This drive was much easier since it's partly on pavement and partly on a dirt road. Beyond some wash boarding in a couple of areas, the dirt road was easy. In non-rainy conditions, any car could do this just fine. Despite the ease of the drive, we only saw 4 other cars the entire day!

This was a very scenic drive that also started east of the park and follows Notom-Bullfrog road south. One could take this all the way to the Bullfrog Marina on Lake Powell, but our turn off was the Burr Trail Switchbacks, which was built on an old cattle route. The switchbacks are the only way to get up the fold.

Once on top of the fold, we took the 3 mile drive to the Strike Valley Overlook, which was totally worth it. This optional sidetrip would not be suitable for just any car as this was a rough road - very rutted and rocky. Taking it slow - the Maverick handled this beautifully as well.

As we continued the drive, the paved road came back when entering into the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument (another fantastic place to visit) and the road heads down into Long's Canyon. The Burr Trail eventually went to Boulder on Hwy 12.

Hwy 12 between Escalante in Boulder is an incredible drive. Knowing that, we took our friend to The Hogback on Hwy 12, which is a fantastic section of the highway where both sides of the road completely drop off for small stretch. It's fun to drive and the views are amazing. From there, we headed up back to Torrey, the town outside Capitol Reef.

The Mav with all the wild flowers off Notom road and a section of the fold in the background.
notom road.jpg


The parking area for the Strike Valley Overlook.
mav strike valley.jpg


My Maverick on The Hogback off Hwy 12.
mav hwy 12.jpg



Overall the trip was great, the Mav did great, and we can't wait to go on another one!
Awesome pics and story!
 

GreenLady

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I'm finally getting around to posting on this. My husband, a friend, and I were in the Capitol Reef National Park (south central Utah) over Memorial Day week. The plan was to do a few scenic drives and lots of hiking. We're in Wisconsin so we road tripped it out in my Mav.

Firstly, the Mav is a pretty comfortable road trip vehicle. Nice to drive, very comfortable, and having the bed for all our stuff was perfect. (We were in a cabin so no camping gear - definitely more than enough space in the bed). One thing of note, the back seat was a little tight for taller/larger folks (considering we had some bags in the bag seat) but definitely manageable. Overall, very pleased.

As for the trip, the photos are from two scenic drives while we were out there. The Maverick did excellent for both!

The first drive was Cathedral Valley, which we did on Memorial Day since it was going to be much less crowded than doing activities in the main areas of Capitol Reef. The Cathedral Valley loop actually starts just east of the park on Hwy 24 and heads northwest back into the park before looping again towards the southeast and back onto 24.

95% of the road for Cathedral Valley was pretty easy going. Light bumps and rocks but very manageable. The other 5% was dicey going over some bigger rocks or, most commonly, rough terrain when going in and out of washes. I have the Fx4 package and there were a couple of instances where I was very glad I had skid plates. Additionally, a little more clearance on the Maverick would have been great for this but overall it handled it just fine, when driving carefully.

This was taken just off Hwy 24 by the western entrance of the park.
Cactus gray Maverick sitting by red rocks on Hwy 24 in Utah


A shot by the Bentonite hills.
cathedral valley2.jpg


My absolute favorite photo of the entire trip that my husband took. The color, composition - everything is perfect. This is the road going through the Bentonite hills. I'm in front of the truck and our friend is at the rear. It would make a great advertising image and I think Ford could sell a lot of trucks with it!
cathedral valley bentonite hills mav view.jpg


The Maverick by the gypsum sinkhole (not pictured but it was VERY cool) off the Cathedral Valley loop.
capitol reef mav2.jpg


Towards the end of the Cathedral Valley loop.
cathedral valley.jpg


The other major drive was "Looping the Fold" where you drive around Capitol Reef (also called the Waterpocket Fold, hence the name of the drive). This drive was much easier since it's partly on pavement and partly on a dirt road. Beyond some wash boarding in a couple of areas, the dirt road was easy. In non-rainy conditions, any car could do this just fine. Despite the ease of the drive, we only saw 4 other cars the entire day!

This was a very scenic drive that also started east of the park and follows Notom-Bullfrog road south. One could take this all the way to the Bullfrog Marina on Lake Powell, but our turn off was the Burr Trail Switchbacks, which was built on an old cattle route. The switchbacks are the only way to get up the fold.

Once on top of the fold, we took the 3 mile drive to the Strike Valley Overlook, which was totally worth it. This optional sidetrip would not be suitable for just any car as this was a rough road - very rutted and rocky. Taking it slow - the Maverick handled this beautifully as well.

As we continued the drive, the paved road came back when entering into the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument (another fantastic place to visit) and the road heads down into Long's Canyon. The Burr Trail eventually went to Boulder on Hwy 12.

Hwy 12 between Escalante in Boulder is an incredible drive. Knowing that, we took our friend to The Hogback on Hwy 12, which is a fantastic section of the highway where both sides of the road completely drop off for small stretch. It's fun to drive and the views are amazing. From there, we headed up back to Torrey, the town outside Capitol Reef.

The Mav with all the wild flowers off Notom road and a section of the fold in the background.
notom road.jpg


The parking area for the Strike Valley Overlook.
mav strike valley.jpg


My Maverick on The Hogback off Hwy 12.
mav hwy 12.jpg



Overall the trip was great, the Mav did great, and we can't wait to go on another one!
Great journal and pictures! Thanks for taking us there! Happy you like your Maverick- did you let your husband drive some?🤣
 

Hardening2753

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I'm finally getting around to posting on this. My husband, a friend, and I were in the Capitol Reef National Park (south central Utah) over Memorial Day week. The plan was to do a few scenic drives and lots of hiking. We're in Wisconsin so we road tripped it out in my Mav.

Firstly, the Mav is a pretty comfortable road trip vehicle. Nice to drive, very comfortable, and having the bed for all our stuff was perfect. (We were in a cabin so no camping gear - definitely more than enough space in the bed). One thing of note, the back seat was a little tight for taller/larger folks (considering we had some bags in the bag seat) but definitely manageable. Overall, very pleased.

As for the trip, the photos are from two scenic drives while we were out there. The Maverick did excellent for both!

The first drive was Cathedral Valley, which we did on Memorial Day since it was going to be much less crowded than doing activities in the main areas of Capitol Reef. The Cathedral Valley loop actually starts just east of the park on Hwy 24 and heads northwest back into the park before looping again towards the southeast and back onto 24.

95% of the road for Cathedral Valley was pretty easy going. Light bumps and rocks but very manageable. The other 5% was dicey going over some bigger rocks or, most commonly, rough terrain when going in and out of washes. I have the Fx4 package and there were a couple of instances where I was very glad I had skid plates. Additionally, a little more clearance on the Maverick would have been great for this but overall it handled it just fine, when driving carefully.

This was taken just off Hwy 24 by the western entrance of the park.
Cactus gray Maverick sitting by red rocks on Hwy 24 in Utah


A shot by the Bentonite hills.
cathedral valley2.jpg


My absolute favorite photo of the entire trip that my husband took. The color, composition - everything is perfect. This is the road going through the Bentonite hills. I'm in front of the truck and our friend is at the rear. It would make a great advertising image and I think Ford could sell a lot of trucks with it!
cathedral valley bentonite hills mav view.jpg


The Maverick by the gypsum sinkhole (not pictured but it was VERY cool) off the Cathedral Valley loop.
capitol reef mav2.jpg


Towards the end of the Cathedral Valley loop.
cathedral valley.jpg


The other major drive was "Looping the Fold" where you drive around Capitol Reef (also called the Waterpocket Fold, hence the name of the drive). This drive was much easier since it's partly on pavement and partly on a dirt road. Beyond some wash boarding in a couple of areas, the dirt road was easy. In non-rainy conditions, any car could do this just fine. Despite the ease of the drive, we only saw 4 other cars the entire day!

This was a very scenic drive that also started east of the park and follows Notom-Bullfrog road south. One could take this all the way to the Bullfrog Marina on Lake Powell, but our turn off was the Burr Trail Switchbacks, which was built on an old cattle route. The switchbacks are the only way to get up the fold.

Once on top of the fold, we took the 3 mile drive to the Strike Valley Overlook, which was totally worth it. This optional sidetrip would not be suitable for just any car as this was a rough road - very rutted and rocky. Taking it slow - the Maverick handled this beautifully as well.

As we continued the drive, the paved road came back when entering into the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument (another fantastic place to visit) and the road heads down into Long's Canyon. The Burr Trail eventually went to Boulder on Hwy 12.

Hwy 12 between Escalante in Boulder is an incredible drive. Knowing that, we took our friend to The Hogback on Hwy 12, which is a fantastic section of the highway where both sides of the road completely drop off for small stretch. It's fun to drive and the views are amazing. From there, we headed up back to Torrey, the town outside Capitol Reef.

The Mav with all the wild flowers off Notom road and a section of the fold in the background.
notom road.jpg


The parking area for the Strike Valley Overlook.
mav strike valley.jpg


My Maverick on The Hogback off Hwy 12.
mav hwy 12.jpg



Overall the trip was great, the Mav did great, and we can't wait to go on another one!
That's awesome!! One of the main reasons I got the mav was to do more remote hikes. I'm glad it's working out that way lol. Do you think a hybrid mav would be able to do the same off-road that you did?
 

rightmuch

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As a long time Ranger with the National Park Service, glad you are enjoying your National Parks
Last year we hit multiple national parks on a cross country trip with our two Goldens and our Mav. It's the perfect National Parks vehicle!

Ford Maverick The Mav and a Capitol Reef Adventure IMG_2156
 
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JEMiculka

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Last year we hit multiple national parks on a cross country trip with our two Goldens and our Mav. It's the perfect National Parks vehicle!

IMG_2156.jpeg
Agree. I go to work in my 23 Maverick hybrid Lariat each day! Looking forward to getting mine out on some National Park roads away from the DC headquarters office. Enjoy your national parks. Been at it for almost 50 years.
 

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Agree. I go to work in my 23 Maverick hybrid Lariat each day! Looking forward to getting mine out on some National Park roads away from the DC headquarters office. Enjoy your national parks. Been at it for almost 50 years.
That’s awesome. We bought our senior lifetime pass several years ago when it was really cheap. Not counting National monuments we’ve now been to 28 national parks.

Ford Maverick The Mav and a Capitol Reef Adventure IMG_0605
 

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How often did you need awd on that drive? I've driven a Jetta around Monument Valley without an issue. But balked at Canyonlands because the cost to get towed if you got stuck. But the Mav has a lot better ground clearance which was said to be the big issue.

We went some around Capital Reef but it was getting later in the evening and wanted to get to a hotel at a decent time.
 

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Love it! Even with 50 years in the NPS, I’ve still not been to Yellowstone or Yosemite. Maverick road trip. Been to all the Utah parks, I probably have just under 40 NP sites, including have worked and lived in Grand Canyon and Hawai’i Volcanoes. Love to see photos of Mavericks in National Park Service sites!
 

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Love it! Even with 50 years in the NPS, I’ve still not been to Yellowstone or Yosemite. Maverick road trip. Been to all the Utah parks, I probably have just under 40 NP sites, including have worked and lived in Grand Canyon and Hawai’i Volcanoes. Love to see photos of Mavericks in National Park Service sites!
Yellowstone is a must two-day minimum. Try to get a room in the park so that there's less time leaving and returning each day. My ex and I took one day through Grand Teton, entering, around the bottom loop and one day around the top loop and exiting through W Yellowstone.
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