Tips for visiting Torrey :
- If you are driving from Bryce to Capitol Reef, I suggest you take UT12 for a beautiful drive.
- Stop at Kiva Koffeehouse for a delicious coffee and healthy lunch options (make sure you make it before the kitchen closes).
- If you do miss this previous stop, don’t worry- you can get food at Burr Trail Grill. They serve delicious pies and some tasty food.
- If you like driving in the wilderness with no one around, I strongly recommend taking a detour and driving down the Burr Trail Road as far as you want. If you don’t have a 4 wheel drive, I recommend stopping at the end of the canyon, when it opens up into somewhat of a desert.
- In Torrey:
- We got the ultimate local experience and stayed at the Torrey Schoolhouse, which is a bed and breakfast, but was previously the local school. It was built sometime between 1914 and 1916: walking into this building was like stepping back in time. The rooms all had special names and were themed accordingly (ie the music room) and were clean. The walls were quite thin and bed extra soft. The breakfast was made from local produce and it was delicious.
- Other fun looking options: Torrey Trading Post and Austin’s Chuckwagon motel
- Restaurants in the area: Café Diablo (recommended by a friend), Red cliff restaurant and Rim Rock Restaurant
- We made a quick coffee stop at Castlerock Coffee & Candy on our way out of town and it was pretty good.
- We got the ultimate local experience and stayed at the Torrey Schoolhouse, which is a bed and breakfast, but was previously the local school. It was built sometime between 1914 and 1916: walking into this building was like stepping back in time. The rooms all had special names and were themed accordingly (ie the music room) and were clean. The walls were quite thin and bed extra soft. The breakfast was made from local produce and it was delicious.
Impressions of Torrey:
A friend suggested we stay in Torrey to split up the drive between Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef National Park. The drive was quite beautiful and we enjoyed stopping at multiple places to soak it all in.
Upon arriving in Torrey, we were quite tired from hiking in Bryce Canyon and the driving so we checked into the Torrey Schoolhouse (the key was waiting for us on a mantlepiece) and stayed in all night. The main room was quite spacious: you can sit there to enjoy tea or coffee, as well as warm up next to the fireplace or play the piano. We stayed in the ‘music’ room which kept its old character. The walls and floors were quite thin and we could hear our neighbors but slept well nevertheless. We woke up and made sure we were at the breakfast table by 8 am sharp (we had been warned about being on time). We finally met the owner and her staff: this woman runs a tight ship and there wasn’t room for much talk. The food tasted delicious and was clearly homemade the morning of.
We checked out, following the detailed instructions, got in our car to drive to Capitol Reef. We stopped for gas and a delicious coffee at Castlerock Coffee & Candy to fuel up!
Related posts: Visiting Antelope Canyon & Waterhole Canyon, Visiting Canyonlands National Park, Visiting Capitol Reef National Park, Visiting Arches National Park, Visiting Page & surroundings, Visiting Bryce Canyon National Park, Visiting Zion National Park, Visiting Moab and Visiting Salt Lake City.