<Tr> <Th> Governing body </Th> <Td> National Park Service </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Website </Th> <Td> Capitol Reef National Park </Td> </Tr> <P> Capitol Reef National Park is a United States National Park, in south - central Utah . The park is approximately 60 miles (97 km) long on its north--south axis but an average of just 6 miles (9.7 km) wide . The park was established in 1971 to preserve 241,904 acres (377.98 sq mi; 97,895.08 ha; 978.95 km) of desert landscape and is open all year with May through September being the highest visitation months . </P> <P> Located partially in Wayne County, Utah, the area was originally named "Wayne Wonderland" in the 1920s by local boosters Ephraim P. Pectol and Joseph S. Hickman . Capitol Reef National Park was initially designated a National Monument on August 2, 1937 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in order to protect the area's colorful canyons, ridges, buttes, and monoliths; however, it was not until 1950 that the area officially opened to the public . Easy road access only came in 1962 with the construction of State Route 24 through the Fremont River Canyon . </P>

When did capitol reef became a national park