The route begins at the county seat of Panguitch, an Old West town dotted with redbrick houses full of Mormon history, and heads southeast toward Bryce Canyon. About 2 miles [3.2 kilometers] past the intersection with U.S. 89, Rte. 12 enters Dixie National Forest (+1 435 865 3700) and rolls through Red Canyon, a fairylike world of curiously sculptured limestone formations colored brilliant red by iron oxides and accented by large ponderosa pines. Outlaw Butch Cassidy often hid out here. At 9 miles [14.5 kilometers], the national forest’s Red Canyon Campground (+1 435 676 8815) offers full camping facilities. The orange-tinted cliffs and spires of Bryce Canyon appear to the southeast as the road ascends to the flats of the Paunsaugunt Plateau. Twelve miles [19.3 kilometers] from U.S. 89, Rte. 63 branches off to the south, passing Ruby’s Inn (+1 800 528 1234), a descendant of the original “Tourist Rest” located near Bryce Canyon’s rim. Some 2 miles [3.2 kilometers] beyond, this road enters Bryce Canyon National Park (+1 435 834 5322. $10.) The road along the rim skirts 12 huge amphitheaters that drop a thousand feet [304.8 meters]. With no shoulder in places, the single-lane road through the dense mixed-conifer forest can become crowded, especially on weekends.
Half a mile [0.8 kilometer] from the excellent Visitor Center, a short loop-road heads east to the rim at Sunset Point, a vantage point for the 6-square-mile [15.5-square-kilometer] Bryce Amphitheater, the scenic heart of the park. Sunrise Point offers superb views of the many-spired Queen’s Garden, rock formations suggesting a queen facing her court, and of Powell Plateau in the distance. Queen’s Garden Trail descends into the formations, known as hoodoos. Other hikes from Sunrise Point descend to the formations known as Thor’s Hamme r and Wall Street. The road continues to the rustic, remodeled 1920s Bryce Canyon Lodge (+1 435 834 5361. Mid-April–mid-Oct.). Well worth taking is a horse or mule ride (+1 435 834 5500) that begins at the lodge and descends to the canyon floor through a surreal landscape of tortured bristlecone pine and red rock.
From the Visitor Center continue 2 miles [3.2 kilometers] along the park road to a left turn for Inspiration and Bryce Points, where the 0.5-mile [0.8-kilometer] Under-the-Rim Trail begins. From here, Silent City looks like a congregation frozen in its seats. Bryce’s many freeze-thaw cycles—about 200 a year—help nature sculpture these spires and spindles. The park road continues for 14 more miles [22.5 kilometers], passing other lookouts, canyons, and an arch before ending at Rainbow and Yovimpa Points for views up to 200 miles [321.9 kilometers] to Navajo Mountain and the Kaibab Plateau in Arizona.
Retrace the park road to rejoin Rte. 12, which runs across the northern edge of the park. Follow it eastward into Water Canyon. Mossy Cave has a 1-mile [1.6-kilometer] round-trip trail that goes to a small cave and waterfall. From the park, the road drops south through the small towns of Tropic and Cannonville, the roadhead for the Cottonwood Canyon Road.
About 13 miles [20.9 kilometers] past Tropic, stop at a pullout for stunning views of the salmon-colored cliffs of 10,188-foot [3,105.3-meter] Powell Point, an early landmark in Maj. John Wesley Powell’s survey of the Southwest. The road continues toward Escalante across the high pastures of the Table Cliff Plateau. Seventeen miles [27.3 kilometers] beyond the pullout, another one provides views of a Fremont granary built high in the cliff face. Primarily hunter-gatherers, the Fremont Indians occupied the area between A.D. 1050 and 1200.
A mile [1.6 kilo meters] west of Escalante is Escalante State Park and Visitor Center (+1 435 826 4466. Adm. fee) Wide Hollow Reservoir offers trout fishing, while a 1-mile [1.6-kilometer] nature trail leads to a petrified forest, with brightly-colored rock logs and a view of the early Mormon town of Escalante. Hell’s Backbone, a spine-tingling, high-mountain, dirt-and-gravel road accessible in good weather, heads north from Escalante and overlooks Box-Death Hollow Wilderness area. The gravel-and-dirt Hole-in-the-Rock Road cuts south from Escalante 18 miles [29 kilometers] to the twisted slickrock desertscape of Devil’s Garden. The side road ends at the Hole-in-the Rock, a spot where in 1879-80 some 200 Mormon pioneers with 83 wagons and 1,200 head of livestock penetrated a notch in the canyon wall 2,000 feet [609.6 meters] above the Colorado River.
The 29 miles [46.7 kilometers] between Escalante and Boulder are so dramatic that you might not need to leave the road. It crosses Calf Creek near the Calf Creek Campground (+1 435 826 5499, $7 camping), where a 5.5-mile [8.9-kilometer] trail leads to 126-foot [38.4-meter] Calf Creek Falls. In this area, known as the Hogback, the road twists along the crest of a narrow ridge with spectacular views of Calf Creek far below.
Continue on 6 miles [9.7 kilometers] to Boulder, where Anasazi State Park (+1 435 335 7308. Adm. fee) offers a close-up view of the Anasazi, who, along with the Fremont Indians, occupied this region in prehistoric times. University of Utah archaeologists uncovered an 87-room village here in the late 1950s, one of the largest Anasazi communities west of the Colorado River. The state park has re-created a six-room Anasazi dwelling and museum. From Boulder, the Burr Trail leads southeast to Lake Powell and the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.
Rte. 12 heads no rth from Boulder and enters a landscape of sagebrush and pinyon pine. It ascends the broad flanks of Boulder Mountain, which sits on the Aquarius Plateau, one of the continent’s highest timbered plateaus. In fall, stands of fire yellow aspen play against the evergreens. Views from several overlooks, such as Point Lookout, are exceptional. The tangled canyons and colored sandstone cliffs of Capitol Reef lie in the foreground, while the imposing Henry Mountains and Navajo Mountain dominate the horizon. The road descends to the junction with Rte. 24 near Torrey.
Turn right onto Rte. 24 and enter Capitol Reef National Park (+1 435 425 3791. Adm. fee), which preserves a portion of the Waterpocket Fold, a great wrinkle in the earth’s crust—known to geologists as a monocline—that reveals its raw colors and layers. For a hundred miles [161 kilometers] the fold’s parallel ridges rise from the desert like the swells of giant waves. Exposed edges of the uplift have eroded into a dramatic slickrock wilderness of massive domes, cliffs, and a maze of twisted canyons. Stop at the Visitor Center to plan your park visit. To take the Cathedral Valley drive into the isolated northern end of the park, continue on Rte. 24 to the departure point 11 miles [17.7 kilometers] beyond the Visitor Center.
