Text: James T. Parks • Photography: James T. Parks
Utah’s State Route 12 is a “National Scenic Byway” recognized by the U.S. Department of Transportation. It also has the designation of being an All-American Road, one of just 120 so named nationwide, which means it possesses unique features and intrinsic qualities not found elsewhere. All-American Roads are destinations unto themselves. Route 12 and its extensions run through two national parks, a national monument, three state parks, and a national forest. The total distance is approximately 225 miles.
Located in the southwest corner of Utah, on the expansive geological formation known as the Colorado Plateau, is a land of incomparable scenic splendor. You’ll travel through snaking canyons, over buttes and mesas, and along rock walls with mineral stains and possibly a petroglyph left by the Ancestral Puebloans. You also may catch sight of an eagle, hawk, or vulture soaring overhead. Deer and elk are often spotted grazing in alpine meadows. Vegetation runs from rabbit brush on open plains to aspen and fir trees in the alpine landscapes.
During the warmer riding months, late May to early October, the route is often busy with tourist traffic, which may cause slow going in some sections. However, the elevation changes, overlooks, and frequent curves keep a your senses fully engaged. During my recent trip here, the number of motorcycles plying the route seemed to outnumber the cars. This is undoubtedly one of the premier motorcycling routes in America.
Points of Interest
- Red Canyon: Erosional forces have sculpted the Claron limestone into turrets, hoodoos, pinnacles, spires, and other fanciful geological shapes.
- Bryce Canyon National Park: This world famous national park is more of a series of amphitheaters, rather than an actual canyon, which have been carved by Mother Nature into the pink Claron limestone of the Paunsaugunt Plateau. Round trip on the Route 63 scenic drive is 37 miles.
- Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument: This 1.9-million-acre preserve is actually a series of giant geological steps. It was set aside in 1996 to protect its ecosystems and potential scientific discoveries.
- Head of the Rocks Overlook: The colorful vista of rolling slick rock and narrow canyons is made up of cream-and-red sandstone formations, which were formerly sand dunes—just 168 million years ago.
- Boynton Overlook: The namesake of these canyons, excavated by the Escalante River, is a cattleman once involved in a livestock dispute and a murder in 1878.
- The Hogsback: Slick rock terrain falls steeply off each side of the asphalt roadway clinging to a narrow ribbon of rock.
- Homestead Overlook: This 9,400-foot-high vantage point affords a breathtaking view of the five peaks of the Henry Mountains.
- Larb Hollow Overlook: Perched on the eastern flank of Boulder Mountain, visitors take in a stunning view of the deep-magenta wedge of the Waterpocket Fold rock formation.
- Capitol Reef National Park: The main attraction of the park is a 100-mile-long formation known as a monocline or fold in the Earth’s crust. Be sure to take the scenic drive. Pictographs and petroglyphs have been painted or carved into sandstone walls, some of which reach heights 2,000 feet above the formation’s eastern base.
