Scenic Byway 12
Scenic Byway 12 - Itinerary starting from Highway 89
| Departure: | Panguitch, Utah |
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| Destination: | Torrey, Utah |
| Time to allow: | 2 days |
This guide is for the traveler entering Scenic Byway 12 from the west and starts in the gateway town of Panguitch, Utah. The route travels through some of the most diverse and ruggedly beautiful landscapes in America.
Day 1
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Start: Panguitch
From Mile 0 on Scenic Byway 12, at the junction of Highway 89, turn north (right) and travel the seven miles to Panguitch. Panguitch means "Big Fish" in the Paiute Native American language and is home to numerous festivals each summer. Check with one of the many local businesses for the current schedule of events.
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Stop 1: Red Canyon
Directions from previous place: From Panguitch, take Highway 89 south for 7 miles to the junction of Highway 89 and Highway 12. Take Highway 12 east for approximately 4 miles until you reach the Red Canyon Forest Service Visitor Center.
Distance from Previous Site: 11 miles / 17.6 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 15 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 2 hours The brightly colored rock formations in Red Canyon lead many visitors to think they are in Bryce Canyon National Park. In fact, Red Canyon is in the Dixie National Forest. For a close up look at the fantastic hoodoos, take a walk on one of the trails in Red Canyon.
Stop in the Forest Service Visitor Center in Red Canyon for information regarding this delightful segment of Scenic Byway 12.
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Stop 2: Bryce Canyon National Park
Directions from previous place: From Red Canyon Visitor Center, Bryce Canyon National Park continues approximately 10 miles east along Highway 12.
Distance from Previous Site: 10 miles / 16.0 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 15 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 2 hours Take Highway 63 south for 3 miles to the park entrance. It is best to begin your tour of Bryce Canyon National Park at the Visitor Center just inside the main entrance. Here you will find interpretive and other information for planning your visit to the park. Certainly you will want to see the Bryce Canyon Amphitheatre from one or more of the spectacular overlooks within the first few miles of the park.
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Stop 3: Mossy Cave Trailhead
Directions from previous place: When you complete your tour of Bryce Canyon return to Scenic Byway 12 and turn east (right).
Distance from Previous Site: 3 miles / 4.8 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 5 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 1 hour There is a pullout on the south side of the road where you can park. Have a picnic and take a short walk from the trailhead to get a glimpse of Water Canyon and the spectacular pink cliffs in this corner of Bryce Canyon.
The water flowing through this canyon follows an interesting course. In May of 1891 farmers in Tropic completed the Tropic ditch and successfully channeled water from the East Fork of the Sevier River across the Paunsaugunt Plateau to their farms and orchards in Bryce Valley. Today the water still flows from the ditch into the head of this picturesque little canyon. Completion of the Tropic Ditch marked the first time water was diverted from the Great Basin to the Colorado River.
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Stop 4: Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Visitor Center
Directions from previous place: From Mossy Cave Trailhead, take Highway 12 south for approximately 8 miles until you reach the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Visitor Center.
Distance from Previous Site: 8 miles / 12.8 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 15 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 30 minutes The interpretive theme of the Cannonville Visitor Center is the influence of the landscape on people -- the relationship between people and the land. Exhibits in the Visitor Center explore how different cultures adapted their lives to this challenging landscape. The site also provides travel tips, visitor orientation, and safety information.
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Overnight Point: Cannonville
After visiting the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Visitor Center, stay overnight in Cannonville, either at one of the town's motels, or at a campground.
Total Distance Traveled in Day 1: 32 miles / 51.2 km
Day 2
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Stop 1: Kodachrome Basin State Park
Directions from previous place: Go west on Center Street toward Main Street/Kodachrome Drive for less than 0.1 miles. Turn left onto Main Street and continue to Kodachrome Drive for 2.3 miles. Kodachrome Drive becomes ROAD 400 (portions of which are unpaved), but follow for 4.7 miles until you reach Kodachrome Basin State Park.
Distance from Previous Site: 7 miles / 11.2 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 15 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 1 hour This is an optional side trip off the Byway. Located nine miles south of Cannonville on a paved road, Kodachrome Basin State Park is a vividly colored geologic area made up of numerous spectacular sand pipes or "petrified" geysers. The picturesque park features a hiking trail system with something for everyone. Take a short walk on one of the trails and don't forget to bring your camera.
After touring Kodachrome Basin, return to Cannonville and turn right (east) on Scenic Byway 12.
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Stop 2: Upper Blues Overlook
Directions from previous place: Take Kodachrome Drive back to Cannonville, then follow Highway 12 east for approximately 7 miles until you reach Upper Blues Overlook.
Distance from Previous Site: 14 miles / 22.4 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 20 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 10 minutes The eroded badlands of green-gray mudstone and sandstone of the Kaiparowits Formation known as "The Blues" yields some of the richest fossil specimens ever discovered from the Cretaceous Period. This relatively small area of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument has been home to a team of paleontologists each summer since 2001. From the overlook you also see a great view of the pink limestone ledges of Powell Point above and to the west.
From Upper Blues Overlook, Scenic Byway 12 descends the Upper Valley through the Dixie National Forest passing through an elk herd migration corridor.
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Stop 3: Upper Valley Granaries Pullout
Directions from previous place: From Upper Blues Overlook, continue east on Highway 12 for approximately 8 miles until you reach Upper Valley Granaries Pullout.
Distance from Previous Site: 8 miles / 12.8 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 15 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 10 minutes Nestled in the cliffs above the pullout you will find a small structure originally built and used by Native Americans of the Fremont Culture as a storage place for grain and other foods harvested from the fertile ground below. Use the viewing tube provided to locate the granary and consider the great effort taken to effectively protect and preserve food in prehistoric times.
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Stop 4: Escalante Petrified Forest State Park
Directions from previous place: From Upper Valley Granaries Pullout, continue east on Highway 12 for approximately 10 miles until you reach Escalante Petrified Forest State Park.
Distance from Previous Site: 10 miles / 16.0 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 20 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 1 hour Escalante Petrified Forest State Park is located one mile west of Scenic Byway 12. Visitors to the Park may want to fish or swim in Wide Hollow Reservoir (also the Escalante Irrigation Company's holding pond) or examine 160 million-year-old petrified wood. An interpretive trail winds through the nearby foothills providing information on the mineralized wood and dinosaur bones in the area.
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Stop 5: Boynton Overlook
Directions from previous place: From Escalante Petrified Forest State Park, go east on Highway 12 for approximately 12 miles until you reach the Boynton Overlook.
Distance from Previous Site: 12 miles / 19.2 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 15 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 5 minutes Entering the Escalante River Canyon you will descend to the Escalante River Bridge near its confluence with Calf Creek. As you cross the Escalante River Bridge enjoy the absolute remoteness of where you are. The Escalante carves its way to the Colorado River through the last region of the Untied States to be mapped. The presence of water here has enticed both humans and wildlife for centuries. The Native Americans that moved through the canyons many years ago left evidence of their presence through rock art, ruins, and handmade tools and pots. Today, visitors with the time and interest to find their way into the canyons will witness this marvelous legacy.
Boynton Overlook gives you another perspective on the Escalante River Gorge with a view across the river to the humps, hollows, and cliffs of the delightful sandstone canyons.
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Stop 6: Calf Creek Recreation Area
Directions from previous place: From Boynton Overlook, continue east on Highway 12 for about 2 miles until you reach Calf Creek Recreation Area.
Distance from Previous Site: 2 miles / 3.2 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 5 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 2 hours This Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument facility is a perfect place to wade in the creek, have a picnic, or take the six-mile round-trip hike to the Lower Calf Creek Falls. The sandy trail ends at the 126-foot waterfall and an enchanting grotto with a deep pool surrounded by shade trees.
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Stop 7: The Hogsback
Directions from previous place: From Calf Creek, follow Highway 12 north for 5 miles until you reach The Hogsback section of Scenic Byway 12.
Distance from Previous Site: 5 miles / 8.0 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 10 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 10 minutes The Hogsback gets its descriptive name from the narrow section of Scenic Byway 12 that winds along the ridge between Calf Creek and Boulder Creek that reaches the brink of New Home Bench before descending to Haymaker Bench and Calf Creek Recreation Area. From the pullout at The Hogsback you can enjoy the sweeping views of the surrounding sandstone "slickrock" country before continuing on your journey.
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Stop 8: Anasazi State Park Museum
Directions from previous place: Continue north on Highway 12 for 2 miles until you reach the museum.
Distance from Previous Site: 2 miles / 3.2 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 5 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 30 minutes Visitors to the Anasazi State Park Museum will go back in time to 1050 A.D. when the Fremont and Kayenta Anasazi occupied the area. An estimated 200 people lived here, making it one of the largest Anasazi communities west of the Colorado River. Take a self-guided tour through the partially excavated village and visit the museum to view the artifacts and exhibits.
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Stop 9: Homestead Overlook
Directions from previous place: From the museum, continue north on Highway 12 for 11.5 miles until you reach the Homestead Overlook.
Distance from Previous Site: 11.5 miles / 18.4 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 15 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 5 minutes As Scenic Byway 12 climbs and traverses Boulder Mountain you travel a roadway that was paved as recently as 1985. Homestead Overlook treats you to breathtaking vistas from Capitol Reef to Navajo Mountain.
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Stop 10: Steep Creek Overlook
Directions from previous place: Continue north on Highway 12 for 1 mile until you reach the Steep Creek Overlook.
Distance from Previous Site: 1 miles / 1.6 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 2 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 10 minutes Here you have another breathtaking view of more than 100 miles on a clear day. Boulder Mountain is a recreation area for all outdoorsmen. This "Land a One Thousand Lakes" is a sportsman's dream with many secluded mountain lakes and streams supporting rainbow and brook trout.
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Stop 11: Larb Hollow Overlook
Directions from previous place: Continue north on Highway 12 for 2 miles until you reach Larb Hollow Overlook.
Distance from Previous Site: 2 miles / 3.2 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 5 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 5 minutes Here you will find interpretive wayside panels and views to the three peaks of the Henry Mountains, Navajo Mountain near the Arizona border and across the Waterpocket Fold in Capitol Reef National Park.
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End: Torrey
Directions from previous place: Continue north on Highway 12 for about 18 miles until you reach Torrey.
Distance from Previous Site: 18 miles / 28.8 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 30 minutes End your trip in Torrey, one of the gateways to Scenic Byway 12 and also a gateway to Capitol Reef National Park.
