Scenic Byway 12
The Hogsback, UT

Scenic Byway 12 east of Escalante is "The Million Dollar Road to Boulder". This section was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps and completed in 1935, providing the first year-round access for automobiles to this isolated pocket in southwestern Utah. Before then, mail and supplies were carried to Boulder by mules and pack horses over Hell's Backbone or the Boulder Mail Trail, both hazardous routes.

The Hogsback

Here, the Million Dollar Highway travels its trickiest point -- along the top of a narrow canyon, which in places slopes down with little shoulder on both sides to a 2000-foot drop. There is a small turn off to the side of the road and many travelers cannot help but stop to peer over the edge. Down below the Escalante River is lined with trees and appears to be a giant green snake winding its way through the bottom of the canyon.