Parks, Pavement and Incredible Scenery

Highway 12 in the Bryce Canyon area

Have you finalized your summer vacation plans? This newsletter includes vacation ideas, based on results from a little survey we've been running on utah.com.

An incredible 88% of survey respondents say they are interested in auto touring/sight seeing. Bryce Canyon is the most popular destination, with 84% saying they want to visit there. Zion National Park is next, at 81%. About 61% are interested in hiking and 30% are interested in canyoneering.

Bryce and Zion are only 70 miles apart and so it is easy and enjoyable to auto tour to both in one trip. The two parks are totally different and each offers stunning natural beauty. The drive between them is also very scenic. Highway 12, in particular, offers one breathtaking view after another.

We drove Hwy 12 last weekend, enjoying a trek to some of my favorite adventure spots. Around one corner we laughed when we saw a big Harley coming at us, a man on the front and a woman behind. The woman was learning forward around him, camcorder going, making sure she recorded all the sights.

Hwy 12 is that kind of road. It has been designated an "All American Road" because it meets this criteria set by the US Dept of Transportation: "To receive an All-American Road designation, a road must possess multiple intrinsic qualities that are nationally significant, and contain one-of-a-kind features that do not exist elsewhere. The road must also be considered a "destination unto itself."

Hwy 12 stretches for about 125 miles across some of the most rugged and interesting country on the Colorado Plateau. Coming from the west (most visitors come out of Las Vegas), this paved road provides access to these scenic areas:

Red Canyon - You drive right through this fascinating canyon, which is full of Bryce-like pink hoodoos and other interesting rock formations.

Bryce Canyon - It is fun auto tour to viewpoints along the Bryce rim. We recommend you hike or ride horseback into the amphitheater; trails wind in and out between the hoodoos and spires, and range in difficulty from easy to intense. There are also great ATV trails in this area outside the national park boundary.

Kodachrome Basin - This Utah state park is filled with massive sandstone chimneys - tall, skinny rock formations that tower over a valley where the hues are ever changing to match the mood of the day.

Grand Staircase-Escalante - This national monument includes a huge area offering a wide variety of landscapes and recreational opportunities. Deep, narrow canyons in the Escalante River drainage provide outstanding opportunities for hiking, canyoneering and off-road travel.

We did an adventure hike through Peek-a-boo, Spooky and Brimstone gulches, off Hole-in-the-Rock Road. They are three of the narrowest slot canyons imaginable. This video clip shows some of the fun. (Flash video, 4.2M)

Calf Creek Falls - There are two beautiful waterfalls on Calf Creek, along with a small, developed campground. A well-maintained trail leads from the campground to the lower waterfall, which is considered one of the most beautiful in the region. To reach the upper waterfall you have to scramble down a slickrock ridge, following a faint trail that is steep in spots. Both waterfalls are very photogenic. Both have deep plunge pools ideal for a refreshing swim on a hot summer day. We hiked to the upper waterfall and enjoyed playing in the chilly water. (It will warm a bit and become very pleasant as summer sets in.)

Boulder Mountain - As you continue down Hwy 12 you climb out of the red rock canyons and up the south side of this large mountain, into a pine and quaking aspen forest. Turnouts along the highway provide outstanding views overlooking Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and Capitol Reef National Park.

Drive the highway, explore the canyons and enjoy the scenery. This is vacation country.

Let us help you plan your trip

- Dave Webb

This monthly email newsletter is designed to provide timely information about travel and vacation opportunities in the national park country of southern Utah, northern Arizona and western Colorado. Please forward it to friends you think may be interested.

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