Find Wonder in Southern Utah from Bryce Canyon to Grand Staircase

With its cooler climate and varied culture, ranging from cowboy boots to funky art galleries, the region between Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef is a memorable stop in southern Utah. Ninety-six percent of the county is undeveloped public land, so wilderness shapes the area’s culture in a big way. But when you follow Scenic Byway 12 into towns like Boulder and Escalante, you’ll know you’re in good hands. This increasingly diverse and tight-knit county takes its hospitality seriously, and you’ll witness it at places like Escalante’s 4th West Pub, a community watering hole, and unique accommodations throughout the county, such as yurts, glass domes, glamping, cabins and lodges. Says Falyn Owens, executive director of Bryce Canyon Country Office of Tourism, “I don’t think there’s another place in the U.S. that has as much to offer per mile as our county.” With its high elevation and cooler climate, this region makes for a perfect summer road trip when other parts of the Southwest are too hot.

Bryce Canyon National Park

The region’s most recognizable feature is Bryce Canyon National Park, famous for having Earth’s largest concentration of hoodoos–irregular rock spires that seem to defy gravity. View the surreal geological landscape via a rim hike or by trekking down into the canyon for a view looking up. “When I take visitors there, they sometimes forget to breathe,” says Owens. “It’s just an otherworldly experience.”

The views continue when the sun sets: in 2019, Bryce Canyon was designated a Gold Tier International Dark Sky Park. Grab a headlamp and hike to a viewpoint or join a night sky ranger program. For a moderately challenging 8-mile day hike, consider the Fairyland Loop, which includes the famous Fairyland Amphitheater, with its impressive huddle of hoodoos, and numerous other striking rock formations, like the Sinking Ship.

State Parks & National Forest

Lesser known but every bit as impressive are the three state parks and national forest in the county. Kodachrome Basin State Park, named for its photogenic vistas, is best known for the colorful layers of sandstone that preserve 180 million years of geologic change. Escalante Petrified Forest State Park, located along Scenic Byway 12, wows visitors with its slabs of colorful mineralized wood–a reminder of just how old the landscape really is.

At Anasazi State Park, explore the ruins of an ancestral Puebloan community, believed to have been occupied from 1160 to 1235. The park museum is worth a visit to dive a bit deeper into what archeologists have learned about ways of life that thrived on this land. And back on Scenic Byway 12, drive right through two red-rock arch tunnels in Red Canyon National Forest. Savor the quiet with an easy 0.9-mile hike on Buckhorn Trail to Red Canyon Overlook.

Scenic Highways

For those who prefer to see the sights from the comfort of a car, cruise the 55-mile Highway 143 Scenic Byway, which is nicknamed Utah’s Patchwork Parkway, in a nod to the quilts that early settlers used to survive harsh conditions. Or spend a few days on Scenic Byway 12, one of the top highways in the country. The 123-mile route is really its own destination, but Owens recommends stopping in the small communities, which each have something different to offer. Tropic, for instance, is known for being a lowkey, quiet stop, while Boulder, with only 500 residents, boasts Hell’s Backbone Grill, which was twice selected as a James Beard Award semifinalist.

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

Strike out into the wild at Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, with its plummeting slot canyons and soaring sandstone cliffs. Don’t miss the Devil’s Garden trail, an easy 1.9-mile hike brimming with rock arches and spires, which Owens describes as “a desert playground” for hikers. Though the monument has plenty of evidence of human history, this area is deliberately kept wild: you won’t see much signage and might want to hire a knowledgeable guide (check out Excursions of Escalante or Utah Canyons Outdoor) if you plan to explore off marked trails. “Hiring a guide can get you the views that very few people ever get to experience,” says Owens.

For More Information:
Bryce Canyon Country
Garfield County Office of Tourism
55 S. Main Street
Panguitch, Utah 84759
brycecanyoncountry.com