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Written by Knight Ridder
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Wednesday, 03 May 2006 |
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ESCALANTE, Utah —It twists. It turns. It curves. It climbs. It drops through the geological playground that dominates Garfield and Wayne counties on the Colorado Plateau in southern Utah.
The road offers new vistas guaranteed to take your breath away at every turn in Utah’s red-rock, high-country desert and beyond.
It runs past slick rock canyons, cliffs, Ponderosa pine and aspen forests, alpine lakes, national parks, state parks, a national monument, a national recreation area and small farming communities.
Route 12 is the main artery through one of the most rugged and isolated areas of the West. It was one of the last explored frontiers in the lower 48 states.
The route offers camping, hiking, trout fishing, mountain biking, hunting, cross-country skiing, horseback riding and riding all-terrain vehicles.
There are elk herds, strange geological formations, petrified forests and Anasazi Indians ruins/museum on the semicircular route, which ranges from 4,000 to 9,200 feet in elevation.
Its most striking feature may be The Hogback between Escalante and Boulder. The two-lane road about 15 miles east of Escalante climbs Haymaker Bench and runs along the top of The Hogback, a narrow ridge at 5,000 feet with steep drops on both sides of the road.
There are turnoffs for motorists to stop and admire the sandstone Escalante Canyons that have been carved by the Escalante River.
It is an impressive view at mile marker 78. The vista stretches up to 100 miles and is considered to be among the best in the Southwest.
Boulder actually got its mail by mule until 1935, when a 28-mile segment of Route 12 was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps to finally connect the town with Escalante. That stretch was not paved until 1971.
That stretch of road is known as the Million Dollar Road, and it took four decades to complete.
In the west, Route 12 begins at U.S. 89 seven miles south of Panguitch and eight miles north of Hatch.
Running to the east, the highway bisects the popular Red Canyon in Dixie National Forest, a one-time hideout of outlaw Butch Cassidy. There are 14 trails that stretch 34 miles in that 41,400-acre tract.
The highway runs past the entrance to Bryce Canyon National Park, with its colorful red-orange hoodoos, or rocky spires, that dominate the amphitheaters in the park.
The road runs along the northern edge of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
Another option is the dramatic 44-mile Hell’s Backbone Road, which makes a loop connecting sleepy Escalante (population 1,060) and Boulder. It passes Blue Spruce Campground and circles the Box-Death Hollow Wilderness Area.
One of the most popular attractions along Route 12 is the Calf Creek Recreation Area, which has a 6-mile round-trip hike to a 126-foot waterfall on Calf Creek, an Escalante River tributary.
East of Boulder, the highway climbs heavily forested Boulder Mountain, which soars to 11,000 feet. It is heavily used by sportsmen.
The scenic byway ends at Torrey near pretty Capitol Reef, Utah’s forgotten national park. It features cliffs, canyons, domes and arches. | Only registered users can write comments.
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