Garfield: Scenic Byway 12, Hoodoos and Red Canyons

Garfield combines impressive desert landscapes, distinctive rock formations, and a road that links diverse natural and cultural experiences. Anyone planning a trip with changing daily destinations will find a good starting point here for making their own selection: Scenic Byway 12 runs through Garfield County and connects Bryce Canyon National Park with Capitol Reef National Park. Along the way, the route passes through high-desert plateaus, red-rock canyons, hoodoos, and alpine forests.

Landscapes Between Hoodoos and High Desert

One of the well-known landscapes is Bryce Amphitheater, which is filled with irregularly eroded rock spires known as hoodoos. Bryce Canyon National Park is described as the most important tourist attraction in Garfield County. At the same time, the region's landscape extends far beyond this destination. Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument encompasses nearly 1.9 million acres of cliffs, canyons, plateaus, and badlands. Garfield County also provides access to nearly a dozen national and state parks and forest areas.

Kodachrome Basin State Park and Devil's Garden offer additional distinctive impressions. Kodachrome Basin State Park contains 67 towering sand pipes that rise up to 170 feet above the ground. Devil's Garden in Garfield County features sandstone formations such as hoodoos and natural arches. This allows you to choose between vast landscapes and particularly concentrated rock formations when planning your trip, without limiting the journey to just one attraction.

Hiking, Water, and Specific Daily Destinations

There are different options for active vacation days. Lower Calf Creek Falls Trail is a developed, six-mile loop hike to a 126-foot waterfall. In Escalante Petrified Forest State Park, Petrified Forest Trail is a moderate 1.1-mile loop hike with views of the reservoir as well as petrified wood and wildflowers. Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument offers hiking and camping as recreational activities.

Water experiences are also part of the region's range of activities: Wide Hollow Reservoir borders Escalante Petrified Forest State Park; fishing and swimming are possible in the surrounding area. Those traveling with children can weigh short nature-viewing stops, a longer loop hike, water activities, and scenic drives when planning each day. A vacation rental or vacation home in Garfield can be selected according to your preferred travel rhythm: Some days can focus more on the road and viewpoints, while others can center on hiking trails, culture, or water.

Cultural History and Orientation Along the Route

Anasazi State Park Museum encompasses the Coombs Site, an Ancestral Puebloan village that was inhabited approximately from AD 1050 to 1200. The site includes a partially restored kiva and a fully reconstructed six-room dwelling. This insight adds a historical focus to the natural experiences and offers another way to make the trip varied.

Scenic Byway 12 is accompanied by more than a dozen central information and interpretive sites. When choosing your accommodation, the desired combination of driving distance, hikes, landscape, and culture can therefore be decisive. Anyone using the byway as a guiding route should look for accommodation with a starting point that suits their personal daily itinerary, without restricting the trip to a single activity.

Practical Tips for Planning Your Trip

Free permits are required for all overnight stays in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The main access to Devil's Garden is via the unpaved Hole-in-the-Rock Road, which begins about five miles east of Escalante at the intersection with Scenic Byway 12. These details should be included in your planning if this area is to be a focus of your trip.

For your further search for suitable locations, the following destinations are available: Bryce Canyon, Panguitch, Tropic, Hatch, Boulder, Cannonville, Ticaboo, Escalante and Henrieville. This allows you to continue your search for a vacation rental or vacation home according to your desired travel focus.

To the higher-level travel overview: Utah.