From Bryce Canyon to Moab and Capitol Reef in Between
The drive between Bryce Canyon National Park and Moab is several hours long but don’t let that deter you from making this journey. With a national scenic byway, a historic trail, and a national park situated in between, this is one of the most interesting and scenic drives you can take!
The Hogback, along Scenic Byway 12
After staring our day with some pre-dawn star gazing at Bryce Canyon National Park, and then a post-breakfast hike through the hoodoos, we hopped in our car and got on the road. It’s a little longer if you take the scenic route instead of the interstate, but it is so worth the extra effort.
The first leg of our journey took us along Route 12, which is designated as a National Scenic Byway. If you have lots of time to burn, make your first stop at Kodachrome Basin State Park. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to visit on this trip, but we can’t wait to come back and spend more time in this area in the future!
Entering Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
If you stick to Scenic Byway 12, you’re next section of the journey will take you through Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. With countless roadside pullouts, there is ample room to stop and enjoy the views.
The windy road reminded me of the roadrunner cartoon
Perhaps the best part of this route is a detour off of Scenic Byway 12: the Burr Trail. This is a historic trail that’s been around since the 1800s and takes you into the heart of backcountry Utah. If you do the entire trail, you’ll pass through Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, and end in Capitol Reef National Park. Highlights along the Burr Trail include petrified sand dunes, a slot canyon, a red sandstone long canyon, and if you make it all the way to the end, incredible switchbacks. Sadly, we only had time to go as far as Singing Canyon, but those switchbacks are definitely on our must-do list when we return!
Petrified sand dunes along the Burr Trail
Views overlooking the Burr Trail
Singing Canyon is a small slot canyon along the Burr Trail
An arch-in-progress along the Burr Trail
After you’ve had your fill of the Burr Trail, make your way over to Capitol Reef National Park. This is one of the lesser visited national parks, but it’s a real hidden gem! Capitol Reef National Park has tons to do. There’s an orchard you can visit, and if you’re there when the trees have fruit, you can pick your own! Near the orchard is the Gifford House, a historic building that used to house mormon settlers, but is now a gift shop. A highlight of the Gifford House is their fresh made pies! They are closed in winter, but their season starts on Pi Day. We were there for opening day, and arrived around 1pm, but they were already sold out of pies. Be sure to go early if you want to get some fresh baked pie. There’s tons of hiking and several scenic drives in the National Park.
Snow covered mountains, red sandstone dessert, and forest, all visible from one viewpoint
Scenic view in Capitol Reef National Park
Capitol Reef National Park orchard in March before the fruit trees have bloomed
We didn’t plan nearly enough time to visit Capitol Reef National Park, so learn from our mistake! There is just so much to see and do here, that you need at least one full day, not just a couple of hours between stops. On our next visit, we will be heading into the backcountry to see the Temples of the Sun and Moon and other rock monoliths in the park’s northern district.
Multicolored rock at Capitol Reef National Park
After we wrapped up our time at Capitol Reef National Park, we made one last detour of the day to visit Factory Butte. It was a bumpy ride on a dirt road to get somewhat close to this butte, but if you really want to get close, you need to have some sort of vehicle capable of off-roading, which we definitely didn’t have. Lucky for us, our drone was able to get a closer view. Going later in the day meant that the sun was behind Factory Butte, so if you want the best lighting, go before noon. If you look closely at the picture, you can see tire tracks on the ground, showing how some people use the foothills of the butte for some off-roading fun.
Factory Butte at sunset
This was a very long day, and after Factory Butte, we were pooped but we still had to make our way to Moab. There aren’t lights on the highways in Utah when you’re far from cities, so we booked it as quickly as we could to avoid driving in complete darkness. If you really want to take your time (and you should because there’s so much to see) try to stay somewhere near Capitol Reef National Park.
Incredible rock formations right next to the road
If you’ve made this drive before, how did you like it? Did you make any of the same stops?
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