Utah - Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
We continued our adventure and drove the scenic Byway 12 through Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The views on the drive were amazing.
We stopped at Head of the Rocks scenic overlook and had lunch. This overlook gave sweeping views of the Escalante Canyons and their cream colored Navajo sandstone formations and the winding road below.
Our Lunch view.
Byway 12 will take us all the way to Capitol Reef National Park, but we had time, so we took another detour when we got to Boulder, we turned off onto the Burr Trail Scenic Byway.
Burr Trail Scenic Byway
Here we discovered Long Canyon. This dramatic canyon has towering red cliffs.
Burr Trail Road
Long Canyon.
About 11 miles east on the Burr Trail Road from Boulder is a small, unmarked paved pullout on the north (left) side of the road. Parking is free, but space is limited. Only one car was there when we arrived. A short walk will take you to a tall shady cottonwood tree with picnic tables. Just past the tree is the entrance to Singing Canyon, a narrow slot canyon. The slot canyon is only .2 miles deep and the terrain is fairly flat. It was an easy hike. Singing Canyon is known for its natural acoustics and scenic narrow sandstone walls.
Singing Canyon, slot Canyon
Once we got out of Long Canyon, the views opened up to even more dramatic rock formations.
The pavement ended when we reached the Burr Trail Switchbacks. The Burr Trail Switchbacks are a dramatic series of winding hairpin turns that go up 800 feet in Burr Canyon. It was named after John Altlantic Burr who made the switchback to bring his cattle up from the bottom of the canyon. Needless to say the turns are not really meant for cars and defiantly not an RV or a car with a trailer! Cars coming up have the right of way. We were going down, but luckily there was no other traffic. It was a white knuckle drive and I took my time. There are no guard rails and lots of steep drop offs. All part of the adventure!
Burr Trail Switchbacks
Once we completed the Burr Trail Switchbacks, we turned north on Notom Road. This was another beautiful drive as we headed up to Hwy 24 to take us to the Capitol Reef Visitor Center. The dessert was in bloom and very colorful.
