Photo Tips USA – The Scenic Route 12

„… and up … towards Bryce`s Canyon on the main road north to Salt Lake City – and now, almost immediate, a greener land, and grass in semi-desert fields, and stock and cattle grazing, and now timbered hills in contour not unlike the fields of home, and now farms and green incredible of fields and hay and moving and things growing and green trees and Canaan pleasantness and a river flowing (the Sevier) and (by desert comparison) a fruitful valley – and occasional little towns…and for the most part mean and plain and staunted looking and hills rising to the left – a vista of salmon pink, Vermillion Cliffs again …“
Thomas Wolfe, A Western Journal

• Elevations between 790 m (2,592 ft) at the intersection with Rt-89, around 3000 m (9,842 ft) at Boulder Mountain, and 830 m (2,723 ft) at the intersection with Rt-24

How, Where, What

Rt-12, designated as a Scenic Byway, is one of the most scenic routes in the Southwest. You can comfortably cover the 124 miles (200 km) between the intersection with Rt-89 to the west and Torrey on Rt-24 to the north in a single day, and you can even incorporate brief stops at some parks en route. However, it’s much more worthwhile to plan on two or three days to allow plenty of time for the many photo opportunities along the way. Rt-12 is passable by vehicles of all types throughout. You can stock up on all the necessities of life in Tropic, Henrieville, and Escalante. Just past the intersection with Rt-89 is the small but beautiful Red Canyon.

Red Canyon

Red Canyon is at an altitude of about 2300 m (7,545 ft). It is part of the Dixie Nat.`l Forest and a good appetizer for the erosion formations of the hoodoos and rock spires in Bryce Canyon higher up. It is much less crowded than Bryce Canyon. The Rt-12 leads for five miles through the varied canyon landscape, and already before the entrance at mile 2, there are stops on the right and left to take in the first panorama of the red formations. It’s worth stopping at the small visitor center to take one of the trails. On them, you get closer to the formations than in Bryce Canyon.

The Pink Ledges Trail takes you on an easy 1.6 km (1 mi) loop from the Visitor Center to some very nice viewpoints. The Birdseye Trail is steeper and more strenuous, but it offers a good view from the high ground, and you can contrast the formations with the flat valley of the Sevier River. The Cassidy Trail leads into a quiet canyon above the visitor center.

Morning and afternoon light sets off the formations equally well. To preserve the colors in the analog silver film in bright light, adjust the measured exposure value by -1/2 stop for safety. After passing through the two small tunnel arches, the hoodoos recede and the walls smooth out before leaving the canyon again at mile seven.

At mile 9, Rt-12 offers the first good view of the opposite Aquarius Plateau and Powell Point, most favorably before noon. After that, the light is too flat and does not effectively accentuate the fainter colors of the cliffs.

At the junction with Rt-63, turn right to Bryce Canyon NP. On the left, Johns Valley Road leads into the valley of the same name to the long-abandoned sister towns of Widstoe Junction and Osiris. The first 14 mi to Widstoe (various building remains) are paved. Then follow another 21 mi of well-traveled dust road to Osiris. The remains, especially the schoolhouse at Widstoe and the large wood and stone dairy building at Osiris, are visible signs of the villages‘ farming past. All buildings are privately owned and should only be photographed from the road.

Back on Rt-12, you have a good view of the Bryce Amphitheater from two parking bays on the right at mile 15. On this side of the plateau, the landscape again resembles Red Canyon with its implied hoodoos. At mile 21, the route reaches Tropic, offering a unique perspective of the Bryce formations from below. To do this, take one of the side roads off to the right and drive through until the power lines no longer interfere with the picture.

Around Tropic, it seems as if nature is doing somersaults; so much do the Pink Cliffs, Escalante Mountains, and Kaiparowits Plateau roll over and under each other here, their colors exhilaratingly set off by the flattening, cool afternoon light. A shadow here, sometimes one there, it sets its own accents and helps the wild country create unique drama. And what colors they are: In earthy beige, white, brown, and gray, the lower regions shimmer, studded with the fresh green of spring, topped by the red and pink of Bryce Canyon’s fault lines.

Next The Scenic Route 12 – Cottonwood Canyon Road

Next The Scenic Route 12 – Escalante Petrified Forest, Calf Creek Canyon

If you found this post useful and want to support the continuation of my writing without intrusive advertising, please consider supporting. Your assistance goes towards helping make the content on this website even better. If you’d like to make a one-time ‘tip’ and buy me a coffee, I have a Ko-Fi page. Your support means a lot. Thank you!