Photo Tips USA – The Scenic Route 12 – Cottonwood Canyon Road

The Cottonwood Canyon Road

Just inside Cannonville, Cottonwood Canyon Road branches south off Rt-12 for a good 50 mi (80 km) from Rt-12 through Grand Staircase-Escalante NM to Rt-89. For quite a while, the road follows the Cockscomb, a 50 mi long, wildly jagged fault in the earth’s crust that connects the Kanab Fault to the south and Canaan Peak to the north. The first 4 miles of the route to Kodachrome SP are paved; the rest are passably maintained gravel roads. A normal passenger car can easily travel this route during a dry spell. But some parts are unsuitable for larger Rvs. Heavy rains, however, can make the unpaved part impassable very quickly. In any case, make sure to check the road conditions and weather forecast at the location to avoid becoming one of the many individuals who encounter roadblocks on Cottonwood Canyon Road annually!

Willis Creek Gorge and Bull Valley Gorge

During the dry season, Skutumpah Road, a well-traveled route through Johnson Canyon to Kanab, branches south from Cottonwood Canyon Road and initially enters Willis Creek Gorge, 6 miles south of Cannonville. Where the roadway crosses the canyon, you can enter the Narrows directly. A short distance further, a bridge crosses Bull Valley Gorge, which is very steep at this point. A spot 350 m (0.2 mi) west of the bridge allows you to easily descend into the canyon over some washed-up logs. Below the bridge, the most photogenic section begins. Both slot canyons are very narrow for the first 2.5 km (1.5 mi).

Kodachrome Basin State Park

Located in a small, north-south-facing basin, the high pyramidal peaks of the red Entrada sandstone formation enclose the developed part of the park, open year-round, with three campgrounds for RVs and tents, accommodating approximately 145,000 visitors annually, and hiking trails. Especially in the morning and evening, the „Kodachrome effect“ of the bright colors sets in. On the other hand, when the sky is overcast, the landscape is almost devoid of any effect. From the access road in the morning, you have a good view of the red cliffs of Bryce Canyon in the west.

The area gets its geological significance from the beige sandstone formations that point like thin fingers to the sky. Geysers accumulated these formations by depositing dissolved minerals in water with each eruption.

Heading towards the campground along Park Drive, you will first reach the trailhead station of the Panorama Trail. From here, you have the best view back to the particularly striking formations on the right of the road, which seem to glow in the flat afternoon light due to their exposed position. You can stretch the Panorama Trail between 3-8 km (1.8-5 mi, each way there and back), depending on how many of the various side trails you take. Spend at least 1.5 hours in the afternoon on the flat, western part of the park, soaking in the view of the diverse formations from Panorama Point.

Just a short distance away, at a small parking lot, begins the Grand Parade Trail (1.6 km / 1 mi round trip, 45 min). Right at the beginning, the view down the road from the camping cabins to the pointed rock formations at the entrance of the park is already good. Also worth photographing are the tall red sandstone fins, formed by geyser activity, and the two petrified sand dunes at the trailhead parking lot.

Eagles View Overlook at the end of the park road offers the best view after a short, steep climb (1.6 km/1 mi round trip, 150 m/490 ft elevation gain).

Outside the park, it’s worth driving a short distance down Cottonwood Canyon Road (unsuitable for larger RVs). Here, the high red rocks are missing; the land is flat and covered with green conifers. The low sun conjures beautiful shadows in the landscape, and against the backdrop of distant hills, sandstone fins of all sizes rise everywhere. – A paradise for long focal lengths! Definitely the best time to photograph is in the morning, when the sun is still illuminating the Paunsaugunt Plateau to the west and the Bryce fault ridges (which are often in the haze in the afternoon) and conjuring up varied shadows in the landscape.

On a clear summer afternoon, arriving at 16:00 is sufficient to enjoy the fine afternoon light along the Panorama Trail.

Round Valley Draw

Round Valley Draw represents the central drainage line of Round Valley, adjacent to Cottonwood Canyon Road to the north; hence the name. At the southern end of its course, which is only a little over 7 mi (12 km) long, it joins the larger Hackberry Canyon. Just before the mouth are the narrowest and most photogenic sections. The texture of the light sandstone walls is comparable to that of the remarkable Buckskin Gulch.

You can access the approximately 1.2 mi (2 km) long Narrows Section from a northern or southern entry point. Slickrock Bench Road, which branches south off Cottonwood Canyon Road, 5.5 mi east of Kodachrome State Park, leads to the southern entry point. The second left turn then leads to Slickrock Bench Car Park, which is the easiest entry point. The trail requires a high-clearance vehicle. It periodically becomes impassable after heavy rains. Get to the northern entry point via Rush Bed Road, which branches off Cottonwood Canyon Road just under 7 mi past Kodachrome Basin SP. The roadway crosses the dry river twice. At the second crossing, after 1.5 mi, is the Round Valley Draw Car Park, from which you enter the canyon. You can easily reach the photogenic sections from either point. The rangers at Kodachrome Basin SP can provide information about road conditions.

The trail into and through the Narrows requires some light scrambling. There are some larger boulders to negotiate that have been washed up by flash floods of the past.

Grosvenor Arch

Grosvenor Arch is a 98 ft (30 m) wide and 164 ft (50 m) high double rock arch in the light beige Dakota Sandstone. These dimensions make it one of the mightiest representatives of this formation class. It is located on the eastern edge of Butler Valley, which Cottonwood Canyon Road traverses. At mile 14.1, you reach the also unpaved 1 mi long turnoff north to Grosvenor Arch. Only a strong wide-angle lens can reasonably capture its dimensions. The best way to do this is to select its front side and point the camera directly upward from a particularly low position. The warm light of the low afternoon sun gives the rock a particularly advantageous shine.

The Cottonwood Wash Narrows

The Cottonwood Wash Narrows are only 650 ft (200 m) long but photogenic narrows of the Cottonwood Canyon. Though not the most spectacular on the Colorado Plateau, they are accessible without climbing. They are located just off Cottonwood Canyon Road, about 4.5 mi south of the turnoff to Grosvenor Arch, or 26 mi north of Rt-89. If you encounter the only bridge along the route, you are in the right place. At this point, descend into the canyon on the west side of the road. Once at the bottom, you can either traverse the canyon a short distance to the north and turn around or turn south and complete a 2-mile loop that will take you back to your vehicle via Cottonwood Canyon Road. Either way, the morning light sets off the fine patterns of the rock walls best.

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

Previous The Scenic Route 12 (with map)

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!