Zion-Mt. Carmel Hwy, Bryce Canyon, and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
On this day we saw (and drove) a lot! We left the hotel in Hurricane, UT early in the morning and drove the Zion-Mt. Carmel Hwy to Bryce Canyon. This drive afforded us one last pass through Zion National Park (which by now had become one of our favorite National Parks.) The drive was about a 2.5 hour trip and was beautiful.
Bryce Canyon did not disappoint. Since we only had about 4 hours in the park, we opted out of hiking so that we could be sure to explore the entire park by car and stop off at the main viewing areas. Some of our family had previously visited this park and told us that the rock formations looked as though God had made wet sand castles by dribbling mud on top of itself. That’s exactly what it looked like! Their unique shape and orange tone was incredible. We wished we would’ve had time to take in a hike as there were so many trails. Unfortunately, we just did not have the time. For that reason, we would definitely recommend at least a full day in Bryce if you hope to see the entire park and get at least one hike in!
But, sadly, we had to get back on the road to get to our hotel in Torrey, UT. Before flying out west, we had looked up the most scenic drives prior to the trip and saw a number of people recommend Hwy 12 from Bryce to Torrey. (For a snapshot of this stretch of road, see the video below!)This road takes you through Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The drive was absolutely gorgeous and definitely proved to be one of the prettiest drives throughout our trip! It winds through the Dixie National Forest that has free-range cows who like to cause the occasional traffic jam. The scenery was stunning and the free-roaming cows made it even more beautiful. Cows were everywhere!
The drive from Bryce Canyon to Rim Rock Inn (our hotel) in Torrey, UT took us about 3 hrs (with a few stops for pictures!) We checked into our hotel, which sits right at the edge of Capitol Reef National Park, got settled, and then headed back out for dinner. We chose to stay at this particular hotel since it was affordable and in a great location to/from several other parks within a day’s drive.
The town of Torrey was small but quaint with some great restaurants we were able to explore over the next couple of days. That night we decided to check out a burger place. If you’re in Torrey and looking for the all-American meal, Slacker’s Burger Joint is an A+!
