Scenic route between Moab and Escalante – Road trip in the American West #7

The initial plan was to go to Bryce National Park directly from Moab, but I came across a small flyer about the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Taking the detour via Highway 12 and Escalante adds an hour to our drive, which made me hesitate. Coincidentally, our friend Kevin also drove this route and highly recommends it.

So I’d rather we spend the night in Escalante, making a short detour through Boulder and the Burr Trail Road to give ourselves plenty of time. Sleeping in Bryce Canyon would have added another hour, since we already have 5 hours of driving planned.

This article is part of our series of articles on the American West road trip. If you haven’t read the previous travel diaries, here they are: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6

Part 1: Travel Journal
Part 2: Practical Tips

Part 1: Travel Journal

Road trip day 12:

This morning, we wake up in Moab with a little surprise: three centimeters of snow. Of course, we still don’t have an ice scraper for the car. JB has to pour hot water over the car (available in the breakfast room) and park it in the sun. There’s a huge crowd at breakfast today. It’s the last day of the long Thanksgiving weekend, so maybe that’s why. The road is long, so we have a good breakfast and also have some food to eat in the car.

We go to the Napa auto parts store to buy snow chains and an ice scraper, because the weather forecast calls for below-freezing temperatures at Bryce Canyon Park , and Yosemite. Yosemite has posted an alert on their website saying all visitors must bring snow chains in winter, just in case. Luckily we find some for $77 at the store. It’s not cheap, but Amazon and Walmart sell them for around $55, so we didn’t lose too much money either.

Moab – Escalante

During the first hour, the landscapes are pretty monotonous, so it’s super cool to have snow everywhere—it makes the drive much more magical. And there’s hardly anyone on the road. I could have driven, but I’m afraid of black ice, so I’d rather drive another day.

To get to Highway 12, we take Highway 24, which leads us to Capitol Reef National Park. We stop at the Capitol Reef National Park Visitor Center just for a bathroom break and a snack, but we don’t have the energy to add its Scenic Drive to our agenda today. Highway 24 is already gorgeous, and there’s a spot so incredible (Panorama Point, Google Maps) that we drive the road in both directions to admire the scenery from both sides.

The closer we get to Boulder, the more trees there are. This reminds me of our ski trip in Montenegro. We’re not used to spending winter in a cold country, so our winter references are pretty limited. I imagine it’s similar to any place with snow (and trees).

We finally arrive at Boulder and now it’s time to decide whether or not I want to take The Burr Trail Road. It says online that you shouldn’t take it during flooding, and someone on Tripadvisor mentioned that a section of the road is unpaved (the part that goes through Capitol Reef National Park). I know the place I want to go isn’t on the Capitol Reef National Park side yet, but with all this snow, will the road be under water? I’m a bit like the safety officer of a tour agency 😉 I have to know everything about all the parks (which animals could eat us in which park), all the roads, especially the ones tourists don’t usually frequent. It’s the downside of not having a 4×4 in winter. The place I want to go isn’t even mentioned in Lonely Planet.

The answer comes simply from looking at the scenery. As we approach Boulder, which I feel is lower than the places we’ve passed through, there’s no more snow at all. We set off on The Burr Trail Road, paved, calmly.

At one point, JB jumps when he sees two cows at the edge of the road. He didn’t expect it at all, but there’s indeed a farm nearby. We even see pheasants crossing the road in single file.

We spot a small parking area by the side of the road. The view is stunning! See the little road down there? In a few minutes, we’ll be on it. There’s a small sign pointing to Long Canyon. We look left and right: “Where is Long Canyon?” How silly we are! The road IS inside Long Canyon.

It’s truly impressive. Towering on both sides are two super high walls, bearing the marks of erosion. There’s a sign warning about falling rocks. But no worries—at the first sign of rockfall, Americans tend to close the roads. You do need to be careful, but not paranoid.

We finally arrive at Singing Canyon. Without Google Maps, we would have missed this small parking lot on the side. You can see it’s very, very high (look for JB). The name comes from the echo phenomenon. Just walk up to the big tree and talk, and you’ll hear your own echo. I must say it’s the most accessible canyon in the area, and also the shortest. It must be about 20 meters long? What’s impressive is the height of the rocks—you feel compressed inside. The tree in front of the big canyon is very tall, beautiful, and gives off an amazing, incredible energy. I was particularly drawn to that one.

I still can’t believe we can drive through the middle of a canyon. You feel so small, especially since we’re completely alone on the road. After 10 minutes, we turn around (we can’t follow this road indefinitely—it’s 100 km in total), to go back to Boulder, then continue towards Escalante.

The road between Boulder and Escalante is so impressive that we’ll drive it both ways to get a better look. At one point, we’re at the very top and the road winds along a narrow ridge between two valleys. There are wide open spaces on the left, wide open spaces on the right, and to take in both views properly, we had to turn around to enjoy both sides.

We arrive in Escalante, exhausted. It’s a bit cold, but all the hotels here have reverse-cycle air conditioning. We crank up the heat and enjoy our homemade sandwiches. Our motel is simple, but clean. There’s a restaurant attached to the motel, but it’s too cold, and we can’t be bothered to leave the room. Since we’re only 1 hour from Bryce Canyon, JB and I get to sleep in.

The rest of our adventure, is right here

Part 2: Practical Tips

All our routes and points of interest are available on this Google Maps map. I’ve already explained how to use our custom maps here

• Accommodation: Circle D Motel in Escalante: €95, no breakfast
• Gas: $29