Utah Scenic byway 12 in large RV

Oh, I fully recommend the drive - one of my favorites and we even have had reservations again for Thousand Lakes in Torrey for their week in Sept - love the area. One should definitely do the drive in a TV or toad.

And, certainly not all people take their half out of the middle, particularly on the mountain hairpin turns. And some have no choice but to do so with their rigs.

My truck and trailer measure 53 feet end to end. I had no problems on 12 and would recommend it to anyone. The traffic is light and the scenery is spectacular. The drive was not scary at all. Don't skip Capital Reef no matter which way you go as you will be driving right by.

Here are a couple of pictures we took of the "hogsback" section of UT-12. Yes, there are steep drop-offs on both sides for less than 1/2 a mile, but if you are able to keep the tires on the pavement on other 2-lane roads, you will have no issues. Everyone goes slow through that section anyway.

This road - the grades, sharp curves, hogback, no guardrails, etc - has been discussed many times on this Forum (see Search). One can pick sections to show - or not show - and there are all levels of experience, rigs, etc. The wild car, of course, is always the other driver. Going can be a detriment in some cases and, no, not everyone goes slow. There is never 100% in anything.

Like many, I am an experienced mountain driver and I would not recommend an RV driven thru there with an inexperienced driver. Clouddriver, with a 24 ft Minnie is about the same as me driving my tv.

Mountain driving always depends on experience, comfort and equipment for yourself and be prepared for the guy coming against you or the one that has to pass on the double yellow line.

trailertraveler wrote:
From Goblin Valley take UT-24 West to the Capitol Reef National Park and the Torrey area. From there you can explore the Burr Trail, Fishlake Scenic Byway, Anasazi State Park and other attractions on the Eastern side of the UT-12 Scenic Byway in your toad.

From Torrey continue West on UT-24. Take the left onto Browns Lane at the sign that says to Koosharem. Turn left onto UT-62 and follow it to US-89 South. Take US-89 South to UT-12 and Bryce Canyon National Park. From Bryce you can explorer the Western end of UT-12 and visit Escalante Petrified Forest State Park, Kodachrome Basin State Park, and Calf Creek Falls.

This route is a little longer, but in my opinion less stressful than UT-12 and will allow to see much more than you would see by just driving through on UT-12 with the RV.

Hope you have a Great Trip!!!!

The above is a very good alternate route to take to get to Bryce and then Zion if you have concerns on Hwy 12.

I will say, however, that we've done Hwy 12 many times with our 40' motorhome towing the Jeep. We really enjoy mountain driving and the more you do it the easier it becomes. If you don't drive some of the roads you miss out on a lot. The roads are not any narrower than any 2-lane road but seeing so much open space makes them seem narrower.

If your parents are concerned then I wouldn't advise you to do it.

However, that's my opinion and I've been chastised many times on this forum for stating that yes, it's a doable drive.

So...from Bryce (Ruby's is the best to stay), take 89 toward Panguitch and a little further north is Hwy 20. That's the easiest way to get to I-15. Definitely don't take Hwy 14.

You could also take Hwy 9 westward toward Zion but you'd have to go through the tunnels and then a steep winding road. Definitely avoid it if you don't do Hwy 12. It's a lot worse. However, by staying at Mt. Carmel you will have a long drive into Zion daily and you'll have a lot of traffic and waits at the tunnel. If you want to spend a few days in the Zion area, I'd recommend staying closer - at Springdale.

Head south on I-15 and pick up Hwy 9 east toward Zion. Stay in Springdale if you need full hookups; otherwise inside the park at Watchman for electric with a water fill and dump station. Our 40' MH fit in Watchman. If staying in Springdale it's a neat little time for strolls and gift shops. The free Zion shuttle has some stops in Springdale to take you into the park. Have a great trip! It's a favorite area of ours.

Check out this panorama to get an idea of the landscape. There is only a couple of miles like this. The rest of the road may have some grades that aren't too bad.

I also suggest you read Mountain Directory West - there are some 8 to 12% grades.

Don't get me wrong; I love that road and why we are going back for the 4th time later this year; and reserve an rv site for peak colors a year ahead of time.

We did a loop thru Utah 7 months ago, but we stayed in Torrey for 4 nights and made day trips. One of those day trips was 100 miles down to Bryce down Scenic 12 and back.

We went down scenic 12 solo in a Tundra. The road is gorgeous, peaks about 8,000 feet elevation, we had to stop for cows in the road, and the pictures above of the "hogback" really don't do it justice.

No way would I pull our 31 foot TT down that route. I have 7,500 miles under my belt with the rig but still consider myself a newbie. However, we did see just about everything on the road, from large RV's to Harleys and all in between but that one section is not for the faint of heart. I didn't tell my wife, but I MYSELF held my breath thru those 2-3 curves.

On thing to consider is the time that it takes. With the traffic, curves, and hills, it took us about 3 hours to do 100 miles. In fact, we came back to Torrey up "Grass Valley" on 22, then 62 to Lola, then back to Torey on 24. Lola seems to have the only real grocery store in 50 miles, and it only took about 90 minutes.

Safe travels!