I have a 34 ft 5th wheel and would like to plan a side trip from Bryce Canyon National Park to Capitol Reef Nat Park. Is route 12 a good road? Thanks.

Nice two lane highway. Lots of scenery!Between Escalante and Boulder the highway is curvy with a couple switch backs.

A great road. One of our favorites while we still had our fifth wheel.

It's a beautiful road. As long as you have a TV matched to your FW, you can do it. From Bryce to Capitol Reef, there is a 14% climb to the Hogsback. Our setup can do it no problem.

The steeper sections are only 1-2 miles long except south of Torrey which is longer but ONLY a short section of 12%, not 14%. :)It's very doable with an RV and it's very popular to do. It's an absolutely gorgeous drive. We've done it both directions many times with our 40' motorhome towing the Jeep. Stop for a night or two in Escalante, disconnect and drive the truck around to do some siteseeing. It's a typical paved two-lane road. What freaks some folks out is lack of shoulders in some places. But there are various pull-offs. If you can keep it between the lines you're good to go! Have a great trip. Beautiful country.

2gypsies wrote:The steeper sections are only 1-2 miles long except south of Torrey which is longer but ONLY a short section of 12%, not 14%. :)Are you talking about the Hogback section south of Boulder and north of the Calf Creek Falls parking area? The sign at the top of the grade says 14% for four miles!

Bryce to Capitol Reef | Good Sam Community

Lauren
Explorer
Nov 10, 2018
That, like Red Mountain Pass and many others...........You do not have control of the guy coming against you and you have two choices - hit them or go over the side. Simple as that.
jrs1871
Explorer
Nov 05, 2018
If you are accustomed to mountain driving, it is no problem if your set up is good. If you are a flat lander (which we were) it can be quite intimidating. It is not a white knuckle drive but it is intense.
We drove it this summer from Escalante to Torrey. We took it slow and easy and had no problems. It would have been better if we had an exhaust brake on our TV but the Duramax and transmission in manual mode did the job. As noted the scenery was beautiful. Hubby didn't enjoy as much of the scenery as he was concentrating on driving.
lbrjet
Explorer
Oct 31, 2018
Rt. 12 is the highlight of yanking my trailer around the country 25K miles.
CloudDriver
Explorer
Oct 31, 2018
We took these pictures while crossing the hogsback back in 2009. Everyone drives slowly through this section. Just keep the tires on the pavement and enjoy the view.

Click For Full-Size Image.

Click For Full-Size Image.
2gypsies1
Explorer III
Oct 31, 2018
Hmmmm… I stand corrected, if so. I just looked at the percentages from the 'Mountain Directory for Truckers and RVers' and the highest grade given was 12%.

There are YouTubes by drivers if you want to drive the route.
TexasShadow
Explorer II
Oct 31, 2018
it all depends on two important things...
can your tow vehicle handle the climbs and the downgrades?
and
the hogback...
can you handle a two lane road, NO shoulders, for about two blocks long? can your travel partner handle looking out the window on the passenger side and seeing the road fall away for a long ways down?

when we did it, we did it with just our jeep and I, the passenger, had to close my eyes.
some can handle it, others can't. only you know about yourself. :)
dedmiston
Moderator
Oct 30, 2018
I'm surprised to see so many positive responses. Questions come up about this route every couple of months or so and there are usually a lot of people who say "no way", "never", "nightmare", etc.

I only drove it once (out and back) in our dually (the 44' 5er was parked back at the KOA in Cannonville. I wasn't really a fan. The views were gorgeous, but the road was narrow with no guard rails. One false move and that scenic view will make an even more lasting impact.

The twisty canyon leading up to the Hogback from the south is incredible though. It's straight out of a Road Runner cartoon.

Check it out on YouTube and Google Earth and decide for yourself.
DouglasC
Explorer
Oct 30, 2018
padredw wrote:
One of our favorite drives in the entire country. No problem for us driving. Recommend it highly.

X2! We have traveled in all 50 states (48 by motorhome) and Hwy 12 in Utah from Bryce to Capitol Reef is one of our favorites. Don't miss it!
padredw
Nomad
Oct 30, 2018
One of our favorite drives in the entire country. No problem for us driving. Recommend it highly.
ReneeG
Explorer
Oct 30, 2018
4runnerguy wrote:
2gypsies wrote:
The steeper sections are only 1-2 miles long except south of Torrey which is longer but ONLY a short section of 12%, not 14%. :)
Are you talking about the Hogback section south of Boulder and north of the Calf Creek Falls parking area? The sign at the top of the grade says 14% for four miles!

Yes. Thank you.