Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Utah
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 03-01-2009, 09:55 PM
 
Location: Sunshine Coast, BC
10,781 posts, read 8,702,618 times
Reputation: 17780

Advertisements

Apologies if this should be in the Travel forum but I figured it was too general a forum for this very specific Utah question.

We're planning a trip through the Southwest and in doing my research on Utah, I've seen a few writeups on the Scenic Byway 12. We plan to drive from Bryce to Moab via Escalante. One recommendation was this Hell's Backbone road which sounds great. We're interested in scenery, as wild and natural as possible.

My questions are: we'll be there around the 11th of May or thereabouts. What are the chances of this route being closed? And if so, what's the best way to find that out? What's the ministry for highways you have there? Should I ring somebody, or is there a website with this info?

Any other warnings, suggestions, advice would be appreciated, about HB and anything else along that byway.

Thanks in advance.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 03-02-2009, 08:42 AM
 
Location: outnabout
97 posts, read 219,563 times
Reputation: 67
That time of the year should be 'OK' for travel.
But, I can tell you that weather can & will dictate what you can do in this part of the country.
Late season snow, days of rain, fast runoff, mud slides, fallen trees, take your pick!
That road is in the Dixie Nat. Forest, it would be wise to contact them a couple days before your trip to get the latest conditions.
Don't know what you will be driving, but remember the road IS dirt.
Take along food and water..... life comes at you fast.
The Burr Trail is still unforgettable, even tho they paved it. Take plenty of photos.
Oh yeah, along the way, FORGET the Hole In The Rock road. It is a dead end and not really suitable for passenger cars. Seems as tho they rescue people out there every year!
From Hanksville, turn North to get to Moab quick, or South for at least another day of travel, but 100 times more scenic. Not much in the way of motels in this area, camping is a far better way to enjoy it.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-02-2009, 10:36 AM
 
Location: The other side of the mountain
2,502 posts, read 6,950,426 times
Reputation: 1301
Although I am not familiar with that road in particular, usually at that time of the year, you are generally pretty safe from road closures as far as weather goes. Stranger things have happened though, so if you would like to check it out before you arrive, your best bet would be Utah's Department of Transportation (UDOT).
Here is the link
Utah Department of Transportation,
Happy visiting!!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-02-2009, 10:50 AM
 
Location: vagabond
2,631 posts, read 5,441,770 times
Reputation: 1314
highway 12 is actually paved, though there is a lot of windy road-through-the-mountains steepness that you will want to consider when renting your vehicle.

outnabout said that the hole-in-the-rock road should be avoided, but i would disagree–so long as you have an appropriate vehicle. it is actually an extremely fun road, with access to a lot of cool things like devils garden, metate arch, sunset arch, etc.

hells backbone itself is very neat. take the time to stop along one of the short parking areas and explore. get there before sunrise or before sunset so that you can take advantage of photo ops. of course, that last bit is subjective, since there are so many photogenic things that are there that might take sunrise/sunset priority over the backbone.

highway 12 skirts my favorite parts of utah, along the grand staircase and the waterpocket fold. do a lot of homework before you go, so that you know exactly where you want to go, and get to see the coolest parts.

uta.com

redrockadventure.com

climb-utah.com

zionnational-park.com

these and other websites will give you some really good info.

good luck. post some of your pics when you get back!

aaron out.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-02-2009, 03:40 PM
 
Location: East Millcreek
550 posts, read 2,162,844 times
Reputation: 143
I don't think there's any chance SR 12 would be closed in May; it's way too late for snow down there at that time.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-02-2009, 04:14 PM
 
Location: vagabond
2,631 posts, read 5,441,770 times
Reputation: 1314
yeah, highway 12 was open when i went down in january, even though there was as much snow down there as there was up here in utah county.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-02-2009, 06:57 PM
 
Location: outnabout
97 posts, read 219,563 times
Reputation: 67
Wassup with you people??????????
Reread my post......I didn't sugarcoat it. In the 70's I was BUSTIN though snow drifts in the Blue Mts. in JULY!!! Get with it. Travel in the Mountains ANY time of the year is chancy.
Expect the unexpected, unless you want to be in the headlines.................................
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-02-2009, 06:59 PM
 
Location: outnabout
97 posts, read 219,563 times
Reputation: 67
Quote:
Originally Posted by kaytidid View Post
Although I am not familiar with that road in particular, usually at that time of the year, you are generally pretty safe from road closures as far as weather goes.
Pretty much stuck your foot up , aye?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-02-2009, 10:20 PM
 
Location: Salt Lake City
27,914 posts, read 29,747,557 times
Reputation: 13064
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vichel View Post
Apologies if this should be in the Travel forum but I figured it was too general a forum for this very specific Utah question.

We're planning a trip through the Southwest and in doing my research on Utah, I've seen a few writeups on the Scenic Byway 12. We plan to drive from Bryce to Moab via Escalante. One recommendation was this Hell's Backbone road which sounds great. We're interested in scenery, as wild and natural as possible.

My questions are: we'll be there around the 11th of May or thereabouts. What are the chances of this route being closed? And if so, what's the best way to find that out? What's the ministry for highways you have there? Should I ring somebody, or is there a website with this info?

Any other warnings, suggestions, advice would be appreciated, about HB and anything else along that byway.

Thanks in advance.
I'd say your chances for decent weather and an open road is good. Hell's backbone is incredible. You'll love it.

A bit off-topic, but if you are also visiting Zion National Park and will be driving between Bryce and Zion, there are two or three possible routes. If you choose the one that goes through the little town of Hatch, be sure to stop at the Cafe Adobe for the best hamburger you've ever had in your life (except on Sundays, when they're closed).
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-03-2009, 05:19 AM
 
Location: Sunshine Coast, BC
10,781 posts, read 8,702,618 times
Reputation: 17780
Thank you everyone - outnabout, kaytidid, stycotl, Lmejh, Katzpur! I so appreciate your kindness and helpfulness. That's why I just love visiting your lovely country - America's scenery is amazing but its people are the best thing about it.

Good to know chances are low that route will be impassable. I know that Mother Nature can change her mind on a whim, but we're hoping for the best and will check things out beforehand. Living in Australia, we hear of loads of stories of unprepared tourists here, just gallavanting off into the wilds unprepared and oblivious to the power & brutality of nature, and we don't want to be similar objects of ridicule

If it doesn't work out, and the weather turns bad, oh well, next time. It sounds like such a fun experience to go the Hell's Backbone way. We'll be doing about 2000 miles of driving, and it'll be a nice change to get away from the regular highways once in a while. I should have mentioned that we'll be renting a 4WD, so that we don't miss out on some of the more spectacular and wilder places due to roads or conditions not being the best for low-clearance vehicles.

Thank you for all the other suggestions. It's been such a dilemma. The more I've been researching the Southwest, and particularly Utah (such a surprise!), the more I want to explore it yet we are limited for time. The itinerary has gone from 8 days, to 10, to 2 weeks. I even chopped NYC off the itinerary just to spend more time up your way. Next time for NYC - we were there in 2007 anyway so it can wait; Monument Valley and other awe-inspiring places can't.

Katzpur, too bad about that burger place, Cafe Adobe, but we'll be driving from Zion to Bryce on the 10th, as far as the plans go, and via Hatch! But thank you anyway. We'll drive by, maybe they'll change their opening hours

Thank you all again, so much!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Utah
Similar Threads
View detailed profiles of:

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top