Utah road is hidden treasure

Utah's Highway 12 is one of the most scenic roads in the U.S., although few people know about it. And prices in south-central Utah are relatively low for just about everything. Put it together and you get a great, affordable Wild West vacation that can include visits to nearby national parks.

East of Bryce Canyon National Park, Highway 12 takes a 120-mile bend across the rugged Colorado Plateau, which descends toward the Grand Canyon in a series of majestic cliffs known as the Grand Staircase. That geological feature gave its name to the region's 1.9-million acre Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

The scenery along the way is one long hymn to the American West, including lonely little ranching communities such as Tropic and Cannonville, the weird sandstone chimneys of Kodachrome Basin State Park and 10,188-foot Powell Point.

From Head of the Rocks just north of the dusty town of Escalante, you can see the vast, impregnable Kaiparowits Plateau, lonely Henry Mountains and 100-mile-long Waterpocket Fold. The highway then climbs over Boulder Mountain to the pleasant town of Torrey at the threshold of Capitol Reef National Park.

Take a tent or a camper, or book a comfy room at Ruby's Inn near Bryce park or the historic Lodge at Red River Ranch west of Torrey. Info: www.utah.com/byways/