Zion To Bryce

Adventure Begins At The End Of The Road

Day-trip Route Between Zion and Bryce National Parks

Frequent Travel Brings Knowledge

Where The Pavement Ends

We'll begin on the eastern border of Zion National Park with cooler temperatures at elevations rising above six-thousand feet. Here you'll discover our recommended multi-night destination from which to base your Zion to Bryce day-trip.

Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort is comprised of 4,000 private acres, and borders the park for five linear miles. This 27-year-old destination ranch is a hidden jewel that many have yet to discover, and is accessible from Zion's east gate by traveling two miles east of the park and then five miles up the paved North Fork Road. When the pavement comes to an end is where your outdoor adventure officially begins, as Zion Ponderosa offers relaxation and adventure in abundance. The East Zion plateau is the forested table-top from which Zion National Park has been carved, and access to many of Zion's eastern hiking trails are most easily accessed from the property of Zion Ponderosa.

Some of these trails include Cable Mountain, Deer Springs, and of course the view in the park which is Observation Point. Learn more – ZionPonderosa.com.

Day Trip – East To Mt. Carmel Junction

#1 - The Belly Of The Dragon

It's not uncommon to see a water culvert or even a major passageway constructed under a road, but there's a unique tunnel just south of Mt. Carmel Junction that has taken on a dramatic look of its own. To protect against flood damage a horizontal shaft was cut through sandstone in the belly of Highway 89 and now it looks very much like the throat of some giant beast. A stroll through this dragon's gullet will take only minutes but it's very much worth the short detour. This brief adventure is located just one mile south of Mt. Carmel Junction on the west side of Utah's Highway 89.

Pause For World-Class Art

Famous for his landscape paintings of the west, you'll be enamored with a stop in the actual town of Mt. Carmel, not to be confused with Mt. Carmel Junction, to view the Maynard Dixon Legacy Museum. It's also very worth your time to not only view Dixon's art, and those of other artists, but also Dixon's actual home and his creative sanctuary.

A House Of Order

Some places have a very interesting story behind their names and a few miles north on Highway 89 you'll find the quaint but very accommodating town of Orderville, uniquely named for the efforts of this town's early residents to live a communal life of equally shared resources. As pioneer members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints settled communities throughout the Utah Territory, some communities experimented with what was referred to as The Law Of Consecration, where all community residents worked for the common good, and shared all the benefits of that process.

Orderville was one of these towns, and for approiximately ten years it was a fairly successful effort. Part of the eastern backdrop to Orderville is a long series of white cliffs called the Glendale Bench which has numerous intricately carved slot canyons along its base. Orderville's location along Highway 89, between Zion and Bryce, has given rise to a more recent increase in visitor services, two of which we'll highlight next for your consideration.

Tantalize Your Tastebuds

It's not uncommon in small rural areas to expect to eat somewhere to simply gain some energy, with little expectation for cuisine that is better than average. Push aside those thoughts at perhaps the most popular dining establishment in southwestern Utah; The Shop Coffee Company, so-named for its location within a former automotive repair shop. Owners have reinvented this space as a haven for delectable baked treats, delicious cold drinks, flavored coffees, and savory sandwiches, and my mouth waters just thinking about their menu.
Learn more - The Shop Coffee Co

Outdoor Adventure

Venturing off the pavement is the modus-operandi for the Orderville office of a regionally famous guide and outfitter company called East Zion Adventures. Crew members will lead you on horseback and off-road excursions through canyons and to scenic overlooks, and on guided tours of the areas convoluted slot canyons. It's hard to describe the beauty of a sandstone slot canyon that has been intricately sculpted and etched by some of nature's most powerful forces, so I invite you to take my word for it, and discover why these tours may be one of the best you'll ever experience.
Learn more - EastZionAdventures.com.

Deviations

Further up the road toward Bryce Canyon there are numerous other diversions to explore, and here's just a few alternate routes from Highway 89 to consider...

a- Lydia's Canyon is a side road to the west that leads approximately eight miles up into the forest where you'll find formations that are similar to what you'll find at Bryce Canyon, but here you'll find very few people.

b- Their are side roads, leading east into the Grand Staircase from the small towns of Glendale or Alton, Utah and you can pull up additional maps and information that will prepare you to go this direction on dirt back-country roads.

c- At the junction of Highways 89 and Highway 14 – which leads you west and up onto the Markagunt Plateau, you'll find Duck Creek Village (seasonal dining), Mammoth Cave, Cascade Falls, Navajo Lake, and Cedar Breaks National Monument. This plateau can take up another day of exploration, if
desired.

Staying On The Pavement – Red Canyon

At the junction of Highway 89 and Scenic Byway 12, you'll swing east toward Bryce Canyon, but two miles up the road you'll Red Canyon inside the Dixie National Forest. This is a place where you'll be looking immediately up at formations, rather than down as you would initially at Bryce Canyon. Red Canyon has a national forest visitor center and restrooms that are open seasonally.

The canyon has one long paved path that extends up onto the Pansaugunt Plateau. Also in Red Canyon there are walking trails that spiderweb around the hoodoo formations and back into side canyons. Also here is the famous Thunder Mountain - mountain biking trail which is a strong climb or an exciting downhill zoom depending on which end of the trail you start from. Red Canyon has hundreds of the signature hoodoo formations and the same blue skies overhead that you'll experience at Bryce Canyon.

Not surprising some visitors confuse this area for being Bryce Canyon and they move on to other destinations without actually seeing the national park. Nearby Casto Canyon and Losee Canyon are two additional back-country options that are open to discovery. From Red Canyon you'll continue another few miles up onto the plateau where you'll turn south to enter the north end of Bryce Canyon National Park.