Golden Gowns and Red Rocks: Driving Utah’s All-American Road

Autumn hitting Utah is stunning. The birch trees are all wearing their end of season golden gowns, while the shorter days seem to intensify the colors of the rock formations. From Torrey to Escalante, Mother Nature was certainly showing off for us today.

The road from Torrey to Escalante, officially known as Scenic Byway 12, is actually designated as an All-American Road. I know, I know, all roads in the United States are technically American roads, but in order to achieve this specific national designation, a highway has to prove it is entirely exceptional by meeting strict criteria.

The first criterion is that people must specifically go out of their way just to travel to that exact road. The second criterion is that the route must possess at least two of six national significance qualifications: archaeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, or scenic value.

Roads with this designation, of which there are only 37 in the entire nation, are essentially the Michelin stars of highways. Scenic Byway 12 has been sitting pretty with this title since 2002, and we do not see that changing any time soon. It is just stunning.