Highway 12 passes through Red Canyon, Bryce Canyon National Park, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and over Boulder Mountain in the Dixie National Forest to its conclusion near the entrance to Capitol Reef National Park.
The nearly 124 mile byway spans an area with three national parks, three state parks, a national recreation area, and a national monument.
A small community rich in pioneer heritage, Tropic is typical of the other small towns on U-12 East abreast of Bryce Canyon. Near the town of Cannonville, is the northern boundary of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. A visitor center in Cannonville may help visitors experience the local culture past and present. A 7-mile paved road leads south from Cannonville to Kodachrome Basin State Park.
One mile West of the town of Escalante is Petrified Forest State Park. The town itself borders the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The road continues through the Escalante canyons with panoramic views over miles of colorful slickrock. After crossing the Escalante River, visitors may picnic at Calf Creek Campground. From here, a six-mile round-trip trail takes visitors to Lower Calf Creek Falls.
Nearing the town of Boulder, Highway 12 twists and turns through the Hogsback, a section of the road where cliffs drop steeply into narrow canyons on both sides of the highway. In Boulder, a museum and remnants of a prehistoric Indian village at Anasazi State Park.
Following the summit of Boulder Mountain, the byway travels a spectacular forested course where views of colorful Capitol Reef National Park, the Circle Cliffs and the Henry Mountains are framed by the trees of the Dixie National Forest.
