Utah's scenic drives are among the most spectacular in America. The state's extraordinary landscape — red rock canyons, alpine meadows, ancient forests, and the dramatic geology of the Colorado Plateau — creates a backdrop for road trips that is genuinely unmatched in the continental United States.

Here's your guide to Utah's best scenic drives, from the famous to the hidden gems.

Highway 12 — a 124-mile National Scenic Byway connecting Panguitch to Torrey — is widely regarded as one of the most scenic roads in America. The highway passes through some of the most dramatic landscapes in Utah, connecting Bryce Canyon National Park to Capitol Reef National Park through a landscape of extraordinary beauty.

Panguitch to Bryce Canyon (13 miles): The drive from Panguitch to Bryce Canyon passes through beautiful red rock country, with excellent views of the surrounding landscape.

Bryce Canyon to Escalante (50 miles): The most dramatic section of Highway 12, passing through the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The road climbs to the top of the Aquarius Plateau (11,000 feet) and then descends through a series of dramatic switchbacks into the Escalante River canyon.

The Hogback: The most dramatic section of the drive — a narrow ridge with 1,000-foot drops on both sides. The views are extraordinary.

Escalante to Boulder (25 miles): A beautiful section through the Escalante River canyon, with excellent views of the surrounding red rock landscape.

Boulder to Torrey (36 miles): The final section of Highway 12, passing through beautiful alpine meadows and forests before descending to the Capitol Reef area.

Bryce Canyon National Park — the park's famous hoodoos are at their most dramatic in the morning light.

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument — one of the largest national monuments in the country, with extraordinary hiking and backpacking opportunities.

Anasazi State Park Museum (Boulder) — an excellent museum celebrating the ancient Anasazi people who lived in this area 1,000 years ago.

Capitol Reef National Park — the end of the Highway 12 journey, with excellent hiking and the historic Fruita orchards.

The Zion-Mount Carmel Highway — Route 9 through Zion National Park — is one of the most dramatic short drives in America. The road climbs from the canyon floor through a series of switchbacks and a mile-long tunnel carved through the sandstone, emerging on the east side of the park in a completely different landscape.

The Tunnel: The 1.1-mile Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel — completed in 1930 — is one of the engineering marvels of the national park system. Large vehicles (RVs, buses, and wide trucks) require a special permit and an escort through the tunnel.

The East Side: The east side of Zion is a completely different landscape from the canyon — a slickrock plateau with excellent views of the surrounding landscape and several excellent short hikes.

The Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area — in northeastern Utah and southwestern Wyoming — offers one of the most spectacular scenic drives in the Mountain West. The Flaming Gorge-Uintas National Scenic Byway (US-191/Route 44) circles the reservoir through a landscape of dramatic red rock canyons, alpine forests, and the extraordinary geology of the Uinta Mountains.

The Reservoir: Flaming Gorge Reservoir — created by the Flaming Gorge Dam on the Green River — is one of the finest fishing lakes in the West, with excellent lake trout, brown trout, and smallmouth bass fishing.

Red Canyon Visitor Center — a beautiful visitor center on the rim of the canyon, with panoramic views of the reservoir and the surrounding landscape.

The San Rafael Swell — a massive geological uplift in central Utah — is one of the most dramatic and least-visited landscapes in the state. The swell's combination of canyons, mesas, and the extraordinary geology of the Colorado Plateau creates a landscape of extraordinary beauty.

The San Rafael Reef — a dramatic wall of sandstone that marks the eastern edge of the swell — is one of the most dramatic geological features in Utah.

Goblin Valley State Park — a beautiful state park on the edge of the swell, with extraordinary hoodoo formations that look like goblins.

The Mirror Lake Scenic Byway — Route 150 through the Uinta Mountains — is Utah's most beautiful alpine drive. The road climbs from Kamas (6,500 feet) to Bald Mountain Pass (10,715 feet), passing through beautiful alpine meadows, forests, and lakes.

Mirror Lake — a beautiful alpine lake at 10,000 feet elevation, with excellent fishing for brook trout and cutthroat trout.

Bald Mountain — accessible by a short hiking trail from the pass, with panoramic views of the Uinta Mountains.

Best Time: Spring (April–May) and fall (September–October) for the best weather and the most dramatic light. Summer is excellent but can be very hot in the lower elevations.

Vehicle: A standard passenger car can handle most of Utah's scenic drives. Some roads in the Grand Staircase-Escalante and the San Rafael Swell require a high-clearance 4WD vehicle.

Gas: Gas stations are sparse in rural Utah. Fill up whenever you have the opportunity.

For more Utah adventures, see our Utah National Parks Guide, Utah Hiking Guide, and Moab Utah Adventure Guide. Also see our Best National Parks for First-Time Visitors.