Where We Rode
Escaping To Southern Utah's Zion
Beefy bikes, big cubes and lotsa luggage demand real distances with spectacular vistas, right? Figuring it was approximately 450 miles from the dank confines of the Cruiser garage to the craggy red slabs of Zion National Park, we aimed our bikes east for a bona fide road trip with a massive scenic payoff. Mother Nature had different ideas at first, though. Our departure date dawned foggy and misty-a worst-case scenario for testing and photographing shiny cruisers. We peeled out of the Denny's parking lot mumbling prayers to the smog gods for a respite from the grayness.
It worked. By the time we hit Utah in late afternoon, the sunglasses were on and the hills ablaze from the setting sun.
Our base camp would be St. George, Utah, a medium-sized town about 50 miles from the Zion park entrance. To get to Zion National Park itself we hopped off I-15 at Highway 9 and cruised to Springdale.
The little burg of Springdale, just outside the park boundary, is also a fine place to fuel up both body and bike before hitting the trail. For the former you can't go wrong with the Mean Bean Coffee House on the main drag-as the name implies, they serve a mean cup of joe and a nice array of breakfasty items. But this part of the country is all about natural majesty, and Zion Canyon is the epicenter of visual exclamations. The sculpted sandstone in its color, shape and scale here is simply amazing. As we lazed along redtopped Route 9-the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway-through the park's center, it was all we could do to keep our eyes on the road. It seems like there's a soaring, jaw-dropping vista around every corner of the park.
But don't plan on a quick rumble up Zion Canyon itself during peak season-it's been closed to private vehicles thanks to heavy traffic and park pollution. You'll have to jump on a shuttle bus to get down Zion Canyon Scenic Drive from late March through late October; private vehicles are allowed only from the first of November through March. Highway U-9 through Zion-Mt. Carmel Junction, however, is open to vehicle traffic all year. The caveat is that Zion is also highly subject to NPS. That stands for National Park Syndrome, and its symptoms include 45-mph speed limits and roads crawling with RVs and pesky hikers. The park's picturesque 1.1-mile Zion-Mt. Carmel Tunnel, for instance, can develop big-time backups of tour buses and scenery-searching SUVs at either entrance, so it's best to get through the park early in the morning.
Luckily there are gobs of other route options outside the park-Highway 89 lies just to the east, and it connects to a host of scenic treasures. Thirty miles north on 89, for example, is the beginning of one of my favorite roads, SR 12-a Scenic Byway that runs 125 miles through some of the most spectacular backdrops on the planet. And be sure to check out the far-less-crowded back door of Zion. That means the Kolob Fingers Road off I-15, which only runs six miles but ends at the Kolob Canyons overlook. Bring a camera. Or you can sample SR 143, which you can catch off Highway 89 from Panguitch. The ride might be chillier at this higher elevation, but the payoff is a dearth of RVs and miles of clear, twisty asphalt.
Of course Highway 89 is colorful in its own right, snaking east through the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument before crossing the Colorado River and turning south at Page. Or head south on Route 67 directly for the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.
Zion National Park is on Highway 9 via I-15 outside the town of Springdale. The Kolob Canyons are located just off I-15 at Exit 40, 20 miles south of Cedar City. The park charges $25 per vehicle, but motorcycles get something of a break-$12 per person for a seven-day pass.
Trust me, it's worth it.
-Andrew Cherney
Info
scenicsouthernutah.com
utah.com/byways/zion_park.htm
nps.gov/zion
scenicbyway12.com
meanbeancoffee.com