Southern Utah’s biggest forest is larger than Zion, Bryce, and Capitol Reef combined

It’s bigger than Bryce, Zion, and Capitol Reef combined

Southern Utah draws millions of people to its national parks every year, but most of them drive straight through Utah’s largest national forest without a second glance.

Dixie National Forest stretches 170 miles across the southern part of the state, from the desert foothills near St. George all the way northeast to Torrey.

It holds red rock canyons, hundreds of mountain lakes, waterfalls that pour from cave walls, and trails that lead through formations that look nothing like anything else on earth. And almost nobody’s looking for it.

From 2,800-foot desert to 11,000-foot mountain plateau

The forest runs from near sea level desert to full alpine country, and the difference is hard to overstate. Near St. George, elevations drop to about 2,800 feet, and the landscape is dry desert brush.

Climb to Boulder Mountain and you’re at 11,322 feet, moving through thick pine, spruce, and fir.

The forest straddles the divide between the Great Basin and the Colorado River, so you’re essentially crossing two of the West’s great drainage systems.

Mule deer, elk, black bear, cougar, wild turkey, and golden eagles all live here.

Red Canyon gives you Bryce Canyon without the entry fee

Red Canyon sits just a few miles west of Bryce Canyon National Park, and from the road, the two look almost identical. Tall red and orange hoodoos rise from the canyon floor, the same color, the same jagged shapes.

But Red Canyon is part of the national forest, so you pay nothing to enter. Bikes and ATVs are allowed on many of the trails, unlike at Bryce.

Two tunnels on Highway 12 cut straight through the rock, and the canyon walls frame you on both sides as you pass through.

Five trails worth walking in Red Canyon

Pink Ledges Trail is the easiest entry point, a short loop that puts you right up against the rock formations.

If you want history with your hike, the Cassidy Trail follows a route outlaw Butch Cassidy once used to move through the canyon.

The Golden Wall Trail pairs with the Buckhorn Trail for a five-mile loop with a long view of the formations above you. The Arches Trail leads through a red rock cove to 15 small natural arches.

Most of the trails here work for hikers, bikers, and horseback riders.

Scenic Byway 12 climbs to 9,000 feet and sees into two states

Scenic Byway 12 runs 122 miles from Panguitch to Torrey, and the federal government has designated it an All-American Road, one of the best drives in the country.

The route passes through Red Canyon, climbs over Boulder Mountain, and cuts past Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. At the top of Boulder Mountain, the road hits above 9,000 feet.

On a clear day, you can see more than 100 miles into Colorado and Arizona. The Hogsback section narrows to a ridgeline with sheer drop-offs on both sides.

Keep your hands on the wheel.

Boulder Mountain hides hundreds of lakes above 10,000 feet

Boulder Mountain is one of the largest high-elevation plateaus in the country, and from the road, it looks like dense forest.

Get off the pavement and you find hundreds of small lakes scattered between 10,000 and 11,000 feet, most of them quiet and lightly fished.

Brook, brown, rainbow, and cutthroat trout all live in the lakes and streams up here.

In July and August, when the desert floor below bakes past 100 degrees, the mountain stays cool enough for a sweatshirt in the morning.

500 miles of streams and a lake that drains underground

The forest holds more than 500 miles of fishing streams and 90 lakes. Panguitch Lake is the most popular, its name coming from a Paiute word meaning “big fish.”

Navajo Lake is stranger. It has no surface outlet at all.

The water seeps down through sinkholes and travels underground through lava tubes before reappearing somewhere else entirely.

Enterprise Reservoir and the scattered lakes on Boulder Mountain are quieter alternatives if you want more room to yourself. Boating and kayaking are possible on several of the larger lakes.

A waterfall pours straight out of a cave wall

The Cascade Falls Trail is one of the more unusual short hikes in southern Utah.

The round trip covers about 1.2 miles, and the payoff is a waterfall that emerges not from a stream but from a cave opening in the cliff face.

Water from Navajo Lake seeps through sinkholes, moves through underground lava tubes, and comes out here as a falls.

The trail follows a red cliff edge the whole way, and from certain spots you can see all the way to Zion. The rock underfoot is the same Claron Formation that shapes Bryce Canyon and Cedar Breaks.

Swirling colored sandstone that has no set path to follow

Near St. George, the Yant Flats trail leads out to a stretch of sandstone called the Candy Cliffs.

The rock here swirls in bands of red, orange, and cream, the result of ancient layers being pushed up by volcanic activity below and then carved down by erosion into domes and canyons. The trail runs about 3.3 miles round trip, rated moderate.

When you reach the sandstone, the trail effectively ends. There are no marked paths across it.

You wander where you want. The crowds that pack nearby Zion most days mostly skip this entirely.

Four wilderness areas where no motors are allowed

The forest has four designated wilderness areas covering about 83,000 acres combined, and all of them ban motorized vehicles and bikes.

Ashdown Gorge Wilderness sits next to Cedar Breaks and holds the Twisted Forest, a stand of ancient bristlecone pines.

Box-Death Hollow Wilderness cuts through deep canyons with vertical gray-orange Navajo sandstone walls. Pine Valley Mountain Wilderness covers lush meadows and Engelmann spruce forest.

Cottonwood Forest Wilderness picks up where Zion National Park ends. All four stay quiet in a way the parks rarely do.

Brian Head turns the forest into a winter mountain town

When the snow comes, the forest shifts. Brian Head Resort sits within the forest boundaries, with a peak at 11,307 feet that collects more than 40 inches of precipitation a year.

Downhill skiing and snowboarding run through the winter season.

The forest’s more than a thousand miles of timber roads open up for cross-country skiing and snowmobiling. Duck Creek Village, a small mountain community inside the forest, works as a base if you want a place to stay.

Most people don’t think of southern Utah in January. That’s why it’s worth considering.

Red Canyon looks nothing like what you expect in any season

The forest divides into four geographic sections across three major plateaus, so you’re not driving the same landscape for 170 miles.

The Markagunt, Paunsaugunt, and Aquarius plateaus each have their own look and elevation range.

Established as the Dixie Forest Reserve in 1905 and merged with parts of Sevier and Powell national forests over the following decades, the land has been protected for more than a century.

It borders Bryce Canyon, Zion, Capitol Reef, Cedar Breaks, and Grand Staircase-Escalante. You can spend a week here and still not cover it all.

Plan your visit to Dixie National Forest in Utah

You can start at the Red Canyon Visitor Center at 5375 Utah Route 12 in Panguitch, open daily from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. It has trail maps, ranger information, and clean restrooms.

No entry fee is required to access the forest, though some campgrounds charge a nightly fee.

The forest has 18 campgrounds, from developed sites to backcountry spots. The main forest supervisor’s office is at 820 N. Main St. in Cedar City, open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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