Toy Hauler Destination: Kodachrome Basin State Park

By Jon Crowley

While traveling through Utah’s National Parks, my wife and I recently spent two nights at Kodachrome Basin State Park in Utah with our Toy Hauler.  While Kodachrome does not offer any OHV riding, it does offer nice camping and plenty of hiking and mountain bike trails.

Kodachrome Basin State Park is located near the town of Cannonville, Utah at 2905 S.  Kodachrome State Park Rd. which is southeast of Bryce Canyon National Park and southwest of Capitol Reef National Park. The park is situated at 5,800 feet, 12 miles south of Utah Route 12, and 20 miles southeast of Bryce Canyon National Park. It is accessible from the north from Cannonville by a paved road and from the south by Road 400 which is dirt. Please note if you come from the south, you still need to pay the State Park fee.

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.

We stayed in the Basin campground which is has full hookups with 50Amp power, water and sewer! Our big toy hauler fit just fine in the spot we chose, but some sites are a little bit smaller.  Check with the Utah State Parks website for details on individual site specifications.

The geologic interest of the park are sandstone spires and columns called sand pipes, believed to be found nowhere else on earth. 

Differing geological explanations of the features in Kodachrome Basin State Park exist. One explanation is that the area was once similar to Yellowstone National Park with hot springs and geysers, which eventually filled up with sediment and solidified. Through time, the Entrada sandstone surrounding the solidified geysers eroded, leaving large sand pipes. Sixty-seven sand pipes ranging from two to 52 meters have been identified in the park.

 

Our favorite hike was the Panorama Trail. This trail is open to hiking, equestrian and mountain bikes and is a bit over 6 miles if you tackle it all.

Getting There from the West – Red Canyon Tunnels near Bryce Canyon

One thing to be aware of when you head to Kodachrome Basin State Park from the west is there are two tunnels in Red Canyon just before Bryce Canyon National Park that are 13′ 6″ tall.

 

Now this was a bit stressful since the specifications on our Attitude 3218MM states ours is 13’5″. With just one inch to spare on the specs, we took it slow and waiting for a break in oncoming traffic so we could take both lanes and go through the center.

Heading East – Capitol Reef and More

If you thought the scenery on Highway 12 was incredible from Panguitch to Cannonville was spectacular, the road is even more spectacular from Boulder to Torrey!