La Verkin Overlook, Near Zion National Park

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The day was nearly over, but I wasn’t quite ready to head back to my motel in Springdale.  So, when I reached the end of Kolob Terrace Road, I made a right instead of a left, and drove west for a few minutes.  I had no particular destination in mind, I was just driving to see what I could see.  I ended up at the La Verkin Overlook.

La Verkin Overlook Road is a dirt road that heads south from Utah Rte. 9.  You’ll find it just before Rte. 9 drops down into the town of La Verkin.

The road isn’t paved, but it’s in good condition.  Take it slow and you won’t damage your rental car.  The road runs about 1.5 miles before it dead-ends.  I would imagine, based on its name, that at the end it provides a nice view of La Verkin, but I can’t say for sure, since I only drove about a half mile out.

Instead of looking down on La Verkin, I gazed back east, watching Rte. 9 cut through the valley, leading back to Springdale and Zion.

To the west, more mountains.  I guess it’s possible that La Verkin was down there somewhere, but by this point it was really too dark to see anything.  Once again, the rotation of the earth, and resulting lack of sunlight, forced me to admit that it was time to call it a day.  The drive back gave me a chance to catch up on my cell-phone calls, and I only dropped out of range once.

There’s one more attraction that might be worth visiting along this stretch of Utah Rte. 9: the ghost town of Grafton.  Only a few old buildings remain, but it would still make a good one-hour diversion.  In Rockville, turn south on S 200 E (aka Bridge Road), then hang a right on E 250 S (Grafton Road).  Bad timing kept me from making it there on this trip.

Note: This trip was first published in 2007.

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