Chicken Creek Road to Boulder Mountain Summit — Dixie National Forest High Plateau

Boulder Mountain — the massive forested plateau anchoring the northwest corner of Grand Staircase country — is Utah’s highest timbered plateau and most people drive straight past it on Highway 12 without ever turning off. Chicken Creek Road and the network of USFS two-tracks branching from it off Route 12 between Torrey and Escalante let you actually get up on top: through dense stands of Engelmann spruce and subalpine fir, past dozens of small alpine lakes loaded with trout, and out onto open ridgelines where the views run from the Henry Mountains clear to the Aquarius Plateau. The summit area tops out around 11,300 feet — thin air, short seasons, and afternoon thunderstorms that mean business.

This is moderate-to-difficult terrain depending on which spur roads you choose; the main routes are manageable in a stock 4WD with high clearance, but the steeper side roads to lake access points will challenge wheel travel and traction on loose shale. Snow can linger into late June and return by October — mid-July through September is your window. Permits not required. Fuel and water before you leave Torrey or Escalante; neither resource is reliable on top. Dispersed camping is excellent throughout the Dixie National Forest sections.