I’ve heard many things about driving Hell’s Backbone from Boulder, UT to Escalante, UT. I’ve heard of the views, the winding road, the one-lane bridge with steep drop-offs on both sides, how isolated it is, and the amazing views to be seen. What I hadn’t heard was exactly how long it would take to drive this old road.

I asked the employee at the Anasazi State Park Museum if she thought it was a safe enough drive for me to take in a Mazda with my three kids. She didn’t even hesitate to say yes so off we went! We saw deer in fields before climbing in elevation through pine forests. We finally peaked at Hell’s Backbone Bridge and the kids were all asleep, which is probably just as well since we were surrounded by cliffs. I stepped out of the car to take a few pictures and look at the view before driving back down the mountain. But the road just kept going. And going. And going. And going. I was expecting this to be maybe a 45 minute drive and it turned into 2 1/2 hours! The road was so winding and narrow that I could only go 25 mph the whole time and I was going crazy.

I finally saw a turnoff for Posey Lake which I had read was pretty so we stopped for an interlude.

The kids loved “fishing” with reeds and throwing pinecones in the water.

After this we, still slowly, continued our way back to town. I usually really love driving but I was annoyed at this one. There really was only about 2 minutes of a nice view and what a waste of gas! I was disappointed. But at least I can say I drove on Hell’s Backbone. Not too many people can say that.