Smithsonian Butte Scenic Drive in Utah

Some call the Smithsonian Butte Scenic Drive a byway. Others a backway. Either way this nine-mile stretch of road is worth visiting. In addition to furnishing camera-worthy views overlooking Zion National Park the drive also accesses Grafton, a ghost town, chock-full of Old West and Hollywood history

The drive begins four miles west of Zion National Park in the town of Rockville where it quickly ascends the Valley of the Virgin River. Look for the well-marked turnoff for Grafton, a ghost town thick with history. The tombstones in the cemetery read like frontier history. Three tell the tales of the Berry brothers who were all killed by Indians on April 2, 1866. There are several standing structures including a well-preserved schoolhouse built in 1866. Grafton also has a cinematic past. The bicycle scene from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, involving Paul Newman and Katherine Ross, was shot here.

Next you'll pass Smithsonian Butte (a geological version of a mountain with a flattop haircut) and then a short turnoff for picture-friendly Gooseberry Mesa. From here you can enjoy spectacular views of Zion National Park and its gallery of buttes, buttresses and peaks.

To find, turn down Bridge Lane in Rockville, cross a single-lane bridge and follow the road for two miles before it eventually becomes the Smithsonian Butte Road. Eight of the drive's nine miles wind over a maintained dirt road that's car-appropriate, except during snow or after heavy rain.