Widtsoe Ghost Town
Widtsoe Ghost Town – or is it?
While staying in Cannonville Utah to visit Bryce Canyon National Park, a local said, “You should head out to see Widtsoe. It’s a cool little ghost town.”
You say “ghost town” – we say, “let’s go.”
So, after a morning drive through the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, we planned early afternoon to check out this recommended place.
Directions For Our Drive
As the local said, just turn the other way on the road from Cannonville that takes you to Bryce Canyon National Park. And so, we did as advised. Heading west on Highway 12, we turned right on Johns Valley Road (that’s 63 on your map).
We drove in fairly open space with hardly any other cars on the road in this place. Before long, we see a turn off for the Widtsoe Cemetery. We pulled in and took a quick look around. There was a cemetery alright, but no ghost town as far as we could see here.
Getting Closer
Back up the road we continued to drive – and soon, we came upon Widtsoe Junction. With excitement building, we turned right into the little establishment where we were able to spy some structures from the road.
Where’s The Ghost Town?
And then, we looked, and we looked some more. Off to the right, we saw some inhabited structures. This had the look of the type of place where people decide to live when choosing to live “off the grid.” But where is the ghost town? Not seeing it. So, we kept driving – dirt road soon beneath the tires of our truck. Our tires ventured over a rocky and bumpy dirt path.
And after nearing what seemed to be the end of this smallish place, the realization set in upon us. There really is no ghost town here after all. A few buildings that were well past their prime sat on the land. But these few structures were in the midst of an inhabited area.
Ain’t Nothing Here
Disappointed, we turned around to head back out to Johns Valley Road.
We would not see the Widtsoe ghost town this day. And so we share our little road trip with you, so that you can plan for a different adventure when you are in the area. In summary, “ain’t nothing here.” We recommend a left turn instead, as that will take you to Bryce Canyon National Park. And that place, is indeed something to see.
