Boulder is one of those small places whose story is almost better than the scenery, and the scenery is excellent. Tucked beneath the dark flanks of Boulder Mountain in south-central Utah, it was so remote that mail was carried in by mule until the 1940s, which made it the last community in the contiguous United States to get its post that way. The highway that now links it with Escalante, completed only in the mid-1980s, ended its isolation, and the village has absorbed visitors with good grace.
It sits at about 6,700 feet, in a small valley of red rock, aspen, and green pasture, with the Aquarius Plateau above it. The plateau is among the highest forested plateaus in North America, rising to more than eleven thousand feet, and holds dozens of lakes and cold streams. Nearby, an excavated Ancestral Puebloan village, now a small state museum, shows how people lived here a thousand years ago. Boulder also marks the start of the Burr Trail, a road that runs east through spectacular slickrock country toward Capitol Reef and Lake Powell, partly paved and partly dirt.
For a rider, Boulder is a satisfying end to the Hogsback section of Highway 12. From here the road climbs north over the mountain, with gradual bends and big views, and the surface is good. It is a mountain road, so the weather matters: snow can close the high part in winter, and summer thunderstorms can bring hail. The road across the plateau reaches over nine thousand feet, and it is much cooler than the desert below. Wildlife, including deer and cattle, can wander onto the road.
Fuel is a question. Boulder is small, and a station is not something to rely on, so plan to fill up in Escalante to the south or Torrey to the north before you commit to the mountain. There is good food in the village, from simple lunches to surprisingly inventive dinners that use local produce, and the pace of life is gentle. If the day is hot, a stop in the shade of the cottonwoods is welcome. Autumn is the season for aspen gold, while late spring brings green meadows and snow still lying on the high ground.