Kodachrome Basin State Park From Duck Creek Village: Is the Drive Worth It?

Kodachrome Basin State Park sits 65 miles east of Duck Creek Village, about 1 hour 40 minutes by car and 20 miles past the Bryce Canyon turnoff. Entry costs $10 per vehicle, the gates keep 8 am to 6 pm hours all year, and the basin floor lies near 5,800 feet, some 2,700 feet below the village. Add it to a Bryce day and the drive pays off.

Kodachrome Basin at a glance
From Duck Creek Village	65 miles, about 1 hr 40 min
From Bryce Canyon visitor center	About 25 miles
Day-use fee	$10 per vehicle, up to 8 people
Hours	8 am to 6 pm, all year
Elevation	About 5,800 ft
Dogs	Welcome on a leash

The drive east from Duck Creek Village, leg by leg

Take Highway 14 east for 10.6 miles to Long Valley Junction, then US-89 north for 20.5 miles through Hatch. Turn east on SR-12 and climb through Red Canyon to the Bryce turnoff at SR-63, the same route our Bryce Canyon distance guide walks through turn by turn. Stay on SR-12 instead of turning. Twelve more miles drop you through Tropic to Cannonville, where Kodachrome Basin Road heads south.

The Bureau of Land Management says the road runs paved for 9 miles from Cannonville to the park turnoff, so a sedan or a minivan makes it without trouble. Past that turnoff the pavement ends and the road carries on as the Cottonwood Canyons Scenic Backway, 46 miles of dirt to US-89. Leave that stretch for another trip unless you have checked conditions with the BLM.

If you want a stop on the way, Red Canyon sits right on SR-12 and costs nothing.

Sand pipes, a film brand and an arch that fell

A National Geographic Society expedition came through in 1948 and named the basin after Kodachrome color film. Kodak had a say in it. The state first called the park Chimney Rock, then got the company’s blessing and put the film name back before it opened in 1963.

The draw here is the sand pipes. Utah State Parks counts 67 of these stone columns, and Garfield County puts the tallest near 170 feet. Two explanations compete for how they formed: ancient geysers, or sand forced upward through cracks in the rock. Either way, they look like nothing at Bryce.

Kodachrome Basin trails, picked by the time you have

Trail	Length and effort
Nature Trail	0.5 mi, easy, ADA accessible
Grand Parade	1.5 mi, easy, basin floor
Angel’s Palace	1.5 mi, 150 ft climb, hikers only
Shakespeare Arch and Sentinel	1.7 mi loop, arch fell in 2019
Panorama	3 or 6 mi loop, easy to moderate

With one hour, walk Angel’s Palace. It climbs 150 feet above the basin floor and puts you on the high ground for photos. With three hours, take the Panorama loop, 3 or 6 miles, past Cool Cave, the Secret Passage and the Hat Shop, then add Grand Parade and walk its box canyons on foot.

Know one thing before you pick the arch loop. Shakespeare Arch collapsed in 2019, and a pile of rubble marks the spot. The Garfield County trail page still calls it the park’s large natural arch, so plenty of trip plans online still send you there for a photo. The loop stays open and the views hold up, but walk it for the Sentinel, not the arch.

October at Kodachrome: warmer afternoons, the same cold nights

October normals, 1991 to 2020
Kodachrome Basin high	68°F
Kodachrome Basin low	31°F
Bryce Canyon headquarters high	58°F
Bryce Canyon headquarters low	32°F
Kodachrome October rain	1.32 in

NOAA keeps a weather station inside the park, and its record runs from 1979 to last week. It logged 80°F on September 22 this year. Set its normals beside the Bryce Canyon headquarters station, 2,100 feet higher, and a pattern holds from September through November. Kodachrome afternoons run about 10 degrees warmer. Kodachrome nights run within 2 degrees of the rim, and in October and November the basin runs colder. Cold air draining off the benches and settling on the basin floor would explain it.

Afternoon highs split by about 10 degrees while the overnight lows sit together. Chart by Duck Creek Village Inn from NOAA NCEI 1991 to 2020 normals, public domain data.

For a Duck Creek guest, that means a jacket for the Bryce sunrise and a T-shirt by mid afternoon in the basin. Village October highs sit near the Bryce figure, per our October weather guide, so Kodachrome afternoons beat home by about 10 degrees as well.

Kodachrome Basin or a second Bryce day?

Pick Kodachrome if a dog travels with you. Bryce keeps pets to paved surfaces, while Kodachrome lets a leashed dog walk its trails. Pick it on a budget day too: $10 covers a carload of up to 8, against $35 per vehicle at Bryce plus $100 per person for non-US residents 16 and over. Pick it when the Bryce rim runs cold and windy and you want sun on your shoulders.

Skip it if you have one day and have never seen Bryce. The amphitheater comes first, and our Bryce Canyon guide lays out the rim. Kodachrome works best as the second half of that day or as a slower day of its own. Either way, you drive home up to 8,500 feet and sleep somewhere cool. Our cabins sit right on Highway 14 for that.

Quick answers about Kodachrome Basin State Park

Does Kodachrome Basin charge an entrance fee? Yes. Day use costs $10 per vehicle for up to 8 people, or $5 per person on foot, bike or motorcycle. Utah residents 62 and over pay $5 per vehicle.

Can you drive to Kodachrome Basin in an ordinary car? Yes. The BLM lists the 9 miles from Cannonville to the park turnoff as paved, and every road from Duck Creek Village to Cannonville carries pavement too.

Is Shakespeare Arch still standing? No. The arch fell in 2019. The 1.7 mile loop to its site stays open.

Can you bring a dog to Kodachrome Basin? Yes. Visit Utah says dogs can come into the park on a leash at all times, which makes it a good pairing with Bryce, where pets stay on pavement.

How long should you spend at Kodachrome Basin? Plan two to three hours for Angel’s Palace plus the short Panorama loop, and add the drive of about 1 hour 40 minutes each way from the village.

Hero photograph: a sand pipe seen from the Panorama Trail, Kodachrome Basin State Park, by Nikater, public domain via Wikimedia Commons.