Garfield County, Utah
A historic ranching town where Scenic Byway 12 meets the Burr Trail, home to Anasazi State Park Museum and acclaimed farm-to-table dining.
About Boulder
Boulder is a small ranching and farming town on the southern flank of Boulder Mountain, where Scenic Byway 12 meets the Burr Trail. Green pastures and orchards set against red and white slickrock make it one of the most memorable stops on the byway.
Boulder is home to Anasazi State Park Museum and is known well beyond Utah for its farm-to-table dining, and the Burr Trail leads east toward Capitol Reef National Park.
Known For
Anasazi State Park Museum and its Ancestral Puebloan village site
The Burr Trail and the Hogback on Scenic Byway 12
Nationally recognized farm-to-table dining
Hell's Backbone Road (unpaved) and Boulder Mountain
History of Boulder
The Baker family arrived in 1887 and the town was settled in 1889; Hannah Baker is credited with choosing the name Boulder. For decades it was among the most isolated communities in the country and the last town in the lower 48 states to receive its mail by mule train, carried over the Boulder Mail Trail through Death Hollow.
The Civilian Conservation Corps completed the first road from Escalante around 1940, electricity arrived in 1947, and the highway over Boulder Mountain was not fully paved until 1985. Boulder incorporated in 1958.
Quick Distances
| Escalante, UT,40 min · 27 mi |
| Torrey, UT,50 min · 37 mi |
| Salt Lake City, UT,4 hr 15 min · 260 mi |
County Services
Spring
57°
low 36°
Summer
83°
low 61°
Fall
60°
low 42°
Winter
35°
low 21°
Daily averages, 2016–2025.