The steepest paved highway in the state (SR 143) runs up Parowan Canyon between the small Mormon settlement town of Parowan and the 10,000 ft. high resort town of Brian Head, Utah.

The canyon road quickly changes from sagebrush and junipers into evergreen forests and ski slopes. The quick elevation gain allows for a variety of climbing; The canyon hosts cobble slabs with cool summits, volcanic cracks, red choss towers, hard crossly limestone, and frozen waterfalls.

If you like cross training with your mountain bike, the area is a Mecca for mountain biking thanks to guys like Bill Murphy who built single track trails in the 80s and 90s before it was a thing. He was also the first to bike from Brian Head to Lake Powell. The city and resort embraced mountain biking early so there are a lot of great trails and plenty of easy shuttles.