By Danielle Lockwood and Simone Shomaker.
Got the itch to get out of the house? Us too. With the pandemic making air travel an undesirable option, we decided to hit the road for a good old fashioned road trip. After checking to make sure that all the places we wanted to visit were safely reopened, we planned our trip, packed our bags and hopped in the car. Several hours later we arrived in Utah, the land of national parks, beautiful red rock arches, slot canyons, and all the desert vibes. Keep reading for our 2 day guide to Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument!
Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument
Our first stop on our trip was Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument (that is a mouthful!). Escalante is not as well known as its popular neighbors Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park, but it sure packs a punch. We loved it here, and it was easily a trip favorite. One cool perk of Escalante is that it is very dog friendly and we had our lil mascot, Mango the red fox labrador with us. We went in June, and it was definitely spicy temperature wise. Be sure to bring a lot of water and sunscreen, and consider planning your activities for mornings and evenings. There are lots of awesome things to do in the desert, but we mainly focused our time hiking and enjoying any bodies of water we could find. If that is what you’re looking to do, this blog is for you, so read on for the good stuff!
Hikes in Grand Staircase Escalante, Utah
Since we only had a couple days in Escalante, we had to pick and choose our hikes. There are a bunch of other awesome sounding ones we didn’t have a chance to try, but here are the ones we loved.
Upper Calf Creek Falls
This hike is not as well known as the famous Lower Calf Creek Falls, and we were quite happy about that. The trailhead starts off of an unmarked road on the Westside of highway U12 (check out All Trails for driving directions). The hike descends from the top of the canyon down to a waterfall and swimming hole. This hike is not a long one (2.1 miles), but it is straight down, and consequently, straight back up. There is no shade on the trail, or at the swimming hole. As you descend, be sure to pay attention to the rock cairns as your guide for where to go as you are hiking down a rock face rather than an easily observable trail. Once you make your way to the bottom of the canyon, you have two options. One is a steep scramble down to the bottom of the waterfall, and the other is an easier path leading to the top of the waterfall and a lovely swimming hole. We opted to go to the swimming hole. The water was insanely refreshing (read, chilly) and just what the doctor ordered before the steamy hike back up to the rim of the canyon. There is even a fun little rock water slide you can go down if you don’t mind sitting in some algae.
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Escalante River Trail
We ended up doing this trail after trying to hike to Phipps Arch and finding the trail completely overgrown with poison Sumac. It was a happy discovery as it was a very pretty trail and the water was perfect, so warm and clear! The trail was pretty much flat, and through sand. There is a river crossing in the beginning where you need to take your shoes off. The best feature of this trail is the access to all the little swim spots. While the water is not very deep, we brought along some beers and sat in the river while our pup went for a swim.
Zebra Slot Canyon
This slot canyon got its name because of its striped canyon walls. This is one of the shorter slot canyons but requires a bit of a trek to reach. There is about an 8 mile dirt road drive to the trailhead so a car with 4WD is recommended. Once at the trailhead, it’s only about a 5.2 mile hike, but keep in mind this is in the brutal desert heat so the hike can be difficult. For us it felt like 25 miles as we found ourselves hiking it mid-day, during the summer, having an out of body experience from heat stroke. (Don’t be like us). It is very important that you have directions while you do this hike, it isn’t as easy to find the entrance to the slot canyon so without directions you risk wandering around in the heat. Make sure to bring a huge supply of extra water (we almost ran out) and try to take a couple breaks in the shade from various trees (there are maybe 2 in total).
+How to Hike Zebra Slot Canyon
The beginning of the trailhead is easy to follow and takes you to the jaw dropping canyon with red striped rocks. Keep walking here until you get to Harris Wash, the basin with sandy trails. You walk on the sand for miles before you get to the entrance of the slot canyon. This is where people tend to get lost. Make sure you are following the left side of the Wash or you will be taken down the wrong trail. Once you reach the entrance of the slot canyon, get ready to climb! The slot canyons can have standing water at certain times of the year depending on the rainfall. When we went it was completely dry but it is something to check on beforehand as people say the water can be chest high!
This slot canyon is incredibly narrow so if you tend to be claustrophobic, this hike is NOT for you! In some areas the canyon gets to be only 10 inches wide! There are also certain areas where there is no room to place your feet. When it is too narrow to fit through, you have to climb up the rock in order to get through. We didn’t make it all the way through the slot canyon as there were other hikers in there and because of COVID, we thought it would be safer for us to turn around and avoid being with other people in crammed spaces. To exit, just turn around and go back the way that you came.
Devil’s Garden
Just 4 miles away from Zebra Slot Canyon is Devil’s Garden. Devil’s Garden is something out of a movie. It truly looks like you have landed on Mars. There are the most incredible rock formations, hoodoos, and arches throughout the park. These jaw-dropping formations were formed by weather and erosion processes over the past 166 million years. To get here you drive to Hole-in-the-Rock Road in Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. When you reach Highway 12, you drive 12 miles down Hole-in-the-Rock Road and you will reach the parking lot. This drive can be QUITE bumpy as it is on a rocky, dirt road so it is recommended that you have a car with 4WD. This park doesn’t require a strenuous hike, you can simply drive up to the parking lot and spend half an hour wandering through the park. We spent about 2 hours there, climbing the rock formations and snapping tons of photos with the fiancés. Each rock formation is more interesting than the next and we felt like we had the place to ourselves. This site is more off the beaten path so you don’t have to deal with the crowds that you would expect at some of the more well known national parks such as Bryce or Zion. We got lucky when we were here that there was some serious cloud cover for the couple hours of our visit which made the temperatures more bearable.
Restaurants in Escalante, Utah
Kiva Coffee House
Kiva Coffee Housewas on our list for coffee and brekky and unfortunately it was so busy so we didn’t have the time to stop before our hike. If you have the time when you are there it looks like a great place to have a coffee with views of the canyon below.
Escalante Mercantile & Natural Grocery
Escalante Mercantile and Natural Grocerywas AWESOME. The cutest organic grocery store that has coffee, smoothies, breakfast, pre-made sandwiches for your hike, and all the healthy snacks and food you could want.
Circle D Eatery
Circle D Eatery was great for dinner. It was right across from our hotel, Entrada Escalante Lodge. They had a lovely patio which is perfect for social distancing dinners. We recommend the veggie burger!
Escalante Outfitters
We heard great things about Escalante Outfitters. The woman at our hotel said that this was the best restaurant in Escalante. Unfortunately when we tried to go on a Sunday it was closed. Make sure you add it to your list when you go!
Where to Watch the Sunset in Escalante, Utah
As you are driving from the Escalante River Trailhead towards the town of Escalante on U12 you will see a turn out on the right side of the road after you pass by Kiva Coffee House. Park there and then scramble up the rocks to find this amazing view of the whole canyon land below. We ended up here right at sunset, and it was the most beautiful sunset view.
Where to Stay in Grand Staircase Escalante
Entrada Escalante Lodge
We loved staying at Entrada Escalante Lodge! This felt more like renting a cabin than a hotel. Each one room had its own outdoor entrance, and outdoor patio with views of the canyon. They are dog friendly, and have all the amenities you could need. We had the most beautiful sunset to end the trip right outside of our rooms here. We will absolutely stay here again if we come back.
Grand Staircase Escalante Conservation
The Grand Staircase Escalante contains dinosaur fossils that are not found anywhere else in the world. In fact, at least 21 new dinosaur species have been discovered by scientists in this monument. In October, one of the most complete tyrannosaur skeletons was airlifted by scientists out of this national park. It is home to one of the richest collections of fossils from the Late Cretaceous Period. This area also happens to be a long coveted area of the coal industry for coal mining.
In 2017, President Trump’s administration approved a recommendation to shrink the boundaries of Grand Staircase Escalante and reduce protection for this area. This national park was protected by President Bill Clinton in 1996 who used the Antiquities Act, a law that was created over a century ago and has been used by 16 presidents more than 150 times to protect our country’s landscapes and preserve our cultural heritage. Reversing this will be detrimental to this national monument. These parks have been coveted by the gas, timber, mining and oil industries and by reducing their protection, they will be vulnerable to exploitation.
In December of 2017, Trump reduced the protection area of Grand Staircase Escalante by nearly 50%, pandering to the desires of the aforementioned industries and completely disregarding public support for the monument. Several conservation organizations filed lawsuits against this approval and there is yet to be any legal resolution to this matter.
For more information on this case, check out these links below:
That is our complete 2 day guide to Grand Staircase Escalante in Utah! It is a truly magical place that should be on your list for domestic travel. Stay tuned for our future Utah blogs where we dive into our Zion and Bryce National Park trips!
Have you been to Grand Staircase Escalante before? We would love to hear your tips! Comment below!
Xx,
Danielle and Simone
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