Grand Staircase-Escalante, Utah

From Capitol Reef we drove the Scenic Byway 12 to Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah. The road was picturesque, very curvy, and took us to an elevation of 9800 feet. There was snow on the ground at higher altitude.

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

The area was one of the most remote and last in the country to be mapped. There are natural bridges, arches, monoliths and slot canyons. Grand Staircase-Escalante gets its name because of the cliffs and plateaus that draw biologists, geologists, paleontologists and historians to explore Earth’s history captured in the exposed sandstone.

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument was established in 1996. In 2017 the Monument’s size was reduced by 47% to about 1 million acres and legal actions to block the reduction are heated. The debate seems complicated because of the Antiquities Act, mineral-mining rights, development, ranching, off road recreatonal use, and road maintenance. It’s the only National Monument managed by the BLM.

Burr Trail Road

It’s a paved road that leads from Boulder to Capitol Reef and one of the most scenic backroads in America. It was like a combination of all the southern Utah parks, without the crowds!

We took a dirt road to the Waterpocket Fold. The Fold defines Capitol Reef National Park. Its a buckle in the earth’s surface, about 100 miles long, going north/south to Lake Powell from Thousand Lakes.

We came across a small slot canyon.

Grosvenor Arch

In the northwestern corner of Grand Staircase-Escalante, there is a double arch. They Tower about 150 feet above the ground. The largest is about 100 feet in diameter.

There wasn’t anyone there, so we enjoyed a walk around the arches.

Escalante

The town of Escalante was settled in 1875. Its was named after Silvestre Velez de Escalante, an explorer who attempted to find a route from New Mexico to the missions in California. He never made it to Escalante, but members of John Wesley Powell’s expedition suggested the settlement be named in honor of Escalante. Sandy’s niece Tabitha has lived here for a number of years. We really enjoyed Escalante. There were a handful of very good places to eat like i.d.k. barbecue and Circle D Eatery.

Pine Creek

We hiked the Pine Creek Trail and only came across 2 other people after hiking miles, which has been a rarity in our travels. The trail is in the Box-Death Hollow Wilderness Area.

The Pine Creek Trail was a great opportunity for Jake to stretch his legs. He thoroughly enjoyed himself turning over river rocks during water crossings and chasing lizards on the trail. He got a bath when we got home.

Sandy enjoyed catching up with Tabitha.

It was a very good day hiking with Richard and Tabitha. Afterwards, we had an amazing pizza at Escalante Outfitters Cafe, Tabitha’s favorite eatery. It’s an incredible area that has yet to be discovered. Hopefully, it will never become a Moab, Utah and retain its unaffected atmosphere. Not only does Grand Staircase have an incredible number of sites to see, there are so many nearby areas to investigate including; Bryce Canyon, Zion, Cedar Breaks, Kodachrome, Glen Canyon, and Capitol Reef. We only had a very brief introduction to Grand Staircase-Escalante and we will hopefully come back to further explore all there is to see.