Canyons of the Escalante

Depart St. George at 7 AM and travel approximately 3 hours to just outside of Bryce Canyon National Park. When we arrive, enjoy a scenic drive through Kodachrome Basin State Park and go on a couple of shorter hikes to hoodoos and other unique formations that inspired the folks from National Geographic in 1949 to name this place after the Kodak film they were using. Afterwards, you’ll travel east to Grosvenor Arch for a view of this unique geologic formation. The arch was initially the symbol for the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument when it was first formed. Next up, we explore close-by Cottonwood Narrows, our first slot canyon. This hike takes you through a rarely visited slot canyon offering beautiful sandstone formations and the opportunity to get a taste of what is to come this week!

When finished, we will transfer to Escalante and our hotel for the next few days.

Lodging: Canyon Country Lodge, Escalante, UT

Lower Calf Creek Falls may be the crowning jewel of the monument and you’ll see why. Since parking at the trailhead fills up quickly, this morning will be an early start at 7 AM. This iconic hike meanders through 3 miles of lush canyon scenery with colorful walls and a flowing stream in the middle. Along the way, you’ll see some more pictographs, these being almost the size of a person. Be sure to look into the river for trout, which may or may not be on the menu tonight.
After the 6-mile roundtrip hike, it’s time for a hearty meal at the unique Kiva Koffeehouse, which is perched above the lush Escalante Canyon. We’ll enjoy lunch enjoying the views and building our strength for our afternoon hike to Upper Calf Creek Falls. To get to the trailhead for this hike, we cross over the notorious Hogback of Hwy 12. The hike to these less visited falls is only three quarters of a mile one-way but entails a drop in elevation of almost 600 feet, while walking on solid Navajo Sandstone. Overall hiking distances today is about 8 miles.

Lodging: Canyon Country Lodge, Escalante, UT

After traveling to the Escalante Canyons region of the national monument, you'll hike up Escalante Canyon to two unique formations. First will be the Escalante Natural Bridge. This is perched at the top of the cliffs that border the Escalante River. A short distance further, we’ll take a look at Cliff House Arch and the small Native American ruins beneath it. After a picnic lunch, you’ll hike down Escalante Canyon to Phillips Arch.

Hiking today will include many water crossings. Come prepared with appropriate footwear that can get wet without giving your feet blisters. Before your tour, we can help you find the perfect footwear solution. Contact us in enough time before your departure date. Once finished with the hikes, you will return to Escalante for the evening. The distance of the series of hikes today can be up to a total of about 10 miles, depending on the group’s abilities and desires, but hiking portions can be eliminated to reduce the distance.

Canyon Country Lodge, Escalante, UT

Today, you’ll explore and experience sites along one of the monument’s well-known roads that was named and made famous by Mormon Pioneers that trailblazed this road to settle regions in southeast Utah and Arizona – Hole in the Rock Road. Our stops and hikes include:

Devil’s Garden, containing some not-so demonic sandstone hoodoos and arches;
Zebra and Tunnel Slot Canyons. Two very unique slot canyons.
Twenty Mile Wash Dinosaur Track Site, with its series of footprints and tracks left behind by two different prehistoric animals during the Jurassic Period;
And finally, a series of slot canyons situated close by including Dry Fork Coyote Gulch, famed Peek-a-Boo Slot Canyon and Spooky Gulch. The total hiking distance around these slot canyons and the other sites will be 3 to 5 miles. We’ll return to Escalante again for the evening.

Canyon Country Lodge, Escalante, UT

Today in the Escalante area involves one more journey down the Hole in the Rock Road. We will begin by exploring yet another slot canyon called Big Horn Canyon. Unlike the other slot canyons we have hiked through during this tour, the sandstone here is very swirly, stripy and colorful. Portions of the slot canyon may be blocked, but that’s not a problem because it’s easy to bypass these areas unlike other slot canyons. We’ll hike up Big Horn about 3 to 4 miles, then return back down the same way.

After lunch, we will finish our visit down the Hole in the Rock Road with visits to Covered Wagon Natural Bridge, a series of unique and large natural bridges that we will walk under, and nearby Cedar Wash Arch, which is located inside a beautifully sculptured canyon.

Upon completion of these hikes, we will begin our journey over to Bryce Canyon for the evening. We will enjoy a group dinner in town. For those interested, we will enjoy some star gazing and astro photography on the Rim of Bryce Canyon at 9 PM in the evening.

Lodging: Best Western Plus Ruby's Inn, Bryce Canyon, UT

This morning we will explore Willis Creek Slot Canyon, considered a “user friendly” slot canyon. Along the way, there are several waterfalls where you can experience seeing a slot canyon actively being formed by Mother Nature’s geologic forces. We’ll walk down Willis Creek, which usually is a few inches deep with water and a foot or two wide, for about two miles or more before returning to the trailhead.

We then continue down the road a few more miles so that you can experience Bull Valley Gorge, which is a bit more sinister-looking than Willis Creek. You’ll see where an automobile from the 1950s is part of the road bridge over the gorge.

After we spend the day exploring these two slot canyons, we’ll head back to St. George in the afternoon, a 3-hour drive.

We will return to St. George by 5 PM. Book any flights or transportation after 7 PM or consider spending another day or two in beautiful St. George.