31 Incredible Day Hikes in Escalante, Utah

                         Take a Hike Video Escalante Utah 

Willis Creek

When planning a trip to Escalante Utah, it's best to see what are the hiking options. After all, Escalante National Monument has 4 amazing seasons. You can visualize and pick out, the best hike for your vacation by watching the above video, Take a Hike Escalante Utah.                                                         

Escalante Utah Amazing Arch

Only 10 easy scenic miles from Escalante, Utah to visit the colossal Cedar Wash Arch. It's a casual walk to view the arch east to west from where you can park your car.

Cedar Wash Arch 

We discovered swirly gold, grey and white sandstone surrounding Cedar Wash Arch as we explored the many angles to this unassuming arch. Finding a route off the slick rock was an adventure.

Slick Rock

Cedar Wash Arch looking up West to East

Delighted and surprised we found other unusual slick rock formations on our way to viewing Cedar Arch west to east. Amazing, the power of water shaping rock into these unique structures.

Behind Cedar Wash Arch

  

In Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument you are welcomed to go beyond the easy-to-find landmarks.

9 Marvelous Miles of Trail Running Escalante Utah

Powell Point can be seen on Highway 12

Under the icon of Powell Point or "Pink Mountain" in Escalante Utah, lies a single track that leads 4 and 1/2 miles down to Henderson Canyon. Pink hillsides, strayed arches, and endless vistas distracted me from the grueling inclines. The Ponderosas kept the morning heat at bay and a few steep ravines slowed our heart rates down.  9+ miles round-trip trail running was finished in a couple of hours verses 4 hours at least for hiking. Choose how you want visit this beautiful, easily navigable Forest Service trail in Escalante, Utah.

Single track along edge

4-Wheel Driving Smokey Mtn Road Escalante, Utah

As of 1pm today, 78 miles of Smokey Mountain Road is open with some sections needing high-clearance vehicles. Its not everyday you can drive this dirt road along the Kaiparowitz Plateau to Page, Arizona. Rain, wind & snow play havoc on this slow winding remote road. You'll want to go slow because you can miss this cache along side of the road or other ruins on the way to Lake Powell. The rugged desert landscape had long shadows as we descended into Big Water, Utah.
After spending the night in Page, Az, we headed back in search of an interesting hike. There are countless old ranch roads that go no where and that was fine with us. We walked a double-track ATV road that seem to connect with Last Chance Canyon for over 2 hours. Perhaps next exploration we'll ride our mountain bikes and find where the ATV track meets Last Chance Canyon.
Closer to Escalante, we had a rare glimpse of the elusive "Fins," tall castle-like fortress, lit up in the late afternoon sun. We recognized our next adventure off Smokey Mountain Road: to find a route to climb these secluded rock fins.

Moment Away

The pressure was on: get from Park City, Utah to Escalante, Utah in less than 5 hours so Ricki (husband) could give his lecture on "Beekeeping." We were miffed when a caravan of tourists stopped on Highway 12 to gawk and film a huge horseshoe rainbow over Henrieville. How dare these tourists hold up our deadline! We sped past them and as we zipped into the Blues, a hologram of yellow, red, and blue spilled into the Blues' ravins. Was this the end of the rainbow? How to capture this moment when we didn't have time, nor was it safe, to take a picture of this pot-of-gold? I realized that this moment will never come again. The sightseers had it right: have your camera ready because you'll never be here, in this moment, again and there is beauty all around you.
Yesterday morning I did capture the moment, via iphone, as the Harvest Moon dipped below Powell Point.

Find Bob

I missed my poles while snowshoeing up & down Boulder Mountain Sunday, especially stomping up steep hillsides. I could have used the extra push from my arms during ascends. Ah, but the freedom of using my hands without cumbersome poles was worth the extra grunt uphill. I could grab my hankie from a pocket, blow, don my gloves and keep up with the others on top of several feet of snow. And I was able to be impulsive with camera shots.

The Echo Effect

I remarked last week to my husband as we slogged up the Esplanade in the Grand Canyon, how the Escalante canyons could look like this without the cows.
We can drive to the pristine North Rim of the Grand Canyon in 2 hours SW from Escalante. Grand Canyon is a national treasure with it's untrampled cyptrogamic soil, indigenous plants and critters, and relative low tourist impacts. Yes, the springs that spout from rock walls have visitor damage from the Colorado River's easy access. Five days of hiking in and out the North Rim is only the tip of the Grand Canyon.
To the north of Escalante (hour and half away) the girls from Colorado and I road biked though another National Park - Capital Reef. The Fremont river cuts through sheer stained walls with its own set of canyons. Capital Reef is surrounded by pinnacles and castles and a few gargoyles. I broke my personal fastest record riding down to the visitor center: 40.9 MPH. I almost fell off my bike going up the same hill, pedaling too slow: 3.5 MPH. At least I was slow enough to see blooming Desert Paintbrush and Penstemons.
Bryce National Park surprised me last winter to have been able to skate-ski through vast pine forests. Only 45 minutes west of Escalante, Bryce's red canyons and forests are obtainable year-round. This is the most photogenic park with its endless hoodoos.
I'm listening to the echo effect from the other national parks as the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument develops it's own voice.

How You Know When it's Cold

At a yoga class my backpacking buddy was asked about her purple middle toe. That's when I knew it was COLD crossing the Coyote and Escalante rivers a few week-ends ago. We plowed through the penetrating FREEZING ankle-deep water to hike the other shoreline. The sunshine was heaven and hell: the joy of the warming rays to piecing pain as my feet rapidly de-frosted. The group agreed to find a higher route to Stevens Arch Canyon and stay out of the streams.

We found a faint trail high-up with the tops of hoodoos and an orange monolithic locomotor. We followed a winding single track and filled our bottles with sweet spring water. Our original Stevens Canyon destination was below us, shrouded in dense shade and unmelted snow. Our sunny side was the place to be in the beginning of March. We'll save Stevens Canyon for a hot summer day when the cool water is welcomed and after our war-wounds have healed.

Escalante - Your Destination Now

Yesterday we discovered new large Hoodoos down Hole-in-the-Rock road. There are millions of acres in the Escalante Grand Staircase National Monument waiting to be discovered during all the seasons. The winter sun starts shining at 7am and doesn't stop for ten hours. That's 600 minutes of wild hiking and exploring time. The golden light is soft but clear, allowing photos to become more picturesque. We saw no other souls when we found the pinnacles in the EGSNM, only the pinnacle family of five: dad, mom. two kids, and grandpa who presided over the clan.
Escalante is between two National Parks, three state parks and a monument worthy of exploration. Why not take a winter vacation and investigate our natural wonders that has been perserved for us? Wake up to flaming sunrises, spend your waking time in the wilderness and rest while the stars fall overhead.
I understand why the general population does not travel in the wintertime. Most of the country is seized with icy roads and freezing temperatures. Not Escalante - we keep on hking in the desert year round.