Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

Hike slot canyons, slickrock and desert waterfalls in the remote canyon country of southern Utah's Grand Staircase-Escalante.

Escalante Interagency Visitor Center, 755 W Main St · Escalante, UT

About Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

This Bureau of Land Management monument, established in 1996, protects colorful rock layers, plateaus and canyons known for dinosaur fossil finds. A July 13, 2026 proclamation cut it to 181,541 acres, so check with staff which areas still sit inside it. Nearby favorites include Calf Creek Falls off Scenic Byway 12, the Willis Creek slot canyon, and the unpaved Hole-in-the-Rock Road. The Escalante Interagency Visitor Center on Highway 12 has current road and trail conditions.

#national monument
#slot canyons
#hiking
#scenic drive
#backcountry camping

Printable maps

What's around here?

The closest stops to Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

Sports & Outdoors
Escalante Petrified Forest State Park
Under $25
A Utah state park with a reservoir, petrified wood trails, camping, and water recreation.
1.3 mi awayMore like this
Museums
Anasazi State Park Museum
Check prices
A Utah state park museum showing an ancient Ancestral Puebloan village and its artifacts.
14 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums
Sports & Outdoors
Kodachrome Basin State Park
Under $25
A Utah state park known for towering sandstone pipes and colorful layered rock.
28 mi awayMore like this
Stay
Iconic
Best Western Plus Ruby's Inn
$50+
Historic hotel one mile from Bryce Canyon National Park with lodging, a Western dinner barn, and tour bookings.
30 mi awaySwitch it up: Stay
Sports & Outdoors
Iconic
Bryce Canyon National Park
$25–$50
Look out over thousands of red, orange and white hoodoos from rim overlooks, then hike down among them in Bryce Amphitheater.
31 mi awayMore like this
Tours
Iconic
Antelope Canyon Tours
$50+
Navajo-guided walking tours through the sculpted sandstone corridors of Upper Antelope Canyon near Page, Arizona.
60 mi awaySwitch it up: Tours