Overlanding Grand Staircase-Escalante
This weekend we hit the trails with the Vegas Overlanding group! Heading up toward Utah to (try) to escape the heat and explore the the area!
Grand Escalante National Monument is separated into 3 districts that cover 1.7 million acres in Utah (connecting it to Glen Canyon, Capitol Reef and Bryce Canyon National Park). This area was surprisingly not crowded at all which was great alternative to the crowds of Bryce and Zion.
Trip Breakdown by Day
Day 1 – Driving day to Monoliths!
From Las Vegas, we drive about 5 hours north toward Bryce Canyon, passing right through heading toward Kodachrome Basin State Park! Kodachrome has a ton of hiking and monoliths spread throughout. You can actually rent horses and/or yurts within the park to explore park trails and camp! There are a few dirt roads you can camp off for dispersed camping and there are a lot of bathrooms throughout the park.
Kodachrome Basin state Park https://goo.gl/maps/3qvpvqBpXyhktdWb6
Access to Kodachrome was $10, they did not accept the America the Beautiful pass.
- In the video we hit Panorama Trailhead and check out Chimney Rock which is a HUGE monolith in the middle of nowhere.
After visiting Kodachrome we make our way toward the town of Escalante to find camp for the night. There is BLM land right outside the town of Escalante where we would base camp for the entire weekend. On the way there. we stop off at Powell Point Vista which gives you a full display of the Escalante Staircase (amazing view) and a quick place to stretch your feet or even use the bathroom (because there is one there) lol!
Powell Point Vista: https://goo.gl/maps/3ZtDAa8ZdUoxMsAZ8
Day 2 – Hiking, Pizza and Beer!
We left camp around 10am to start the day! We make our way further into the National Monument with our first stop at Head of the Rocks Overlook, from this overlook, you can literally see multiple mountain peaks which was awesome!
Head of the Rocks Overlook https://goo.gl/maps/EdWXphK2Zax8UrjQ8
Right down the street is a little hidden gem that (unless you knew) would NEVER know it even existed in this vast land of nothingness. A Coffee House in the side of a mountain in the middle of nowhere… Yup you can buy coffee, pastries and LUNCH here (which all their food looked amazing). I had their Raspberry scone and Ginger cookie which were both awesome!
Kiva Koffeehouse: https://goo.gl/maps/ThmhDkWHWA6zQPZp6
After getting our sweet fix and coffee buzz on, we drove down the street a few minutes to hike the Escalante River which would bring you to a few Arches.
Escalante River Hike to arches: https://goo.gl/maps/22ouc92Mmp5o7Mx88
- This hike is 4 miles around trip to the first major arch, you can go in .5 miles more (adding 1 mile round trip) to see 2 more arches (the first one is best though so as long as you see that one its well worth it!)
Pizza place in Escalante (Escalante Outfitters): https://www.escalanteoutfitters.com/
- Awesome pizza with great service and cool gear!
Day 3 – Time to go Home!
Heading Home! I broke off from the rest of the group who ended up staying an extra day to explore the Burr trail. On the way back I stopped in Bryce Canyon to check out Mossy Cave Trail! Even from the road, the rock formations were stunning and unique! Pillars of red rock of all different shapes and sizes. This is a quick 1.5 mile hike featuring a waterfall and a cave, I’d rate it as Easy (I did walk a bit into the hike just to see) and it was really awesome!
- Mossy Cave Trail https://goo.gl/maps/kFXeYNP29Rio7GDe6
Recent Comments