VISIT
The Escalante and Boulder Utah Chamber of Commerce welcomes you to our beautiful communities. Here you will find everything needed for planning your visit.
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Few places can rival Escalante’s access to stunning, wild landscapes right outside your backdoor. Located on Southern Utah’s world famous Scenic Highway 12, Escalante is a short one hour drive to Bryce Canyon National Park and only an hour and a half to Capitol Reef National Park. The Escalante Petrified Forest State Park is just two miles west of town and Kodachrome State Park and Anasazi State Park Museum are both less than an hour away. Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument borders town to the west, south and east and Dixie National Forest borders Escalante to the North. Hole in the Rock Road, a major access point for recreation on the Grand Staircase -Escalante National Monument & Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, starts just five miles east of town.
VISIT
The Escalante and Boulder Utah Chamber of Commerce welcomes you to our beautiful communities. Here you will find everything needed for planning your visit.
​
Few places can rival Escalante’s access to stunning, wild landscapes right outside your backdoor. Located on Southern Utah’s world famous Scenic Highway 12, Escalante is a short one hour drive to Bryce Canyon National Park and only an hour and a half to Capitol Reef National Park. The Escalante Petrified Forest State Park is just two miles west of town and Kodachrome State Park and Anasazi State Park Museum are both less than an hour away. Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument borders town to the west, south and east and Dixie National Forest borders Escalante to the North. Hole in the Rock Road, a major access point for recreation on the Grand Staircase -Escalante National Monument & Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, starts just five miles east of town.
State Parks
Escalante Petrified Forest State Park
Camp along the shores of Wide Hollow Reservoir, or rent a canoe, kayak or paddle board on its clear waters. Wide Hollow Reservoir offers great fishing for rainbow trout, largemouth bass, and bluegill. Take a swim or lounge on sunny shores, and watch for many species of raptors, songbirds, and waterfowl.
Camp and picnic in a modern, 22-unit campground complete with tables, firepits, barbecue grills, culinary water, restrooms with hot showers, and a sanitary disposal station. A group campsite is also available.
Anasazi State Park Museum
The Coombs Site is unique in comparison to many other Ancestral Puebloan sites in the southwest. It is located near what is considered to be the border of the Ancestral Puebloan and Fremont cultures. The Fremont were a prehistoric group that occupied most of Utah during the same period as the Ancestral Puebloans. The result is a blending of traits or a prehistoric “melting pot” that is reflected in the artifacts recovered from this site, as well as in the architecture.
National Monuments / Recreation Areas
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument spans across nearly two million acres of America's public lands. From its spectacular Grand Staircase of cliffs and terraces, across the rugged Kaiparowits Plateau to the wonders of the Escalante River Canyons, the Monument is a diverse geologic treasure speckled with monoliths, slot canyons, natural bridges, and arches. Due to its remote location and rugged landscape, the monument was one of the last places in the continental United States to be mapped.
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
Encompassing over 1.25 million acres, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area offers unparalleled opportunities for water-based & backcountry recreation. The recreation area stretches for hundreds of miles from Lees Ferry in Arizona to the Orange Cliffs of southern Utah, encompassing scenic vistas, geologic wonders, and a vast panorama of human history.
This recreation area includes the Escalante River, which traverses some of the finest canyon country of the Colorado Plateau. This river corridor offers the opportunity to enjoy wild, redrock canyon scenery.
National Forests
Dixie National Forest
The Powell Ranger District encompasses nearly 400,000 acres of high plateau county, with distinctive vegetation and geological features. The Red Canyon area of the district offers many unique hiking experiences with spectacular views. The pink limestone Claron formations that characterize nearby Bryce Canyon National Park form the hoodoos and canyons here, giving it the nickname "Little Bryce". Most trailheads in the area are easily accessible from Utah Highway 12, a Scenic byway and All American Road.
Visitor Centers
Escalante Interagency Visitor Center
755 West Main Street - Escalante
The Escalante Interagency Visitor Center is tucked away in the heart of Escalante, Utah, this visitor center is packed with information about the local geology and ecosystem of nearly two-million acres that encompass the Monument, Dixie National Forest, and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. The friendly and knowledgeable staff have up-to-date information on road conditions and hiking trails that will help visitors maximize their enjoyment when visiting the area.
Escalante Heritage Center
1285 E. Hwy 12 - Escalante
In the fall of 1879, Mormon settlers from St. George, Parowan, and Cedar City left to settle new territory in southeastern Utah. The six-week journey turned into a treacherous six-month expedition, as pioneers endured 200 miles of grueling, rugged terrain and a nearly vertical 1200-foot cliff on the banks of the Colorado River. Learn More about this historic challenge.