Grand Staircase-Escalante

The monument was declared in 1996 and takes its name from the Grand Staircase, a sequence of cliff bands stepping up from the Grand Canyon through five coloured layers to Bryce. It covers slickrock, slot canyons, the Escalante River system and a fossil record that has produced a large number of newly described dinosaur species. In 2017 the boundaries were reduced by roughly half in a proclamation that was litigated immediately; the original boundaries were restored in 2021, and the legal position remains contested. Practically, the monument is very lightly developed: mostly unpaved roads, few facilities, no cell coverage over much of it, and canyons that require route-finding and often permits.

What you actually see

• The Grand Staircase - cliff bands stepping up in coloured layers.
• Slot canyons and slickrock - through the Escalante system.
• A rich dinosaur fossil record - many species first described here.
• Boundaries cut and restored - reduced in 2017, restored in 2021.

When to go

April to May and September to October. Several days.

Honest expectations

Roads are unpaved and become impassable clay when wet - vehicles get stranded. Flash floods kill people in slot canyons; check forecasts for the whole watershed. There is almost no phone coverage. Water must be carried or filtered.

Nearby

Bryce Canyon is north-west; Capitol Reef is north-east.