Be sure to budget time for swimming and cooling down beneath the falls! The final destination is the cascading 126-foot Lower Calf Creek Falls, perhaps the most beautiful waterfall of Escalante. Make sure to bring water shoes, sun protection, and plenty of water. Parts of the trail do not follow near the creek and in these sections the trail is very exposed with little shade. Hiking through this lush canyon, you will understand why the Fremont people lived here for hundreds of years.įor the most part, you will hike along Calf Creek on a very sandy path. If you look closely, you’ll see remnants of ancient cultures painted on the walls. The trail offers a beautiful hike through a verdant desert oasis with tall multi-colored sandstone walls towering above on either side. It is 11 miles south of Boulder, Utah and 15 miles east of the town of Escalante. The trailhead to the Lower Calf Creek Falls hike can be found off of Scenic Byway 12, at the Calf Creek Campground. If you only have a day to see a glimpse of this massive monument, make sure you check out one of the hikes included below. After your hike, check out our favorite local coffee shop, Kiva Koffeehouse, for a refreshing frozen lemonade and sweet treat to bring those blood sugar levels back up. See REI hiking tours in Utah Favorite Day Hikes in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument If you have more time, the best way to experience the Grand Staircase-Escalante is to take a backpacking trip ( read about our backpacking tips) or take a guided trip with REI to nearby Zion National Park or Bryce Canyon National Park to see those highlights of the region and get a chance to explore the Grand Staircase-Escalante NM. Below you will find a list of some of the best day hikes in the national monument. If you’re planning a trip in the Escalante area, at least a day hike is a must. The area is full of some of the world’s most dramatic geologic features, from thousands of slot canyons cut by the Escalante River, to sandstone arches, natural bridges, and tall, skinny spires peeping throughout the landscape. The monument has been in the news recently due to a political decision to reduce its size by 47%, and adventurers who’ve heard this buzz are eager to explore and understand for themselves what this southern Utah treasure is all about. Ancient cultures inhabited for thousands of years, and extensive ruins and evidence of these thriving civilizations can be found throughout the area. The majority of the land within the monument is wild, rugged, and much of it is inaccessible except on foot. At over 1 million acres, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is one of the largest national monuments in the United States.
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