Great pace in the Neon Canyon. This is one of the places I really wanted to see in person. Golden…read moreCathedral is one of the iconic pictures in Grand Staircase of Escalante. I had seen the pictures many times, but seeing in person is totally different. I was in awe. I did this as a day hike from Egypt trailhead. 5 times crossing Escalante river (out and back meaning 10 total) in December is tough, however it is definitely worth it. Doing in December means nobody there! So the Golden Cathedral was all ours that day! Only our car at the trailhead. What a gorgeous hike.

Let me set the record straight, slot canyons are my jam! I will go anywhere there is an opportunity…read moreto walk, shimmy, or rappel into a slot canyon. I just think they are the most interesting Mother Nature created places to explore. We came here on a July 4th holiday with some friends of my husbands. The road out here can be rough in spots and does require a 4X4 to get out here, but we made it safely to the canyon. These slot canyons are located within the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in the beautiful state of Utah. This land is run by the BLM. Talk about beautiful! The canyon walls with their orange/red colored Navajo sandstone just envelopes you as you walk through this slot canyons. So many twists and turns with lots of crevices to peer or climb into. Be sure to pack plenty of water, sunscreen, good trail shoes (not Skechers HA! HA!), a hat and a small pack so you can move through the slot canyons comfortably. Both of these canyons are so worth the drive and the time. Most of all remember to Leave No Trace. Happy Adventuring!

We couldn't get into Peek-a-book Slot Canyon. The entrance is close to 15 feet up and a near…read morevertical approach in three pitches. The rock is slippery with just a hint of footholds. I probably could have gotten up, but don't think I could make it back down safely. The picture attached shows about 20 feet vertically. And not wanting to do Spooky I would have had to come back down that way. A long drive and a bit of a hot hike to find that out. There was a third slot canyon nearby that is easy to access, though not nearly as spectacular as, say, Antelope Canyon near Page, Arizona.

This feels like a review in progress because the area is so large - but was pleasantly surprised by…read morehow much more I want to explore this region. We did Willis Creek Narrows and Lower Calf Creek Falls - both incredible. Now adding to the wish list for return trips. The drive along US 12 is just spectacular. Definitely recommend a high clearance vehicle with 4WD to access some of the more remote locations. Be prepared to adventure and bring what you need as this is not a manicured national park, but more a haven for those looking for an off-grid escape.

I didn't have a ton of time to explore here but simply driving by left quite an impression on me!…read moreWOW. I'm not exaggerating when I say I pulled off the road maybe every 50 feet because every new angle provided a new exciting view of this vast and beautiful stone monument. In general this is a HUGE monument to explore and I'm not sure you could even scratch the surface on a simple vacation, let alone during a road trip. I've since come to learn that this area was the last part of the lower 48 states to be cartographed and, according to the Bureau of Land Management, it spans five life-zones - from low-lying desert to coniferous forest, and paleontologists have unearthed countless dinosaur bones and fossils from within its canyons and deserts. Truly incredible stuff, here! But don't let the size and scope intimidate you. As I said, even driving by or taking a day or afternoon to explore is worth the journey. It's an incredible resource that we're lucky to have here in the US.

What a beautiful hike and the Tunnel Slot Canyon did not disappoint. There was no water when we…read morewent (we were kind of disappointed) but had a great day hiking there and back. A must see if you're in the area.

Tunnel Slot (just before Zebra Slot on the right path by the Cottonwood Tree) is the one we did…read more You can do both or either. What a beautiful hike and the Tunnel Slot Canyon did not disappoint. There was no water when we went (we were kind of disappointed) but had a great day hiking there and back. A must see if you're in the area.

This review is for the zebra slot only, not the entire region or other hiking trails…read more Zebra slot Canyon is definitely an interesting geologic feature. I don't recommend hiking through it alone, because there is opportunity to fall and become dangerously lodged in the slot. While the zebra slot is interesting, I'm not sure it's worth the hike to get to it, unless you're visiting zebra slot simply as part of your overall excursion. When I visited I took the combination tunnel slot zebra slot loop trail. Warning: this Trail is a navigational nightmare if you're trying to use a trail map. however, tunnels slot is much easier to get to TimeWise and I found it more interesting than zebra slot. Don't be mistaken, this entire region is a geological marvel. You are not wasting your time with any hike long or short. Here I'm just saying that the walk to zebra slot might not be worth it if zebra slot is all that's on your itinerary.

After years of trying to apply for a permit, our group finally got picked! Highly recommend hiking…read moreat least once. I wouldn't do it again though, mainly because of how hard it was to get a permit. We visited in April and the weather was fantastic. It was actually freezing in the morning but as the sun rose, it warmed up to the point where we would sweat a little when hiking. I can't even imagine doing this in the summer but if you win the lottery then, make sure everyone brings plenty of water. To get to the trailhead, I'd recommend having a high-clearance vehicle, especially if it just recently rained. The road off of the freeway becomes unpaved and there are some ditches that can be flooded. Download an offline map of the trail and area for when you lose service. It gets spotty but you'll find reception every now and then. At the beginning, there are a couple of vault toilets. The trail itself is difficult to follow without an offline map. There's only a handful of signs pointing in a general direction. And until the Wave, we were pretty much the only people around. Considering only about 60 people are approved each day, it wasn't surprising, and honestly, kind of nice to be alone in nature. The Wave was everything we hoped for. We had clear, blue skies and that contrast with the red and orange rocks was beautiful. It looked exactly like the Windows background! There was even a pond further up with a ton of tadpoles. Besides the Wave, there's other neat waypoints to stop by but because we were tired, we didn't try for many of them. The only one we went out of our way for was the dinosaur tracks but it was anti-climatic. They just looked like larger chicken feet prints. Despite this hike being only about 6 miles round trip, it took pretty much the entire day. We stopped a lot to take pictures but also the landscape was difficult to hike. Lots of sand to walk through and lots of weird inclines to walk across, which kept our feet, knees, and legs at weird angles. There might have been easier pathways but as I said earlier, there's no clear indications of a trail. There was also a BLM worker at the Wave asking for the permit holders. If you hike without one and get caught, you'll get slapped with some steep fines. Drones are also not allowed!

My friend won the online lottery for the permit 4 months in advance but after talking to the…read moreranger, it seems that there's a good chance you can win the daily lottery since a lot of people cancel every day. It's easier if you have less people (like two people). Anyways, the orientation the day before was useful for weather and road conditions. The hike wasn't too bad, can be a bit steep in some parts but for the most part, not too much incline. It's moderate for the novice hiker but easy for an experienced hiker. For experienced hikers, probably can get to the Wave in 1 to 1.5 hours. For the inexperienced, it might take 2.5 to 3 hours. Either way, if you're planning to spend a lot of time at the Wave (some people take 2-3 hours for their extensive Instagram photoshoots haha), definitely go there early and spend all day there. I would definitely come back if I win the lottery!

There ain't a lot to do out in Escalante. Why not drive down a long, bumpy dirt road to a garden…read moremade for the Devil? If your vehicle can do it, definitely go down there. The drive is pretty boring. Straight, not a lot to see. But when you arrive, holy moly, it's amazing. First, WHY is this group of formations out here? There's nothing like it nearby? Fascinating! There is a dirt parking area and some of those wooden information signs that are hardly legible from the years of sun and sand. Such a delightful adventure to run and play among the hoodoos, arches, sand and rocks. It really did invoke a sense of wonder for me. It was worth every boring mile to get there and get back.

Simply beautiful and a must see. We had an amazing time walking and exploring the area.read more

National ruin dating back to 600s AD. It's an 8 mi one way hike. You MUST pack in at least 2-3…read moregallons of water. The flow is shared with cattle and roaming horses but there is a fresh spring glowing into the river around the 6.5 mi marker. Overnight camping is available (permit only) with composting toilets at the camp site. The hike is mostly exposed with short periods of shade behind canyon walls. There are wild horses running around keep an eye out for them. Going to the ruin goes through hard sandstone rock trails and fine SANDY hills. Not too bad going in but coking out can be difficult especially carrying your water supply. The ruins are amazing! Cassandra our tour guide was very friendly and gave an amazing presentation answering all our questions. She showed us hand/foot prints painted on walls. Great tour but come prepared for a hike!

This place is so underrated on social media--I only discovered it while randomly exploring the map…read more When I checked the Bureau of Land Management's website, I got even more confused because it mentioned that the dirt road requires an AWD and a high-clearance vehicle. As a national monument, I expected there to be an entrance ticket booth. I was traveling from Zion to Flagstaff. but this place was nowhere to be found the yelp map pointer we are taking you to a vista spot where later I realized you can see the whole vermillion from there in the distance. So how did I find it? I want to keep driving. And all the sudden I saw something stunning from the window... if there wasn't and a car parked there selling tribe souvenirs I wouldn't even know I could drive in there... It was a weekday and barely anyone there . The lady that was supposed to be selling the souvenirs was probably sleeping in the car and didn't bother to come out. I don't have high clearance vehicle , so I tried to park at a more flat area... but if you have high clearance vehicle, I think you can drive around all the rock formations without any problem. If not, you can also explore on foot!

Holy smokes, 280,000 acres! So much to see including a growing number of endangered California…read moreCondors. A lot of the condors are hatched and raised in a breeding program and then released. Although you can get some great shots from the main highway, most of the trails/roads you do need a high clearance vehicle/four wheel drive due to sand being so deep. Most of the roads are all dirt so be cautious if raining etc. if venturing in Coyote Buttes (the wave) you need a permit. Camping is allowed. While you could spend literal days here backpacking etc you still won't see it all. Take your time. I'm bummed we didn't see a condor or two. Maybe on our next trip.