A hiker walks in a Utah canyon with sunflowers in the foreground.
Blake McCord

Hiking in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

Experience Grand Staircase-Escalante for yourself by planning a hiking trip in the monument.

The scenery from the car is amazing, but the hiking in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is unsurpassed.

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is a stunning pocket of southern Utah — its swaths of slickrock, twisty canyons, and hidden swimming holes will leave you craving more.

A hiker overlooks the Escalante River corridor
Blake McCord

Hiking basics

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is exceptional in size and terrain. Figure out where to go and what to do.

Plan your trip

Learn about Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

A line of yellow cliffs overlooking a valley in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
Blake McCord

Geology rocks: steps of Grand Staircase

Grand Staircase-Escalante is known for its staircase, a series of colorful rock layers that step up through geologic time. 

A lone yellow flower with a brown center against a field of brown grasses
Blake McCord

Grand Staircase-Escalante wildflowers

Grand Staircase-Escalante bursts into bloom each spring. See some of our favorite desert wildflowers.

A rock escarpment against blue sky in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
Bureau of Land Management

Dinosaur fossils in Grand Staircase-Escalante

Hidden in Grand Staircase-Escalante’s geologic steps are clues to the ancient past, carefully preserved as fossils.

Contribute to citizen science

Hiking in Grand Stairase-Escalante

Two Trust staffers hike on slickrock in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

Favorite Grand Staircase-Escalante hikes

Squeeze through slot canyons, slosh through creeks, and soak up slickrock views in the national monument. Find hikes

Two volunteers look for pinyon jays in the pinyon trees of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

Birdwatch in Grand Staircase-Escalante

We’re looking for volunteers to record sightings of pinyon jays in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Count me in

I care about Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

Special membership offer

Join the Grand Canyon Trust today to receive your adventure kit:

  • $25 donation: a Grand Canyon map, The Advocate magazine subscription, bookmark, and sticker
  • $75 donation: everything above plus four stunning note cards
  • $100 donation: all the benefits of the $75 level, plus a Grand Canyon Trust hat

Join today

The contents of the adventure kit: black hat with Grand Canyon Trust logo, map of grand canyon, bookmark, sticker of grand canyon logo, plus four scenic notecards

Adventure awaits

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The last reddish rays of sunlight illuminate buttes and cliffs within an immense canyon topped with snow.
Don’t let a little snow keep you from visiting the Grand Canyon. Here’s everything you need to know for a winter trip to the big ditch.