Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument 4×4 Tour

Escalante 4x4 Tour
First thing in the morning, you will meet at our retail shop in Torrey, conveniently located at the junction of highways 24 and 12. From there, you will be shuttled over Boulder Mountain in our vehicle accompanied by your knowledgeable local guide, who will tell you a bit about the area's history and stop at overlooks along one of America's most spectacular highways, Highway 12. Verdant Boulder Mountain, the highest timbered plateau in North America, is covered by lakes and streams interspersed amongst high mountain meadows and light, airy aspen groves. Boulder Top, as it is referred to by the locals, features stellar views of Capitol Reef, the Henry Mountains, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, and the Book Cliffs over 100 miles away!
As you descend the other side, you will pass through the tiny town of Boulder, the last place in the continental U.S. to still receive its mail by mule train—through the 1940s. You will then head west toward the town of Escalante and the remote, off-road Hole-in-the-Rock Road, which twists through the heart of the Grand Staircase-Escalante Monument. This is truly a 4x4 experience. The austere, beautiful desert views are immense and striking in their varied formations. Fifty-Mile Mountain runs alongside for much of Hole-in-the-Rock Road, and the vistas are open all the way toward the Henry Mountains to the northeast. Scientists such as geologists, paleontologists, archaeologists, historians, and biologists have all been afforded great opportunities for new research in this wind-shaped region, and you will understand why as you look around. The multicolored cliffs, plateaus, mesas, buttes, pinnacles, and canyons you will see along this drive are stunning!
Options for this tour include stopping to hike Calf Creek Canyon, one of the most beautiful waterfalls in southern Utah. This is a 5-mile round-trip hike that features ancient Native American ruins and pictographs, abundant flora, and towering sandstone cliff walls along the whole route. This trail follows the creek the entire way and is shaded in spots. The falls are a great lunch destination.
An alternate choice is to stop at the junction of the Escalante River and Highway 12. This is another magnificent area that features a hiking trail along the river as well as a well-hidden scramble to some ancient petroglyphs. It is an excellent, cool place to stop and eat lunch on a hot summer's day.
If continuing all the way to Hole-in-the-Rock Road, there are three possible stops there as well. One is to view dinosaur tracks preserved in the rocks for millions of years, baked under the Utah sun. Another is explore Spooky Slot Canyon, an amazing adventure into a very narrow canyon created by eons of water action shaping the very rock. A third great lunch stop along Hole-in-the-Rock is at Devil's Garden, a natural “garden” of sandstone formations that will entice the imagination and provide a fun natural playground for kids of all ages.
No matter which option best suits you, our 4x4 tour into the desert canyons and plateaus of Grand Staircase-Escalante presents some of the most classically breathtaking scenery to be found in all of southern Utah.