Plus One – Part VI Utah’s Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

Posted on   November 29,2019   By John Compisi

This is the last in our Mighty Five six-part series. Parts I-V chronicled our adventures at Zion, Capitol Reef, Arches, Canyonlands and Bryce Canyon: the actual Mighty Five! Part VI details our last day of our nearly two-week adventure in Utah at Grand Staircase-Escalante (GSE) National Monument.

We launched our adventure by flying into Las Vegas from Northern California, picking up our rental car and driving to Zion National Park, for Labor Day Weekend (slight mistake). From there, Capitol Reef, Arches, Canyonlands and Bryce Canyon National Parks followed. We chose to create a long loop, by-passing some parks to hit later, in order to avoid the 8 hour day of driving that we might have experienced if we traveled in a more ‘logical’ order.

We drove to Grand Staircase-Escalante (GSE) from our lodging in Panguitch, near Bryce Canyon, via Highway 12, a Scenic Byway (another fantastic discovery. America has a series of 150 distinct and diverse roads designated by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation as America’s Byways. These byways include the National Scenic Byways and All-American Roads. America’s Byways are described as gateways to adventures where no two experiences are the same).

Highway 12 is an exceptional 124-mile route which negotiates an isolated landscape of canyons, plateaus, and valleys ranging from 4,000 to 9,000 feet above sea level.

We were stunned by the 26 miles stretch we covered between Panguitch and the Cannonville GSE/BLM (Bureau of Land Management) Visitors Center (it was closed for the season). Certain portions of the highway transited a ‘spine’ of shear drop-offs on both sides. Literally high adventure.

Our first exploration was Long Canyon and the Long Canyon Slot. Not so easy to find, however. We traveled 11 miles east of the town of Boulder on the Burr Trail Road. The Burr Trail Road makes a very dramatic descent into Long Canyon about 9 miles from Boulder. We drove past it initially but found a pullout on the north side of the road less than a mile after crossing Steep Creek at the west end of Long Canyon.

The canyon itself is worth the scenic drive (nearly 80 miles from Panguitch) but the slot was so easily accessible and short that we were both a bit disappointed. Beautiful, but not a serious adventure. It did, however, give us the feeling of being surrounded by high cliffs but it was not as narrow as many of the popular slot canyons that a normal sized adult can barely squeeze through. That is what we were looking for but Long Canyon Slot whetted our appetite for more.

We drove back to Cannonville to discover the Willis Creek Narrows, which we had researched in advance. Along the way we needed a break so we stopped at the Kiva Koffeehouse and Kottages designed and built by Bradshaw Bowman at the age of 87 years. His vision was to create an establishment that blended harmoniously into the mountain by using natural and subtle materials. We had a latte and did a quick exploration. A great place to connect with nature while enjoying a rich cup of coffee or a snack.

A few miles after leaving Cannonville, the road became dirt. We missed the turn-off to Willis Creek and drove about 20 miles into this amazing terrain. Good thing we had the high-profile SUV, because the soft yellow dirt was deep and the road was a series of curves and ups and downs.  After about 40 minutes of negotiating this terrain, we flagged down a vehicle heading in the opposite direction. We told them what we were looking for and, fortunately for us, they had been to Willis Creek the day before and told us to turn around and go back. We actually followed them and they graciously accommodated us and pointed to the turn off that we had missed. We turned left off of Skutumpah Road onto road #530 and within 15 minutes we were at the parking area for Willis Creek Narrows.

We immediately headed to the path leading down to the trail. We were so excited to actually experience a serious slot canyon. We were not disappointed this time. Willis Creek Narrows is, apparently, a roaring river during the rains but it was a mere trickle of a creek in mid-September. We walked the 4.5-mile round trip in constant awe of the colorful canyon walls. Our prior experience of traversing the creek via stepping from stone to stone paid dividends during this nearly 2-hour jaunt. We had the sense that we had achieved slot canyon nirvana.

After checking this off of our bucket lists, we got back into our car and headed back to Panguitch. The drive was a little bitter sweet as we knew that our Mighty Five adventure was rapidly drawing to a close. The next morning, we loaded up our car and drove the 245 miles back to Las Vegas where we would spend the night and catch our return flight back to San Jose, CA.  We had a fabulous time and we will certainly remember this adventure for the rest of our lives.

Tips: Mid to late September is a great time to visit the Might Five. The temperatures were moderate and the crowds were bearable. (~80° – 90°F). Always carry lots of water, wear a hat and use sunscreen. In general, an SUV offers easier driving access to some trail heads.

What to do: Always take the scenic drives first, if practical. Gives you a real sense of what is available and how much time you should allow for each activity. Hike!

Where to Stay: As reported in Part V, we stayed at the Quality Inn Bryce Canyon which is about 17 miles from Bryce and about 30 miles from the GSE Visitors Center.

We hope you enjoyed, at least vicariously, our Mighty Five Plus One adventures! We know we enjoyed experiencing them!

Stay tuned! Our next adventure was Santa Fe, New Mexico which offered many surprises.

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