Panguitch Trip Overview
Explore the hidden wonders of the epic Grand Staircase Escalante drive with a self-guided audio tour. Drive along the Hogback (the ridgeline), learn about the hidden mysteries of this giant geologic staircase, and discover the long-buried secrets of the Fremont and Puebloans. This self-guided tour allows you to explore UT-12 with maximum flexibility and value.
Recommended: Purchase one tour per car, not per person. Everyone listens together!
Here’s how it works: Within 30 mins, we’ll send you two things: a unique password and an app. Download the app onto your phone, enter the password, and download the tour. When you arrive, go to the first stop, launch the app, and follow the instructions! Stick to our recommended route and speed limit for the best experience.
NO EXPIRATION — THE TOUR IS AVAILABLE FROM THE MINUTE YOU BOOK UNTIL FOREVER!
THIS IS NOT AN ENTRANCE TICKET TO ATTRACTIONS ALONG THE ROUTE. CHECK PANDEMIC RULES AND OPENING HOURS BEFORE YOUR VISIT.
Additional Info
Duration: 3 hours
Starts: Panguitch, United States
Trip Category: Cultural & Theme Tours >> Cultural Tours
Explore Panguitch Promoted Experiences
What to Expect When Visiting Panguitch, Utah, United States
Explore the hidden wonders of the epic Grand Staircase Escalante drive with a self-guided audio tour. Drive along the Hogback (the ridgeline), learn about the hidden mysteries of this giant geologic staircase, and discover the long-buried secrets of the Fremont and Puebloans. This self-guided tour allows you to explore UT-12 with maximum flexibility and value.
Recommended: Purchase one tour per car, not per person. Everyone listens together!
Here’s how it works: Within 30 mins, we’ll send you two things: a unique password and an app. Download the app onto your phone, enter the password, and download the tour. When you arrive, go to the first stop, launch the app, and follow the instructions! Stick to our recommended route and speed limit for the best experience.
NO EXPIRATION — THE TOUR IS AVAILABLE FROM THE MINUTE YOU BOOK UNTIL FOREVER!
THIS IS NOT AN ENTRANCE TICKET TO ATTRACTIONS ALONG THE ROUTE. CHECK PANDEMIC RULES AND OPENING HOURS BEFORE YOUR VISIT.
Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product
Stop At: Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, 735 W Main, UT 84726
The Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument is a United States national monument originally designated in 1996 as 1,880,461 acres of protected land in southern Utah. In 2017, the monument’s size was reduced by half in a succeeding presidential proclamation.
Duration: 10 minutes
Stop At: Red Canyon Visitor Center, 5375 UT-12, Panguitch, UT 84759, USA
This unique Visitor Center is perched high upon the rocky cliffs of Flaming Gorge and offers visitors a commanding view of the vast Red Canyon, carved by the Green River many eons ago. It is open daily from mid-May through mid-September. One can gain a good sense of the area’s frontier history and watchable wildlife through exhibits in the Center.
Duration: 10 minutes
Stop At: Red Canyon Arch, UT-12, Panguitch, UT 84759, USA
These arches consist of a combination of sandstone and volcanic rock. These both contain really high levels of iron, which gives the arches their distinctive color.
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: Bryce Canyon National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
Bryce Canyon National Park, a sprawling reserve in southern Utah, is known for crimson-colored hoodoos, which are spire-shaped rock formations. The park’s main road leads past the expansive Bryce Amphitheater, a hoodoo-filled depression lying below the Rim Trail hiking path. It has overlooks at Sunrise Point, Sunset Point, Inspiration Point and Bryce Point. Prime viewing times are around sunup and sundown.
Duration: 10 minutes
Stop At: Powell Point Vista, Utah, USA
One such explorer was John Powell, from whom this point gets its name. Even as Americans spread across the entire country, one blank spot remained on the map: the Colorado Plateau. In 1869, Powell put together an expedition to venture down the Colorado River, into the unknown.
Duration: 10 minutes
Stop At: Escalante Petrified Forest State Park, 710 N. Reservoir Road, Escalante, UT 84726
The Escalante Petrified Forest is another geological time machine. The trees have long since turned to stone, and their ancient, multi-colored bark offers clues to the landscape’s distant past.
Duration: 10 minutes
Stop At: Escalante Interagency Visitor Center, 755 West Main Street, Escalante, UT 84726
The Escalante Interagency Visitor Center Focuses on the ecology of the 1.9-million-acre Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The center provides information for enjoying and exploring the Monument, Dixie National Forest, and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. It was opened to the public in 2005 and is one of the Department of Interior’s first Gold LEED-rated facilities.
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: Spooky Gulch, Hole in the Rock Road, Escalante, UT
Spooky Gulch is particularly narrow and winding, and if you’re able to make the squeeze, hiking through the gulch can be quite the experience. You won’t need any special hiking gear or experience– just an extra hour to drive there and another hour or two to explore.
Duration: 10 minutes
Stop At: Kiva Koffeehouse, 7386 Hwy 12 Mile Marker, Escalante, UT 84726, USA
Open April-October, this unique seasonal cafe and espresso bar offers Southwest fare and scenic views.
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: Lower Calf Creek Falls, Escalante, UT
Calf Creek Falls is a perennial waterfall in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah that totals 214 feet. The lower tier is a 126-foot cascade and is very popular because it can be reached by an easy hike on a 5½ mile roundtrip trail.
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: The Hogback, Route 12, Boulder, UT
This winding stretch of road is famous for its sharp curves, steep drops, and spectacular views on either side. The 600-foot drops on either side of the road create the feeling of driving on a raised spine, which is how the road gets its name!
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: Upper Calf Creek Falls, Boulder, UT
Upper Calf Creek Falls was a little known 88ft waterfall that was further upstream from the wildly popular Lower Calf Creek Falls.
Duration: 10 minutes
Stop At: Boulder, Boulder, Utah
Boulder is a town in Garfield County, Utah, United States, 27 miles northeast of Escalante on Utah Scenic Byway 12 at its intersection with the Burr Trail. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 226, a modest increase over the 2000 figure of 180.
Duration: 10 minutes
Stop At: Burr Trail Road, Burr Trail Rd, Boulder, UT 84716, USA
Burr was destined to be a trailblazer. He was literally born at sea in 1846, his mother gave birth to him on a ship traveling from Brooklyn to San Francisco. When he came of age, he journeyed to the still-undeveloped wilderness of Utah to make a life for himself as a rancher.
Duration: 15 minutes
Stop At: Dixie National Forest, Cedar City, UT
Dixie National Forest is a United States National Forest in Utah with headquarters in Cedar City. It occupies almost two million acres and stretches for about 170 miles across southern Utah. The largest national forest in Utah, it straddles the divide between the Great Basin and the Colorado River.
Duration: 10 minutes
Stop At: Heritage Overlook, Boulder, UT 84716, USA
On Heritage Overlook, keen-eyed observers might be able to catch a glimpse of Glen Canyon, far to the southeast.
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: Homestead Overlook, Point Lookout Rd, Boulder, UT 84716, USA
Homestead Overlook, on the other hand, affords a panoramic view of the whole landscape of Dixie Forest and the Grand Staircase stretching out beneath you.
Duration: 10 minutes
Stop At: Larb Hollow Overlook, Utah State Route 12, 15 Miles South of Torrey Fishlake National Forest, Capitol Reef National Park, UT
This is the last overlook on our tour, so be sure to make it count!
Duration: 10 minutes
Stop At: Capitol Reef National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, Utah
Capitol Reef National Park is in Utah’s south-central desert. It surrounds a long wrinkle in the earth known as the Waterpocket Fold, with layers of golden sandstone, canyons and striking rock formations. Among the park’s sights are the Chimney Rock pillar, the Hickman Bridge arch, and Capitol Reef, known for its white sandstone domes. In the north are the towering monoliths of Cathedral Valley.
Duration: 10 minutes
