Escalante Petrified Forest State Park
Personal Notes
This page presents our personal notes on our visits to Escalante Petrified Forest State Park near Escalante, Utah.
General Overview
I first visited Escalante State Park back in 1971. At that time, I believe, it was called something like Escalante Petrified Forest Stat Park. It was fairly undeveloped then, but they did have drinking water, and it became our supply point for fresh water while we worked up on the Aquarius Plateau.
Anne and I visited the Park once in the late 1990s, spending an hour or so playing on the reservoir in a rented canoe. The Park is also centrally located to gain access to many other amazing sites in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and surrounding areas.
There is a campground host, a small Visitor Center with a Ranger on duty, modern restrooms with electrical outlets and showers. There is also a boat launch ramp and a dock into the Wide Hollow Reservoir, and there are canoes to rent.
Friday, May 27, 2005
Campground
12:33 p.m.
We arrived at Escalante State Park at about 11:30 a.m.. We had reserved site 7. It’s a nice site with a double-wide asphalt parking area. Our campsite is at GPS Coordinates (NAD83): 37 47.280N; 111.37.861W; at an elevation of 5,939 feet. We backed the trailer in and only needed one lift to get it perfectly level. Then we parked the Trooper on the other side. The site has two large picnic tables sitting on a concrete “patio,” with a double-wide grill at the far end. There is morning and early afternoon sun, but the tall trees to the west provide lots of shade in the late afternoon and evening. The trees are close enough that one could place lawn chairs under them at any time to get out of the sun. There is a water faucet just below the site, and the restrooms and showers are only about 100 feet away. There is some sage and small trees between the picnic tables and the road through the campground, so the site is pretty private, compared to some of the other sites.
It’s a small campground, with only 22 sites, and they are pretty well packed together. But there are lots of tall trees in the central area that provide some escape from the sun. However, many of the sites are pretty much out in the open and exposed for most of the day.
It’s a noisy campground, and on this trip there were lots of families with kids. Parents seem to block out the noise and screams and screeches of their own children and don’t concern themselves with the fact that they are annoying the rest of us. Kids have to be allowed some freedom, but being out in the wide open spaces doesn’t necessarily mean they can run wild with no restraint. And parents need to remember that babies aren’t necessarily meant to be out camping. There was a large family party taking up three spots in the campground near us. There seemed to be one or more babies crying constantly. I know it’s difficult to quiet an uncomfortable baby, so perhaps they should be left at home with grandma or someone. It just seems that so many campers have lost their consideration for the others around them. Shouting from site to site, yelling across the campground at their kids, allowing the kids to run wild as if they were in some park playground, and allowing babies to wail on for seemingly hours. Let the kids play, let them run and tumble, but ask them to be less noisy. And keep the babies quiet. If you’re a parent, you’re used to it. The rest of us aren’t.
It was clouding up a bit. It was kind of warm and breezy.
There were definitely a lot more people on the roads this weekend. Red Canyon had people all over. Tourists, hikers, bikers, campers ... everywhere. Lots of activity. You can tell it’s a holiday weekend.
2:19 p.m.
It started raining hard, with lightning and thunder. But we had everything set up. So we broke for lunch. So far in the campground we’ve seen Blue Jays, a pair of chukars, golden eagles flying over the surrounding cliffs, and perhaps vultures.
After the rains ended we hike.
Petrified Forest Trail / The Trail of the Sleeping Rainbows
3:48 p.m.
After the rain stopped we decided we’d better get in our hike before it started again. The sky was still overcast and looked a bit threatening. We hiked the Petrified Forest and Sleeping Rainbow trails.
3:51 p.m.
The trailhead for the Petrified Forest Trail is at GPS Coordinates (NAD83): 37 47.219N; 111.37.834W; at an elevation of 5,939 feet. There is a paved parking area with an informational kiosk and a free trail guide. This one mile trail begins with a series of well defined switchbacks, then follows along a ridge which eventually climbs steeply to an upper table with excellent views of the campground, the Wide Hollow Reservoir, and the surrounding countryside.
4:05 p.m.
The trail loops, so we stayed to the right at the junction. This is Point 8 on the nature trail guide, and is at GPS Coordinates (NAD83): 37 47.303N; 111 37.623W; at an elevation of 6,173 feet.
4:15 p.m.
Eventually you come to another junction at GPS Coordinates (NAD83): 37 47.339N; 111 37.388W; at an elevation of 6,174 feet. The trail to the left is the continuation of the Petrified Forest Trail, while the trail to the right is the beginning of the Trail of the Sleeping Rainbows. We stayed to the right. This trail goes on for .75 miles, eventually looping back to rejoin the Petrified Forest Trail.
I should mention that all along both of these trails there are many large and small pieces of petrified wood. Some logs are many feet long, and some several feet across. The agatized wood presents many colors, and some pieces of the ancient remains are very colorful and detailed.
4:50 p.m.
The Sleeping Rainbow trail trends downward to the edge of an interesting canyon, with great views down into the head of a side canyon. Of course, the going down is easy, and there’s always a payback. The climb out of that side canyon is pretty steep and this part of the trail would have to be rated strenuous. But after the short climb the trail meets the Petrified Forest Trail once again, at GPS Coordinates (NAD83): 37 47.349N; 111 37.433W; at an elevation of 6,200. At this junction the trail to the left heads back to the beginning of the Sleeping Rainbow Trail, while the path to the right takes you back toward the trailhead and campground.
5:15 p.m.
We made it back to the trailhead and walked over to the Petrified Wood Cove. This area is just off of the trailhead parking area, and is along a concrete path accessible to wheelchairs. There are a series of staged petrified logs, demonstrating what can bee seen above, along the more difficult trail. This area is located at GPS Coordinates. 37 47.260N; 111 37.820W; at an elevation of 5,976 feet.
5:19 p.m.
Our hike today was 2.18 miles; we averaged 2.3 mph. It was a nice short hike, with lots of interesting scenery, pinyon/juniper forest, petrified wood, views of the town of Escalante, and is a nice hike for an introduction to the area or just to warm up for longer hikes or to stretch your legs after a day’s ride in your car.
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In the evening, for dinner, we grilled chicken over wood coals. Excellent. After dinner we started a fire and watched the flames until about 9:00 p.m.
Saturday, May 28, 2005
6:40 a.m.
When I got ut of bed it was 53 degrees in the trailer. Outside, it was partly cloudy, but mostly clear. When I was brushing my teeth at the trailer’s sink, I ran the water just briefly and the darn battery drained out. I guess it needed more of a charge the day before, after we used the pump to fill the hot water tank. The solar panel can only do so much.
We headed out for the day to hike in the Calf Creek Recreation Area. [See our notes there.]
2:10 p.m.
On the way back to camp after our Calf Creek hikes, we stopped at the Phillips 66 in Escalante for gas. It was $2.34 per gallon. Then we stopped at the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Interagency Office on the west side of town to look around at the new (not yet completed) facility and to get some info on the Hole-in-the-Rock Road.
3:33 p.m.
Back at camp we ate a snack then got ready to take showers. The showers are normally closed from about Noon until 4:00 p.m. We showered and then took a nap and spent the rest of the day relaxing around camp. This evening we used the Dutch oven to make a chicken and rice meal that came out great, just like at home. I think we’ve figured this Dutch oven thing out and will continue to use it on a regular basis.
Sunday, May 29, 2005
7:20 a.m.
We got up at 6:00 a.m. to get ready to go hiking on the Boulder Mail Trial. We had originally wanted to drive down the Hole-in-the-Rock Road and then hike the last five miles, but it sounded to us like a long drive (50 miles) to get there over a rutted and washboarded road. Apparently it’s pretty close to a full day’s drive just to get there and back. So we’ll wait until some other time when we just want to explore.
It rained during the night at 2:00 a.m.
There is a robin’s nest sitting over the drainpipe near the men’s bathroom. There are three very hungry young robins squeezed into that little space. Momma keeps bringing them food. I imagine they’ll try to fly soon.
It was chilly this morning in camp.
We spent the day hiking the Boulder Mail Trail in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. [See our notes for that location.]
4:16 p.m.
On the way back to camp we stopped in Escalante at the little ice cream shop (Escalante Frosty Shop) and ordered a bacon cheeseburger, a grilled cheese sandwich, chili cheese fries, and soft drinks to take back to camp and eat. It was all pretty good, especially after a long hike. Then we had to wait to take showers because of a line of people. But we got in and boy does it feel good to get that grit and sweat washed off. In the evening we ate our leftover Dutch oven meal of chicken and rice, than sat watching our small wood fire dance in the evening light.
Monday, May 30, 2005
(Memorial Day)
9:05 a.m.
We got up and decided not to waste time making breakfast. We ate Harvest Bars instead. Then we started packing up.
9:46 a.m.
I should mention that the restrooms have electrical outlets.
9:47 a.m.
After we had everything packed and the trailer was hitched up and ready to go we walked the trash to the dumpster and did a quick walk through the campground, checking out the other sites for future visits. Site 21 isn’t too bad, with morning and early afternoon shade, but there would be evening sun. Site 19 has morning and early afternoon shade, but again, evening sun. Site 10 might be okay, but its not really suited for the trailer. So ... all in all ... Site 7 is probably the best in the campground, if we can get it.
