The allure of Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument (GSENM) is phenomenal. Nearly 3,000 square miles of sun-drenched Utah backcountry spread out well beyond the visible horizon from the road, whether you’re traveling along the All-American Highway, Scenic Byway 12, or on Highway 89. That’s nearly 1.9-million acres of colorful sandstone cliffs soaring above narrow slot canyons; picturesque washes and seemingly endless slickrock; prehistoric village sites and abandoned old Western movie sets, among many other treasures.

Grand Staircase–Escalante, Utah occupies a transitional “step” zone between Bryce Canyon and the high Paunsaugunt Plateau through a sequence of brightly colored cliffs, Zion National Park and the Grand Canyon in Arizona. As the name suggests, the monument can logically be divided into two distinct areas, Grand Staircase and the Escalante River Canyon and tributaries, separated by what could be viewed as a third area: the Kaiparowits Plateau.

Distance from WillowWind: 63 Miles