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The large swath of land known as Utah’s Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is a collection of geologic splendors and a labyrinth of seemingly endless colorful canyons. Southwest Adventure Tours will take you on an intimate tour through many of these canyons and visit the monument’s unique landscapes. The monument has one of the highest concentrations of slot canyons anywhere in the world and this tour will concentrate on hiking through some of the best ones.

The name Grand Staircase comes from the series of geologic formations, or steps, that start at the bottom of the Grand Canyon and extend across this national monument to Bryce Canyon National Park, which is the “top” of the staircase. This geology created a series of large colorful cliffs giving half of the national monument’s name. The name Escalante comes from the river drainage responsible for creating so many winding, deep and narrow canyons on the east side of the monument. Although this tour covers the north half of the monument, you’ll see many of its highlights.

The best way to see the canyons of the Escalante is on foot. That’s why every day of this tour will consist of 5 to 10 miles of hiking (only one day will include a hike of 10 miles in length). Every day will consist of a hike through some sort of canyon – whether it be a series of slot canyons or a lush green canyon surrounded by colorful canyon walls. Along with trekking through a bunch of canyons, you’ll also see several arches and natural bridges, a dinosaur trackway, and Native American ruins and rock art.