Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

I traveled about with Jim and Carole M. after speaking at an agronomy meeting in Salt Lake City. We visited Capitol Reef National Park and traveled along Scenic Byway 12, which skirts the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

Established in 1996

So big!

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is a vast area located in southern Utah, covering nearly 1.9 million acres of diverse landscapes. It is slightly larger than the state of Delaware. Originally established in 1996, the monument's size was cut in half in 2017 (by you know who), but it was restored in 2021. The land is among the most remote in the US. The monument is the first and largest to be managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Its establishment and management remain controversial. Grazing is permitted on 97 percent of the monument's land: what do they eat!

Vast open lands

Grand Staircase

Uninhabited

Lonesome Highway

National monument established 1996 

So remote

Average annual rainfall is 10 to 20 inches

Grand Staircase-Escalante is so big. We only got a tiny glimpse of it. It would be neat to go back and see more of it, travel to some of the more remote areas, so long as you have enough gas and water!

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