Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is a huge 1.9 million acre park in south central Utah, full of scenic wonders and surprises. One of my favorite subjects to photograph is the scattering of hoodoo formations that are found here and there on cliff edges and slopes. Hoodoos are formed when a harder, more resistant layer of rock protects a softer layer underneath. As erosion from water, freezing, thawing, and wind all work their magic, the rock layers are exposed and form into towers of rock ranging from a few inches to tens of feet.

One of the best places to see these hoodoos is along Wahweap Creek near the small town of Big Water. The word Wahweap means “bitter water” in Paiute. The hoodoos here have been named “white hoodoos”, “white ghosts”, and “towers of silence”. The round-trip distance is about 9 miles.

Hiking the Wahweap Hoodoos and the “Trail”

There really is no trail here, just a long trudge up a mostly dry creek bed. The hike starts near the confluence of Coyote Creek (from the west), Wahweap Creek (middle), and Nipple Creek (from the east). These are all usually dry washes, but can become roaring torrents during a thunderstorm. Be sure to pick the correct stream, which in this case is the middle one. On my hike to the hoodoos, I started off in the wrong direction for a half mile (just following my nose not my GPS) and had to turn around to get into the correct wash. Wahweap Creek is a wide and meandering gravelly and sandy wash that heads generally north. It is an easy hike on the flat terrain, but there is very little shade along this hike and water sources are unreliable (on my hike I only saw a few muddy spots and absolutely NO standing or flowing water); I took plenty of water and a hat. Your first landmark is a rickety old fence that mostly dangles above the creek. Distant rocky hills tease of things to come, but there is not a lot to explore on the way – the destination is the important part. After about three miles, the first of the hoodoos appear on the left.

Along the steep cliffs on the west side of the stream loom the first hoodoos you will see. There are several scattered towers of varying heights, mostly on varying levels of the steep cliffs. These hoodoos aren’t as impressive as later ones, and are harder to approach. The lower part of these and the next groups are composed of white to tan 160 million year old Entrada sandstone, and the upper darker brown caps are composed of 100 million year old Dakota sandstone. The Entrada is a very fine-grained, almost powdery sand, while the Dakota is a coarser-grained sand with some pebbles.

This second group of hoodoos is more impressive and is in a cove that is easily approached from the stream. This cluster is quite photogenic and a good place to spend some time exploring, taking pictures, and offers a great place to have a snack before moving on to the next group. It is interesting to contemplate how these towers were formed, and to study the hoodoo aging process. You can see some that are higher on the slope that look relatively young, and others that have lost their caps and have eroded into low mounds. Notice too that the cap rock is at different levels, mostly much lower than the top layer of rock on the cliffs in the background. Hard to imagine how the towers have eroded out from under the caps, and yet the caps stay in place.

The tallest of the hoodoos are in the third collection, at around the 4 mile mark. These are the most impressive of the bunch and the best reason for making the trek. In this small side canyon you can walk amongst the rock ghosts and toadstools, and it is a good place for a lunch stop before your return hike. The tallest hoodoo that I have ever seen is here, towering perhaps 30 feet or more, with a narrow neck under a dark cap. It is certainly nearing its demise, but others will take its place as erosion continues. After a lot of picture taking, a period of rest, and a lunch, it’s time to head back down the wash to the starting point.

Photographing the formations presents a few challenges. The hoodoos, particularly the second and third groups, are tucked up against the west wall of the canyon. Morning gives the best sunlight on the formations. After that the shadows slowly creep up the sides during midday until early afternoon when the hoodoos are completely shaded. Photography of them in the shade is certainly a reasonable approach if you can’t get there until afternoon. Shadows will sometimes, depending on your camera settings, cause a blueish cast to your photos. This can be mitigated by adjusting your camera settings to “shade” or in post-processing with computer software.

Hiking out of this amazing area, I realized that the Wahweap Hoodoos are some of the most impressive that I have seen in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, or anywhere that I have been, for that matter. The light colored fine-grained sandstone with dark caps has eroded into fantastic shapes, and the solitude and majesty of their environment just enhances their beauty. The hike is easy enough that it can be accomplished in a half day, but more time will be needed for photos and relaxation in the quiet. If the Wahweap Hoodoos aren’t on your bucket list, they should be!

Need to Know

Information

The area is managed by the Bureau of Land Management. No permits are needed for hiking in the area. Across the highway from the town of Big Water is the Big Water Visitor Center which is a good source of information on this and other hikes and attractions in the area (they also have a good display of dinosaurs from the area). The phone number there is (435) 675-3200. Other hoodoos can be found nearby as well. About 12 miles west of Big Water are the Rimrock Hoodoos (or Toadstool Hoodoos). They are a short (less than 2 miles round trip) hike. There are several excellent hoodoos along the south-facing cliff faces. Some of the hoodoos here are brownish-orange and some nearly white.

Getting There

From Kanab, drive east on Highway 89 for approximately 55 miles, or from Page drive to the west for approximately 18 miles, until reaching the small town of Big Water, Utah. At Big Water, turn north on the Ethan Allen Road, which is between mile markers 6 and 7, directly across the highway from the Big Water Grand Staircase-Escalante Visitor Center. Follow Ethan Allen past several streets to a "T" in the road. Turn left at the "T" which is Fish Hatchery road, a graded gravel surface. Continue past two fish hatcheries then north past a corral which is located 3 miles from Highway 89. If driving a 2WD, park on the right side of the road just before crossing the creek and then begin the hike up Wahweap Creek. High clearance 4WD vehicles can continue past the corral, crossing Wahweap Creek, and then continue for .3 miles. The trail begins in Wahweap Creek just below the 4WD parking area and goes almost directly north.

Best Time to Go

Spring or fall will usually offer better chances of avoiding the extremes of summer heat, and typically offers more pleasant weather conditions.

Maps and Books

For an area map the Grand Staircase, Paunsaugunt Plateau Trail Map 714 by Trails Illustrated covers the region. The USGS Quads are: Nipple Butte, Utah; and Glen Canyon City, Utah/Arizona. For getting to and from the trailhead and exploring other Utah hiking destinations, the Delorme Utah Atlas & Gazetteer can be helpful. For a guidebook exploring Grand Staircase-Escalante and surrounding areas, see Hiking Grand Staircase-Escalante & the Glen Canyon Region, a Falcon Guide.

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in Issue 39 of TrailGroove Magazine. You can read the original article here for additional photos and content.