Vermilion Cliffs National Monument is a vast plateau in north central Arizona and adjoining southern Utah. The 280,000-acre (roughly 20 miles east-west by 20 miles north-south) monument includes the rugged and beautiful Paria Plateau and Coyote Buttes North and South. The plateau is also known as the Sand Hills. Many hikers and photographers visit The Wave, Paw Hole, Cottonwood Cove, and White Pocket. All those are worthy destinations, but going beyond yields even more impressive hikes, views, and experiences.

The plateau towers nearly 3,000 feet above the plains to the east, and is bounded by Highway 89A and Marble Canyon on the east, Highway 89A on the south, House Rock Road on the west, and Buckskin Gulch and the Paria River on the north. Everywhere on the mesa are Navajo sandstone outcrops and loose sand. The sandstone originated as a huge wind-blown sand dune field, which was subsequently compacted and cemented into rock and is now eroding into a plethora of bizarre and unique shapes to see and photograph. The dune remnants are visible as striated layers, towers of sandstone, hoodoos, “brain rocks,” and strange twisted layers. Driving in the monument is time-consuming even with a high clearance four-wheel drive vehicle, and impossible for a typical passenger vehicle. Hiking in these areas is not easy either, as there are few established trails. Exploring the plateau is a “look and explore” type of experience. Give yourself plenty of time to wander, backtrack, and take pictures. And then take more pictures! One could easily spend several weeks visiting all the amazing locations in this area and still need more weeks to see the areas you missed the first time!

A Vermilion Cliffs & Grand Staircase Trip Begins

In September 2021, my usual hiking buddy Ward and I took a week-long trip to visit the plateau and to see more of it than we had been able to in past trips. This was our fourth trip to the monument, and by far the most extensive and inclusive. On previous trips, we had visited Coyote Buttes North (The Wave) and Coyote Buttes South (Paw Hole and Cottonwood Cove) as well as White Pocket (see TrailGroove Issue 33). For several years we had been wanting to camp on the “edge of the Vermilions,” and this was our chance!

Peppermint Wave in Arizona's Vermilion Cliffs

Arizona's Vermilion Cliffs

Our trip started with a long day of highway driving, ending at Tuba City, AZ where we stayed at the beautiful Moenkopi Inn. Continuing the next morning, we arrived at the plateau after crossing Marble Canyon on Highway 89A and entering the national monument from the southern end of House Rock Road. We headed onto the plateau by the best road into the interior of the monument – BLM 1017. Once we reached Pine Tree Pockets, the real fun began. With my sister’s borrowed 4Runner, we were able to travel on the plateau over miles and miles of single-lane tracks, often with deep sand. This first day, we crossed the nearly 20-mile-wide plateau from west to east on a variety of tracks, passing through a herd of cattle in Pinnacle Valley, and stopping at several places on the way, including The Beehives.

We arrived at the end of the track at the Soap Creek Tank area and parked. In the area near the end of the road is a good stand of scattered mature ponderosa pines and plenty of beautiful exposed sandstone. Lots to see even if you don’t go much farther, but we had a destination – the edge of the cliff! Backpacks on, we hiked in an easterly direction, knowing that it was just over a mile (as the California Condor flies) to the edge of the plateau. Between our parking spot and the cliff, however, was a ridge that was a couple hundred feet above us, and then about 300 feet back down to the level of the plateau’s edge.

Much of the area was easy hiking once we found our way up and down the sometimes steep sides of the ridge. Up and down and across Soap Creek Pasture we went until we got to the eastern edge, then we wandered a bit to find the ideal camping spot. It was a beautiful area, with great views that were somewhat hindered due to smoke from a fire somewhere nearby on the north rim of the Grand Canyon. From the edge of the plateau the cars on the thin gray line that is Highway 89A appeared to be about a pixel wide. Beyond the highway is Marble Canyon, through which the Colorado River flows between Lee’s Ferry and the confluence with the Little Colorado River on its way to the Grand Canyon. One of the highlights that evening was spotting a couple of California Condors, one directly overhead!

The next morning we hiked back to our parking spot (about 1.3 miles), then drove back west and north to stop at Joe’s Ranch. This is one of several old ranches on the plateau. Beginning in the 1880s and through several other owners until the 2000s, the ranchers raised sheep, Angora goats, and cattle. Joe’s cabin, some outbuildings, and fences are still present on the site. The area around the ranch is now owned by the Grand Canyon Trust. We parked and hiked around Joe’s, then drove farther west and then north through Cathedral Valley. We drove, stopped, and hiked numerous times most of the rest of the day, with many photos shot. Included in these stops, we saw the Cowboy Hat, Flame Wave, Pink Sink, as well as several unnamed areas (many of the names of these barely-known places came from a hiker named Dave Coppedge, who has explored much more of the plateau than I ever will). We encountered just one section of road that was too steep/too sandy, so we had to turn back – the only time on the whole trip! Our camping destination for the night was White Pocket, a place we had visited several years ago.

Just to the northeast of White Pocket, there are a series of mesas that the aforementioned Dave has explored. We decided to hike between the two nearest mesas, going northeastward on the east side of Spur Mesa, then across the valley to hike southwestward in the afternoon on the west side of Caterpillar Mesa. We ended up hiking around 5 miles over 5 hours, with over 600 feet of descent and ascent. During all this, we saw absolutely no sign of any other hikers having ever been in the area, although surely there have been a few (including Dave). Along the way we saw Peppermint Wave and the Paria Puppets (Dave’s names) and the Stacked Pancakes (my name). It wasn’t an easy hike, with many ups and downs and no trail at all – just sand, junipers, low brush, and what I called “those dang yellow flowers” which were everywhere, about 3 to 4 feet tall and stiff-stemmed. Definitely not an easy hike, but very scenic!

We got back to our campsite at White Pocket in mid-afternoon, and after a bit of rest I decided that since we were there, I would wander a bit and take a few pictures. Mid-afternoon is not the best time for photography, but still…I could not resist! Once I arrived back at the vehicle, we packed up and headed toward town (Page, AZ in this case). Having driven about 50 miles of sandy tracks over three days (and not getting stuck once!). I handed the keys over to Ward at Pine Tree Pockets for the drive to Page where we got a room for the night (and showers!) and had dinner at The Dam Bar and Grill.

Sidestep Canyon in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

For some added off the beaten track hiking, we next went to the southern part of the nearby Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GSENM) to visit Sidestep Canyon. Sidestep is the next canyon west of the better known Wahweap Hoodoos. I’ve had this canyon on my wish list for years, and it did not disappoint! Our hike started at White Rocks Trailhead and went northeast following a dry (at least this time) creek bed for the first mile or so, until we came to a concrete dam blocking further travel. From that point we had to climb up about 300 feet to the top of the mesa and then followed a fairly well travelled path to the edge of the canyon. We saw the upper part of Colorful Canyon (must return someday to see more!) just before we arrived at Sidestep Canyon.

The trail followed the southern edge of the canyon for a good distance before finally petering out at a side canyon. We could see a couple possible ways down into the canyon, all quite steep and sketchy-looking. There was one obvious better way down beyond the side canyon, but we opted to turn back at that point. We did get into the upper part of the canyon before heading back to the truck. This ended up being just over 7 miles of hiking with about 560 feet of climbing and descending.

That night we camped at White House Campground, saw a beautiful sunset, and had a good view of the Milky Way. The next morning, we packed up and headed north on Cottonwood Canyon Road in GSENM to visit The Box of the Paria River and Red Top. We had been to a nearby and better-known area called Yellow Rock years ago and I had noticed this large obvious red outcropping to the south and had wanted to return. Today was the day! We hiked from the truck for a short distance to the river and then were in and out of the meandering flow (it was less than 6 inches deep in most places) for the next mile and a half, at which point we climbed out on a steep slope, ascending about 400 feet in less than a half mile.

After the climb, things got even more interesting – scenic views in every direction and oh so much color! Red, beige, orange, yellow, tan, colors without names, more yellow, and the various greens of the vegetation. It was an up and down cross-country hike the rest of the way to Red Top, and by this time I realized that someday I am going to need to get my knee replaced. The hike ended up being about 5.3 miles with 690 feet of ascent/descent. I suffered most of the way back to the car, but it was worth it for the scenery we saw.

The Vermilion Cliffs National Monument and nearby parts of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument offer a stunning variety of scenery and hiking opportunities. In Vermilion Cliffs, we drove about 50 miles and barely scratched the surface, passing by many scenic outcrops that beg to be explored. In Grand Staircase we merely explored the edge of a monument that covers over 1.8 million acres. If you need to get away from civilization, these are the places for you! During the hikes we took on this trip, we did not encounter a single hiker, with the exception of my short time at White Pocket. The scenery was just as dramatic, and even more so in spots, and the photographic possibilities were endless. There is so much to see in both monuments that I am already planning my next trip to explore even more seldom-seen spots.

Need to Know

Information

General information on Vermilion Cliffs National Monument can be found here. These areas are isolated with no services. The roads are difficult to drive on. You can check conditions before driving – the park service has three nearby ranger stations: The Paria Contact Station, the Big Water Visitor Center, and the Kanab Visitor Center. Cell phone coverage is spotty. We took extra water, extra food, spare tires, and supplies to help get our vehicle unstuck.

Best Time to Go

Spring and fall offer temperatures that are more moderate and comfortable than summer. Summers can be brutally hot (my first trip to the Wave many years ago was on July 4th when it was nearly 100 degrees). Winters can be cold, with occasional snow. I have not yet visited in the winter, but have seen photos of the area with snow, and it looks amazing!

Getting There

From Page, AZ go west on Highway 89 approximately 36 miles, or from Kanab, UT go east approximately 39 miles on Highway 89, then turn south on House Rock Road. Drive approximately 20 miles to Pine Tree Road which heads east onto the plateau (there is a corral on the west side of the road at the intersection). House Rock Road is usually passable by any vehicle, but can become impassable after rain or snow. If you are coming from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, go north to Highway 89a at Jacob Lake, then turn right onto 89a, drive about 14 miles to House Rock Road then turn left and go north to Pine Tree Road.

Maps and Books

National Geographic Trails Illustrated Map #859 (Paria Canyon, Kanab) and Trails Illustrated Map #714 (Grand Staircase Paunsaugunt Plateau) cover all the areas driven and hiked in this article. Individual USGS topographic maps are also available: For the parts of the Paria Plateau that we travelled on this trip: Poverty Flat, Wrather Arch, One Toe Ridge, and The Big Sink. For Sidestep Canyon: Nipple Butte and Lower Coyote Springs. For help planning your trip to and from the trailhead as well as exploring other destinations in the area, the Delorme Arizona Atlas & Gazetteer and the Utah Road & Recreation Atlas from Benchmark Maps can be useful.

For Red Top: Calico Peak and Fivemile Valley. The Paria Plateau is discussed in depth in Hiking and Exploring the Paria River by Michael R. Kelsey and is a great source of information, including the roads, the sights, and the history of Vermilion Cliffs National Monument. Also included in the book are areas from Bryce Canyon to the south through the western parts of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in Issue 52 of TrailGroove Magazine. You can read the original article here for additional photos and content.