My friend Jen Invited a few of our friends and me to do a hiking adventure in Southern Utah. I am sharing a bit about this fun trip. All this information and most (I took some too) of the fantastic photos are thanks to my friend Jen on her I-phone.
We started our adventure by arriving at the Salt Lake City airport; we visited temple square, we walked around seeing all the sites and enjoyed a yummy dinner. If you want to know more about Temple Square, click HERE.
Bryce Canyon
Our official adventure began on Sunday morning. We started by driving towards Bryce canyon. Approximately three hours south of Salt Lake City, we stopped at Beaver Utah and had lunch. We ate at Beaver Tacos, we all ended up getting the Asada street tacos and loved them. It was a perfect stop to stretch our legs and take a lunch break. HERE is a link to a trip advisor review.
Next up, was Bryce Canyon. We hiked the Navajo Loop and Queens Garden trail. It was a 2.6-mile round trip moderate hike. The views were stunning the whole time.
Jen used the all trails app and downloaded all the hikes for this trip on her phone ahead of time. HERE is a link to the all trails site with info. Downloads ended up being such an excellent resource for our whole adventure. Every walk we did, Jen had all the info at her fingertips, using the mobile app. It helped keep us on the right path, and it was nice knowing where we were on the trail. Also, we didn’t have phone service most of the time, so the download was essential.
Willis Creek Hike
After the Bryce hike, we drove about a 35-minute drive to Willis Creek.
We ended up hiking about 2 miles. One mile in and one mile out. It was a beautiful slot Canyon river hike. Make sure you wear water shoes.
After the Willis Creek hike, we had an hour and a half drive to Escalante.
Escalante
We stopped at the circle D restaurant for dinner. We had all had either a burger or a sandwich, and it was yummy. We ended up going back a few days later for dinner again. On my second visit, I tried the BBQ, and it was delicious also. There aren’t many places to eat in Escalante, but this place was a two thumbs up. We even sampled some of the desserts and came away happy. HERE is a link to their site.
Up next our Yurt!
We were so excited when we walked in and saw how charming it was.
It was the perfect “glamping” spot. We were able to start our day with a yummy provided breakfast that consisted of a mix of muffins and scones and either quiche or a breakfast burrito.
We loved coming back at the end of an adventurous day to a warm shower with cozy towels and bathrobes. HERE is a link to the Escalante Yurts.
Lower Calf Creek Falls
Our first day of hiking in Escalante, we drove about thirty minutes to the Lower Calf Creek Falls.
This hike was a six-mile moderate up and back trail that takes an average of three to four hours. It took us approximately four hours.
We stopped along the way snapping photos and spent time eating lunch at the stunning falls.
At the trailhead, you can pick up a guide that had fourteen numbered informational points of interest. We decided to stop and read them on our hike back. It made the trek back to the car fun and broke it up.
We decided to each take a turn reading them in different accents. We were laughing the whole time. It made the journey back enjoyable and quick.
One of the things that made the hike awesome was how different all the parts of it were. There were beautiful canyons and a river with lush greenery. The Calf Creek trail was a perfect hike for all ability levels. The falls at the end were stunning.
Escalante Natural Bridge
After the Calf Creek hike, we drove a short way to the Escalante Natural Bridge hike. This hike was a flat four-mile up and back hike. Wear water shoes because you’re crossing the water at several spots.
The trek, for the most part, follows the river ups and back. There were times when we just walked in the water.
It was refreshing. We didn’t do this, but I thought if I did it again, I would wear a sporty swimsuit that I could hike and swim in.
After this beautiful day of hiking, we had dinner at Escalante Outfitters Cafe. We all got yummy salads, Calzone and pizza.
It hit the spot after a long day of hiking. Just like the previous day, the food was excellent. Both days we went straight to dinner after hiking. At these restaurants, the atmosphere was casual and accommodating for the day hiker. HERE is the information about Escalante Outfitters cafe.
Peekaboo and Spooky Slot Canyon hikes!
Our third day of hiking we drove one hour and ten minutes down the hole in the rock road. This road was an unpaved and sometimes deeply rutted sandy road for a total of 28 miles. From reading previous reviews, we knew we needed a four-wheel-drive vehicle for the journey. The road was rough but not as bad as we had expected. It was worth the drive to arrive at today’s hikes.
We arrived at the Dry fork trailhead, that would lead us to the Peek-a-boo and Spooky slot canyon hikes.
We hiked about a mile to get to our first spot, the Peek-a-Book slot canyon.
Then after we got through the Peek-a-boo canyon, we walked on a path that took us to the Spooky slot canyon.
After Spooky, we walked on the path and went through dry creek canyon and then back on the trail to our car.
Devils Garden
About halfway back on the unpaved road, we stopped at Devils Garden.
The garden was a whole area that had these cool Hoodoos (stacked rock formations). We had fun walking around and climbing on them. It was enjoyable to see what they looked like. There were even some that looked like gnomes.
Capitol Reef National Park
Our last day, we started driving back to Salt Lake City. On our way, we went to Capitol Reef National Park.
We stopped and did a 1.7 mile up and back hike to Hickman Bridge.
We grabbed lunch at a little town called Torrie Utah and then we drove approximately 3 1/2 hours back to the SLC airport to catch our flights home.
I know that I enjoy being with friends and I love hiking and being outdoors. What I didn’t realize was how healing this was for my soul. When the trip began I had the hugest headache that I couldn’t shake. I felt drained, exhausted, and not great. After the second day of hiking and being with friends I realized my headache was gone and I felt so much better. I don’t think I ever truly realized how good these experiences are for my soul. I can’t wait for my next big, hiking adventure. I have to thank my friend Jen for planning every aspect of the amazing girls get-away. My bucket was filled.
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