Escalante Petrified Forest State Park

Camp along the shores of Wide Hollow Reservoir, or rent a canoe, kayak or paddle board on its clear waters. Hike along park nature trails through a petrified forest, but remember to take only photographs. Some say the petrified wood is haunted and removing a piece brings the taker nothing but bad luck.

DISCOVER

In 1872, a member of John Wesley Powell’s survey party, Almon Harris Thompson, first explored the Escalante River. He decided to name the area after an explorer named Escalante, which means to escalate upward, like stairsteps, which describes the plateaus surrounding the park.

In 1954, Wide Hollow Reservoir was constructed to provide irrigation for the town of Escalante. The reservoir is stocked with rainbow trout and bluegill, and is popular for water sports.

A visitor center was built in 1991, and features petrified wood, petrified dinosaur bones, ammonite, and shell fossils.

Visitors will enjoy several trails, which wind throughout the park. The Petrified Forest Trail is a one-mile loop, winding through lava flows and thousands of pieces of petrified wood. The Sleeping Rainbows trail is an optional .75-mile loop off the Petrified Forest Trail. This section is much steeper and requires scrambling and climbing over rocks.

In the fall of 2014 the added a 50 ft petrified tree. The entire tree can be viewed from it’s roots to the tip. it is accessible to all visitors.

Opened to the public as a state park in 1976.

Park Elevation: 5,900 feet