Devil’s Garden is one of the first places we visited in Escalante National Monument when we were traveling with the girls, Varel and K’Ehleyr
Where is it
Grand Staircase-Escalante was divided into three parts and reduced nearly 50% in 2017 to allow for more extractive industries. Part of the removal included Hole-in-the-Rock Road which is the access to many of the scenic areas in this section of the park. However, Devil’s Garden trail and picnic area still remains part of GSENM. Travel south of the town of Escalante on Highway 12 to the junction with Hole-in-the-Rock Road. While this used to be a well graded dirt road, recent visitor’s comments complain it is now extremely bumpy. Devil’s Garden is 12 miles down this road on the west side. This section is now called the Kaiparowits Unit of the National Monument.
Update 2021 – Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument has benn restored to its original 1996 boundaries.
What dogs can do there
There is a 1 mile loop trail or you can choose to wander through the slickrock, arches and hoodoos. As with most of Grand Staircases-Escalante, the area is pet friendly. Summer temperatures can get extreme so be aware of sand and rock temperatures on bare paws. K’Ehleyr’s paws were recovering from an early encounter with hot asphalt at a rest stop so she was booted. The girls enjoyed finding shady spots to explore on the slickrock.
The picnic area has tables, grills, fire pits and a pit toilet but no water which you should bring plenty of especially in the summer.
More information
Links to the posts about the other areas in GSENM which we have explored can be found in my Grand Staircase-Escalante titled post.
For more information about the monument and the recent changes check out Grand Canyon Trust.
