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On the edge of town
Escalante Petrified Forest State Park
Fossil wood on a short walk above a reservoir you can swim in, and the only campground around here you can actually reserve. It is the practical option in a place that otherwise offers none.
Start here
The reliable option in an unreliable area
Almost everything else worth doing around Escalante depends on something: the road being dry, the water being low, the forecast holding. The state park depends on nothing. It is on the edge of town, it is open year round, and you can book a site.
This is where you go when the dirt road is wet and the canyons are out.
That makes it useful in two ways people underrate. As a wet weather fallback, because it is paved access and the walk is short. And as a base, because it is the only campground in the area that takes reservations, which matters when Calf Creek has thirteen first come first served sites and dispersed camping has no facilities.
It is also a genuinely pleasant couple of hours in its own right, particularly with children or on an afternoon when nobody wants another hour of washboard.
What you get
Petrified wood and a reservoir
The petrified forest
Nature trails climb from the visitor center through scattered petrified wood, which is fossilised tree turned to stone and often brilliantly coloured where it has broken.
The state's own instruction is the important one: take only photographs. Removing it is the fastest way to ruin the thing you came to see.
Wide Hollow Reservoir
You can camp along the shore, swim, and rent a kayak or paddleboard. In a landscape this dry, open water you are allowed to get into is a genuine novelty.
It is the most straightforwardly fun thing in the area on a hot afternoon in July.
Visitor center and museum
Open 9am to 6pm, with displays that explain what you are about to walk over. Worth ten minutes before the trail rather than after.
Closed Christmas and New Year's Day.
Two things we are not going to make up
Utah State Parks does not publish trail names and lengths for the nature trails, or a total campsite count, and we have not found either from an official source. Both are the sort of figure other sites guess at. Call the park on 435-826-4466 if you need exact numbers, and treat the walk as short rather than planning a day around it.
Practicalities
Fees, hours and contact
| Item | Cost or time | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Day use | $10 per vehicle | $5 for Utah resident seniors 62 and older. Commercial groups $5 per person. |
| Day use hours | 6am to 10pm, year round | No gate, so access is not dependent on staffing. |
| Visitor center and museum | 9am to 6pm | Closed Christmas and New Year's Day. |
| Tent or standard site | $30 a night | Loop A standard, Loop B tent. |
| Partial hookup | $40 a night | Water and electric, Loop A. |
| Full hookup | $60 a night | Loops B and C. |
| Extras | $15 each | Dump station, and a second camping unit per night. |
| Group facilities | $100 and $75 | Group overnight site base rate, and group day use pavilion per day. |
The park is on the edge of Escalante, which means you are minutes from the visitor center, fuel and food rather than an hour down a dirt road. Phone 435-826-4466. Fees change, so confirm before you travel.
The bit that matters most
The only campground here you can book
This is the park's real value to a visitor. Camping options around Escalante come down to three: Calf Creek, which has thirteen sites and cannot be reserved; dispersed camping on Hole-in-the-Rock Road, which is free and has nothing; and here.
If your dates are fixed and you need a site you know you have, this is the answer.
It is also the only option with hookups, which makes it the default for anyone in an RV, since Calf Creek does not accommodate oversized vehicles. And it is the sensible first night when you have arrived late after a long drive and do not fancy finding a pullout in the dark 20 miles down a dirt road.
No permit is required here, only the site fee. That is simpler than the backcountry, where free permits apply within the national monument and separately from the Park Service for the Escalante District of Glen Canyon. See permits.
Timing
When to go
Day use runs 6am to 10pm year round with no gate, so the season affects what you want to do rather than whether you can get in.
Summer
The reservoir is the point. Swimming and paddling in July, when the canyons are hot and the monsoon is making everything else unpredictable, is the best use of this place.
Spring and autumn
Best for the trails and the campground. Book early, because these are the months when everything in town fills.
Winter
Quiet and open. Day use is unaffected, and it is a reasonable short walk when the dirt roads are the limiting factor rather than the cold.
The wet weather case is worth repeating. When the road out to the slot canyons turns to clay, this is one of very few things in the area that still works, along with Calf Creek on the pavement. See best time to visit and the planning hub.
Questions we actually get
Frequently asked
How much does Escalante Petrified Forest State Park cost?
Day use is $10 per vehicle, or $5 for Utah resident seniors 62 and older, and $5 per person for commercial groups. Camping runs $30 for a tent or standard site, $40 with partial hookups and $60 with full hookups.
Can I reserve a campsite at the state park?
Yes, and it is the only campground in the Escalante area that takes reservations. Calf Creek is first come first served with thirteen sites, and dispersed camping on Hole-in-the-Rock Road has no facilities or booking at all.
Can you swim at Wide Hollow Reservoir?
Yes. You can camp along the shore, swim, and rent a kayak or paddleboard. In this landscape, open water you are allowed to get into is unusual, and it is the best thing here on a hot July afternoon.
How long are the trails at the state park?
Utah State Parks does not publish trail names and lengths, and we are not going to guess. Treat the nature trails as a short walk from the visitor center rather than a day out, and call the park on 435-826-4466 if you need exact figures.
What are the opening hours?
Day use runs 6am to 10pm year round with no gate. The visitor center and museum open 9am to 6pm and close on Christmas and New Year's Day.
Can I take petrified wood home?
No. The park's own instruction is to take only photographs. Removing petrified wood is how a petrified forest stops being one, and it applies to small pieces as much as large.
The dependable half day
Useful as a first night, a wet weather fallback, or an afternoon with children while somebody else naps.
More of the town on the Escalante guide, and the canyons on slot canyon tours.
The only campground here you can reserve, and it works in any weather.
Camping options