Photos in Slide Show:

  1. Fabulous colors and bizarre vistas in Toadstool Valley
  2. The predominant color in the area is an unusual chocolate-brown
  3. More Toadstools
  4. More Toadstools
  5. Outstanding panorama in Toadstool Valley
  6. More Toadstools

One of the most accessible and photogenic sites in Utah’s Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument is the Toadstool Valley. A pullout on the region’s main highway (US-89 west of Page, Arizona) is the trailhead for a level one-mile trail to scenery that is definitely otherworldly.

From the interpretive sign at the start of the trail: “What is a Toadstool? A toadstool is a spire-like feature with a boulder perched atop a pedestal rock, like a mushroom, or ‘toadstool’. It forms when softer rock erodes away, leaving a column sheltered from the wind and water. The route ahead leads to an area where conditions were right for toadstool development”.

The area is shadeless and extremely hot in the summer. Be safe, and get a very early start on a summer morning, and carry plenty of water. Read the full story, “The Toadstools of Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument”.

Photo Tips: The best time to get photos would be in the early morning while the toadstools and canyon walls are sunlit.

Next Gallery Calf Creek Falls -or- Back to Galleries