Vermillion Cliffs National Monument

The Vermillion Cliffs National Monument is an untamed desert wilderness of red rock canyons, arches, sandstone buttes, slickrock, and dinosaur tracks.

Utah-Arizona
2016, 2017

About The National Monument

Being partial to the southwest, particularly the red rock canyon country of southern Utah and northern Arizona, these are three of the most amazing places I have visited. They are not easy to get to but worth the effort.

If you do get to them you'll see some of the most amazing scenery. A land of red rock and slick rock, of buttes and mesas, dinosaur tracks and sandstone sculpted by wind and water into bizarre formations. Rock formations that look like they were churned before they solidified; others containing countless thin layers laid down over the eons.

The town of Kanab Utah, situated just a couple of miles north of the Arizona border, is kind of a hub for three terrific national parks. To the south there is the Grand Canyon North Rim which is about a two-hour drive. To the northwest, about 45 minutes away, is Zion National Park. And to the north about an hour and a half’s drive is Bryce Canyon National Park. These are three amazing parks, with incredible scenery, that can easily be done in a few days using Kanab as a base.

Kanab is an up-and-coming Moab West. The town has been expanding since our first trip there, which was in 1999, and the big hotel chains have been building there. All of the outdoor activities available in Moab can be found in Kanab and the surrounding areas. Three great national parks, hiking, rock climbing, bicycling, back country driving, OHV and ATV trails.

Lodging And Dining

There is no lodging or dining in the Vermillion Cliffs National Monument. It is a designated wilderness area and, as such, there are no marked trails nor lodging. These are to be found in Kanab, Utah.

Canyons Boutique Hotel

Since I was in Kanab to hike to The Wave, we elected to stay six days at the Canyons Boutique Hotel (formerly the Victorian Inn). It is a fine establishement with a limited number of rooms and tapas style dining. From our base in Kanab we visited Zion twice and Bryce once and toured some local canyons on another day and hiked to The Wave on our designated-by-permit day.

There are lots of other lodging options in Kanab with the usual nation-wide chains and other smaller local places.

Rocking V Cafe

The Rocking V Cafe Restaurant and Art Gallery is the best restaurant in town and the gallery has some great pictures and paintings of scenes from the surrounding attractions. The owner, Victor, is a fun guy and a great host.

Coyote Buttes South and White Pocket

Coyote Buttes North - The Wave - 2016

Coyote Buttes North - The Wave - 2017

Other Points of Interest

About 10 miles north of Kanab is Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park. There’s also Kanab Canyon, Johnson Canyon, ghost towns and old movie sets (Gunsmoke’s is in Johnson Canyon). Down the road there is the Toadstools which is a nice and interesting short hike off US 89. There is also a relatively short back country drive (5 miles) down to the Paria townsite which is an old Mormon settlement. There isn’t much left there but the drive is very scenic. For the ambitious there is the Toroweap overlook which is the highest vertical drop into the Grand Canyon - 3000 feet. Toroweap is 61 miles down a dirt/graded road and 4WD is needed for the last 3 miles. I rented a jeep from Xpress Jeep Rentals for this trip.

Other Resources

Kanab, Utah official site

Vermillion Cliffs - Wikipedia

Zion National Park - NPS.gov

Bryce Canyon National Park - NPS.gov

Grand Canyon National Park - NPS.gov

Grand Canyon National Park - Toroweap (Tuweep) - NPS.gov

Toroweap - The Highest Vertical Drop into the Canyon

These are potentially useful numbers to have in your cell phone.

Kane County (UT) Search and Rescue - 435-644-4995

Coconino County (AZ) Search and Rescue - 800-338-7888

Kane County Sheriff - 435-644-2349

You probably won’t have service in the back country but you never know and, if you have to leave someone behind and get to cell phone service, the sooner you can contact help the better.

Picture of the Vermillion Cliffs National Monument

Other National Parks and National Monuments Within a Day’s Drive:

The distances below are from Kanab, Utah which is the main place where lodging can be found in the Vermillion Cliffs area

Zion Canyon National Park is on the short list of America’s most beautiful national parks and is about 45 miles to the northwest and about a 1 hour drive.

Grand Canyon National Park - North Rim gets about one-tenth the visitors as the south rim but is no less amazing. It is about 70 miles south and about a 1.5 hour drive.

Bryce Canyon National Park famous for its hoodoo’s is 98 miles to the northeast and about a 2 hour drive.

Cedar Breaks National Monument is often called a mini-Bryce Canyon and is 70 miles northwest and about a 1.5 hour drive.

Antelope Canyon in Page, Arizona is a famous and much photographed slot canyon sculpted by wind and water. It is 75 miles east and about a 1.5 hour drive.N*P*Z*

National Parks Zone