The Escalante Interagency Visitor Center is one of four visitor centers in the Grand…read moreStaircase-Escalante National Monument. Yup, this national monument is so large, it needs multiple visitor centers! This national monument seems to be overlooked as its neighbors seem to get a lot more attention. This visitor center focuses on the geology, ecosystem, and fossils of the area. Unfortunately, I forgot to ask the rangers for some hiking recommendations. I heard there were some hikes that lead to exposed fossils, but wasn't able to get much information online. Oh well. I found that the exhibits were quite informative, and some of them were hands on-great for little ones. There are exhibits both indoors and outdoors. If you want to rest and enjoy a snack, there's a covered picnic area which sits directly across from the restrooms.

The Escalante Interagency Visitor Center is a terrific place to start your explorations of wondrous…read moreGrand Staircase - Escalante National Monument. Alright, well I'll start abbreviating, lol...GSENM. It covers a huge area of Southern Utah, specifically, 1.9 million acres of public land. If you don't come prepared ahead of time, it can be an intimidating adventure and you can stumble on how to efficiently navigate your way around this remote, yet beautiful part of the country. That's why I believe if you start at the Interagency VC...you can handcraft the places and stops you'd like to see and best of all, when I visited, there were multiple park rangers standing behind the counter patiently waiting to assist tourists with their questions. Inside the VC...it's relatively small in stature...and there's a tiny little gift shop for picking up GSENM souvenirs. Plus, they have various stamping options to put into your Parks Passport. Of course, for myself, the ritual is to punch every page (front and back) even including using the Junior Ranger stamp, lol. Speaking with the park rangers was necessary because...I arrived here on a whim without a set game-plan. What I never realized about GSENM is that about half of the territory can only be accessed by 4x4 - off road vehicles. And that I did not have with me. So...certain attractions, landmarks and hikes are off-limit to cars not accommodative for dirt/gravel roads. And...this was informative because I was able to better design my itinerary with the park ranger once I told him I only had a midsize car with me. Still, here were some fun highlights that the ranger recommended.... - Hike to Lower Calf Creek Falls. - Hike to Escalante Natural Bridge. - Escalante Petrified Forest State Park. - Anasazi State Park Museum. - Walk among the Toadstools. - Kodachrome Basin State Park. Another good aspect to this Interagency VC is that it's located in the quiet town of Escalante, Utah...good for convenience stores, filling up your gas tank, purchasing supplies/necessities and sitting down at restaurants. After stopping here midday and before venturing out on my journey, I drove down the road to the Escalante Outfitters Restaurant for homemade pizza and cold beer. Overall, I'm really happy I made the effort to stop in at this Escalante Interagency Visitor Center before attempting to explore GSENM on my own. It was worthwhile to speak with the park rangers and to narrow down the activity options appropriate for my participation level.

Great place to stay close to Bryce Canyon! The bed and room was very comfortable and it has a…read morememory foam mattress. Family room was inviting and breakfast was amazing. Coffee was great, washer & dryer free, in room frig

This review will be one of few, 2-star reviews, but I want to warn people about the 'little blue…read morehouse' off to the side of the main Bed & Breakfast at Happy Trails. This is where my husband and I stayed for one night. Leading up to our stay the communication was excellent. We were tolldd that we could park in the carport since our lodging would be in the "little blue house with a white patio just to the left of the carport." We had a passcode to get inside and noticed the updated amenities in the living room and bedroom area. The kitchen was something from yesterday - quite small and the freezer was unusable. (See picture.) The bed was VERY comfortable and won a full star, otherwise this review would have been one star. After we had unloaded, we wanted to get down to planning our next day's travel, so we fired up the laptop....and looked for a placard in the unit mentioning the Wi-Fi name or password. I called the owner and was told that he was out getting supplies, but he was able to send me the information via text, telling me 'Don't use the password we sent you in the email yesterday; it's wrong.' We tried on the laptop - nothing. We tried on the iPad - nothing. We tried on BOTH of our phones - NOTHING! For each of our attempts, we kept getting a message 'Unable to join network 'Bryce Point Internet.'" After 30 minutes of trying the password provided, along with other variations of what it could be, i.e., B and B, B&B, B & B, BnB, I called the owner back. He said he would send his cleaning person out to help since he wasn't in the area. When she first came in, she immediately said, "Oh yeah, I have trouble getting internet out here all the time when I am cleaning." She made several attempts, but the same error message came up. I asked her if the little blue house had its own router, and she said no. I asked where the router for Bryce Point Internet is, and she told me 'In the house.' With at least three other guest rooms, and a 30-foot distance across a driveway/carport to the little blue house, surely this was the problem - the signal was not strong enough to connect. I texted the owner but never heard back. We decided to move on and went to find something to eat. After dinner, I went into the main house to get an extra blanket. There was NO ONE to be found, anywhere. Frustrated, we called it a night. In the morning I went to take a shower. When I pulled the handle to start the flow of water, it came out the spigot as expected. When I went to pull the knob for the shower to engage - NOTHING. I turned it off, turned it on, and still the shower did not work. I called my husband in to help. He has 40 years of HVAC experience, and even he could not get the shower to work. I opted for a bath, and, when trying to get the stopper to work, we learned that it wasn't even attached. In our frustration, we decided to pack up and leave, foregoing the amazing breakfast that everyone raves about, for fear that that too would be a dismal disappointment. I did get a text after notifying the owner that we left. "Thank you for letting us know this information, we will be having our maintenance guy look at these issues today before our next guest comes through. Sorry for the inconvenience of the internet not working. This is the first we have heard about this; we will get a hold of our internet provider out there today as well. (Funny, that is not what the cleaning person mentioned to us.) It strikes me as odd that we never saw anyone 'managing' the property the whole time we were there. Many reviews talk about the hosts for this property, and we were kind of looking forward to that engagement, but instead were left with a sterile, fend-for-yourself atmosphere. There are MANY raving reviews about Happy Trails BnB, and that is what drew me to book this location. None of the reviews mention the little blue house, so I wonder if it is a newer addition and IMO not ready for customers yet.

Unfortunately, the Cannonville Visitor Center is closed until further notice. :( It's usually open…read morefrom mid-March to mid-November, but with the budget cuts from the current administration, there's no one left the staff the ranger desk. You can still stop by and enjoy the outdoor interpretive displays on human history in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. It seems like it was a lot of hard work to survive here! Water had to be hauled in from the muddy Paria River. The botanical garden outside the visitor center showcases 19th century agricultural practices including how durable fencing was built with the most minimum of materials. A peek indoors reveals information about historic settlements in the area. I hope this place opens back up soon!

The day between visiting Bryce Canyon NP and Zion NP, I decided to take a few detours. The first…read moredetour was to hike the Willis Creek slot canyon. The drive along Highway 12 was straightforward and it's easy to spot the turnoff onto Main St Cannonville. The Cannonville Visitor Center was easy to find as well. There were plenty of parking spots nearby. The visitor center looks very modern and comfortable inside. The employees were very helpful. They provided maps and useful tips on how to find Willis Creek slot canyon, including accurate number of miles to drive before making turns. The employees also suggested driving along scenic Highway 12 to see the views within Grand Staircase-Escalante, but I didn't have the time. Maybe on my next visit?

Nice quiet RV park undergoing extensive maintenance and clean up. Reasonably priced and great…read morelocation to town Bryce National Park.

It is old and rundown. It was a KOA at one time and has never been updated since. There was a…read morebunch of miscellaneous vehicles around. There is a junk trailer house on the property. Bathrooms were marginal. Not very clean. They did have running water. No office. Cheap to stay because of the condition of the park

GREEDY! Do not recommend if you are a women solo traveler!…read more I booked this spot because the cabin looked cute and quaint. Unfortunately I did not have a great experience at all. I have to take a medication that makes me very sick. I was feeling okay when booking, but it took a turn that afternoon. So I requested a refund 3 hours before arrival which was denied. TOTALLY FINE! So I stuck it out and decided to head over despite not feeling good at all. When I arrived it was great! The bed was super hard though. Then I went to the bathroom and noticed the code that everyone gets is the same for boys and girls showers/ bathrooms.. I've been harassed before as a solo traveler so I take safety seriously. 1. The bed so super hard and uncomfortable (I could deal with that!) 2. Men have 100% access to women showers and bathrooms. That's where I draw the line. I asked the front desk worker for a blanket for extra support, AND just to confirm that I have NO safety measurements as a woman when I shower. Once that was verified, I actually wanted to leave. So I asked for a refund or any $ back at all so I can stay somewhere else to shower safely and get good sleep with a better mattress. The following is why I'm leaving 1 star: The blonde woman was extremely condescending and rude to me. She said "ehm, no. I'm sorry. I mean you already tried due to some illness before so it just kind of sounds like you're just trying to get out of the reservation" with a horrible attitude. My illness is NOT visible, and this was also before I found out men have 100% full access to women's bathrooms and showers! *if you're a women, spend the extra money and stay at yonder! Women's bathroom has private locks for showers and safety/ privacy is actually considered! All good experiences over there, and they are MUCH nicer and not condescending !!!

We just spent 5 nights here in our RV with no problems. The spaces are extremely close together and…read moreyour tow is in the way or in the road, but we made it work fine. I could see if your neighbors do not make an effort then things could get dicey. We were lucky that everyone was respectful of each others tiny spaces. The staff is out everyday all day keeping the grounds cleaned up. The location is great. We were able to walk to dinner every night. We love this area and will definitely stay here again when returning.

Amazing RV park. Friendly staff, beautiful views! Highly recommend! We will be back!read more

An amazing RV park near Bryce Canyon. This is a brand new park in the area with all the…read moreamenities. They have 30 amp and 50 amp., showers, laundry room, even a dog wash for your dirty fur babies from all the hikes they are doing. A local stream is behind the campground, which is really cool you can walk to, for the dogs to play in. They even have a large gift shop and each campsite is equipped with a fire pit. They sell the fire wood and fire starters inside the office. They will even deliver the firewood to campsite if you choose to. This campground is only open for the season and usually closes after October 31 and reopens around April. Will definitely come back!!!!

If planning to come to Bryce plan ahead and reserve a space…read more I did mine online through recreation.gov There are two main sites that include North Campground, that one is a little closer to the canyon trails so it fills up months ahead so be quick and plan ahead. Same set-up as most, pre-pay and tag your site with the info you get at the check-in post. $15 per night. The Canyon is just 15 minute walk from most of the sites. We you leave there is a shower you can rent for $5 per a person at the first RV park as you head back into town.

Beautiful campground, clean bathrooms, and nice big spaces. It was colder than we anticipated so we…read morewere quite freezing but that's not the campgrounds fault. We will be back!

The area of Panguitch Lake is beautiful! You have a mix of small town Utah with some woods, farms,…read moreand a lake. We stayed at the North campground for three nights and then the overflow area for two. There are a few other camping areas as well, there is a south, and then at least two or three additional camping areas near by. I found them all when I got lost hiking around. The camp spots are not all created equal, some a far better then others, and without knowing the area first, you can't possibly know if your getting a quality spot. We reserved a space before we left. When we got there, we found that the place that we had reserved, did not have a flat space for a table next to the RV spot, we would have to hike up and down a little hill to get to a table every time we wanted anything. It just didn't work for our style of camping this time around. We spoke to the camps hosts and they let us switch spots to another open one with no problem. The next plot fit our requirements much better. Although its good to know that not all spots have a water spicket. Each lot does have a fire pit area with a flip style sort of grill, but no BBQ's. There are bathrooms, just toilets, the hand sinks don't work because they say they are trying to conserve water (although I just found that really odd, because I would just go to the spicket and wash my hands). The bathrooms are clean, and well maintained. Also, the lake was not very yielding. You had to throw back anything under 17", which was everything that was caught by my group. All in all, it was a fun, quiet place to go and I would recommend it to any outdoor lover. Next time I go, I will be tent camping and I will probably stay at the South campsite for that.

Panguitch Lake Campground had large, spacious sites and good privacy. The campground hosts were…read morevery welcoming and we enjoyed our short stay here - I say short because unfortunately we were chased out by the Brianhead fire that got a little out of control. The area was very beautiful and would like to explore it more in the future.