Today, camping is one of the many ways people enjoy the beauty and solitude of the Monument's backcountry. To protect these resources, please camp in already disturbed areas. We recommend using camp stoves at these sites. If you choose to have a fire, we encourage you to bring firepans and carry out ashes; you may collect dead and down wood for fires. Please practice "Leave No Trace" techniques at all times.

Conditions change seasonally - often suddenly - in this land of extremes. You may encounter unexpected snow storms, flash floods, impassable roads, extreme heat or cold, dried up water sources, and high water from floods or spring runoff. This is a beautiful but unforgiving landscape.

Stop at a Monument visitor center to obtain current information on road and weather conditions, maps, and permits, which are required for all overnight use.

Developed campgrounds may be found at the perimeter of the Monument along Highways 12 and 89. There is a 14 day stay limit at all BLM sites.

Primitive camping continues to be popular in the Escalante Canyons and other parts of the Monument. Backcountry permits are required for all overnight camping or backpacking in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

Minimum-impact camping techniques help to maintain the unique qualities that make the Monument special. If not already identified as a recommended camp site in this web-site under Primitive Camping Locations, please find a location which shows signs of prior use as a campsite. Do not camp at trailheads or within 300' of corrals, springs, seeps, or streams.

When car camping, we strongly recommend that you use a camp stove. For campfires, a metal fire pan, such as a garbage can lid or an old barbecue bottom, is recommended. Before breaking camp, transfer the cold, blackened ashes to your garbage container, and stow the fire pan in a separate bag. This way, other campers will find a clean camp for their own enjoyment. Bring your own firewood, since dead and down wood is important habitat for other creatures, and please do not take living plant material for any purpose.

Visitation has increased to the point that we are recommending the following specific places to camp. These locations have no water, toilets, refuse collection, or other developed facilities, so please remove your own litter and provide for your own waste disposal. Limit your vehicle travel to existing, well traveled routes.

Suggested Camping Locations by Region

Other Campgrounds are available in nearby State and National Parks, in the Dixie National Forest to the north of the Monument and North Kaibab Ranger District, Kaibab National Forest to the south. Most of the communities surrounding the Monument provide privately operated developed campgrounds.

All vehicles and bicycles must stay on roads.
Driving off road is prohibited. 43CFR 8341.1 (c)