Devil's Garden in Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument: Hidden Sandstone Wonderland

When planning a vacation to Bryce Canyon National Park, be sure to add several days to your itinerary to explore the nearby Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. One nearly deserted and beautiful natural sandstone area in the monument is the Devil's Garden.

Quick Stats:

Take Scenic Byway 12 to the Hole-in-the-Rock road. Be prepared for graded gravel driving conditions on Hole-in-the-Rock road and allow plenty of driving time. Devil's Garden is about 12-15 miles down this road. You can make the trip in good weather in a passenger vehicle. You may need a 4-wheel drive in certain weather conditions or if you go farther along the road past Devil's Garden.

Visiting Devil's Garden in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Park, Utah

Our trip started out from Bryce Canyon National Park in the early morning hours. My husband and I packed a sack lunch and, armed with our Grand Staircase-Escalante map, we headed out for destinations unknown.

We decided to go to Devil's Garden because the name intrigued me. What would a Devil's Garden look like? Would it be like Bryce Canyon? Once we turned off the highway onto the gravel side road, it took us nearly an hour to reach Devil's Garden in our small passenger car. In the small parking lot, we found only one other car. The family had just finished touring the site and did not want to leave this natural wonderland.

Devil's Garden looks eerie, especially coming from the Pacific Northwest with its cool, green forests. On my first visit, the natural sandstone formations appeared to be fantastic, otherworldly creations. Words cannot do justice to these works of art.

The sandstone formations have bands of colors throughout, starting with red on the bottom and working up to lighter tan colors at the top. I'm sure my handy map and guidebook explained the colors from a scientific standpoint; however, for visitors these banded colors make for some stunning photographs.

You can walk on top of some formations, walk through some formations, and walk around other formations. You can hike as much or as little as you want in the area. Take your take time to enjoy this most unusual rock garden.

On the day we visited, the sky was a deep blue with a few puffy white clouds. The blue sky contrasts well with the Devil's Garden sandstone formations. Be sure to take your camera, extra batteries and memory cards, and a tripod with you. I took some amazing shots of this stark landscape. With virtually no other tourists, we had this natural playground to ourselves for several hours.

Devil's Garden has a tiny picnic area containing a portable potty and a picnic table. Pack out your own garbage and keep this geologic wonder clean and pristine for future visitors. Be sure to carry adequate drinking water, especially if you plan to hike around the area.

Devil's Garden is a wonderful landscape for children to visit. Apply sunscreen liberally to your children and then watch them explore this unique landscape. Your Devil's Garden visit and photos will certainly be a memorable experience and, in my case, became the highlight of my trip to Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.