Escalante Petrified Forest State Park

In 1872, a member of John Wesley Powell’s survey party, Almon Harris Thompson, first explored the Escalante River. He decided to name the area after an explorer named Escalante, which means to escalate upward, like stair steps, which describes the plateaus surrounding the park. In 1954, Wide Hollow Reservoir was constructed to provide irrigation for the town of Escalante. The reservoir is stocked with rainbow trout and bluegill and is popular for water sports.
A visitor center was built in 1991 and features petrified wood, petrified dinosaur bones, ammonite, and shell fossils. Visitors will enjoy several trails, which wind throughout the park. The Petrified Forest Trail is a one-mile loop, winding through lava flows and thousands of pieces of petrified wood. The Sleeping Rainbows trail is an optional .75-mile loop off the Petrified Forest Trail. This section is much steeper and requires scrambling and climbing over rocks.
In the fall of 2014, they added a 50 ft petrified tree. The entire tree can be viewed from its roots to the tip. it is accessible to all visitors. Opened to the public as a state park in 1976.

Call to check visitor center open hours. Generally around 8:00am-7:00pm. Closed Christmas and New Year’s Day.

Day-use fees:
$10 per vehicle
$5 Utah resident & seniors 62 and older
Commercial groups $5 per person

Machine 1: is located in the visitor’s center.
1) Cattle Skull with Escalante Petrified Forest State Park text,
2) Escalante Petrified Forest State Park Welcome Sign,
3) Miner and Indian with Escalante Petrified Forest State Park text,
4) "Remove a Petrified Piece from the Park and you will be cursed" with Escalante Petrified Forest Legend text around the edge.

11/25/25: Visitor Center was closed but could see machine inside TSB