Vermillion Cliffs National Monument, Arizona

As you probably figured out by now, it's a hiking park. We did the 'Wave' hike. Register online for 10 slots or go in person for a daily drawing of 10 slots at the ranger station in Kanab, UT.

I have been trying to plan some type of route, but there are so many things I want to see it's almost impossible.

A few years back I was in that general area on a business trip. A guy told me about a place called "Terra Weep" and said all the professional photographers go there for their best photographs of the Grand Canyon. I followed his directions, and traveled 60 miles on a very smooth dirt road until I reached the location. It was worth the trip.

Thank you everyone for you comments.

Here you go:


http://www.blm.gov/az/st/en/prog/blm_special_areas/natmon/vermilion.html

Then there's a dirt connector on the west side of the monument( House Rock Valley Road). There are few rustic campgrounds on this, as well as trailheads to the canyon walk(s).
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House Rock Canyon Rd is a do-not-miss if your vehicle is suited to driving on it.



You are all alone and walk right up to the rim of the Canyon and sit with your feet dangling over the edge. Excellent experience. A whole different thing without 150 other people in sight.




The road itself is what I call a high speed dirt road:



But of course you don't want to be out there when it rains.

I browsed maps and web sites a few years ago. From what I recall US89 and US89A skirt on the north and SE sides. I believe monument headquarters are on 89 west of Page, as is one campground. There's a trailhead from the campground to one of the canyon walks.

89A crosses the river on the first bridge (actually its later twin) across this part of the Colorado, and a side trip takes you to Lees Ferry, with camping and river access. It is also the lower trailhead of the main canyon trail (Paria Canyon)

Then there's a dirt connector on the west side of the monument( House Rock Valley Road). There are few rustic campgrounds on this, as well as trailheads to the canyon walk(s).

Overall this is much less accessible (by road) than National Parks.

http wrote:
Access
From Flagstaff, travel north on U.S. Highway 89 to 89A at the Bitter Springs turnoff. From Kanab, Utah, take U.S. Highway 89 to the east or 89A to the south through Fredonia and Jacob Lake. There are no paved roads within the Monument. While the House Rock Valley Road/BLM 1065 is a maintained dirt road it may be impassable when wet. Other roads on the Monument require a four-wheel drive-high clearance vehicle due to deep sand.

http://www.desertusa.com/Vermillion-Cliffs-MN/photos/VermilionCliffsMap.pdf

You can use Google Maps Streetview to preview the sights are along the paved highways.

Passed through there once on the way around the Grand Canyon, and while we saw some impressive sights, I have no doubt whatever that we would have seen many, many more had we gotten off the highway. It is a beautiful area, that is for sure.

I can also assure you that the entire Southwest has vast tracts of land where there simply are no roads. If you want to really see that part of the continent, you will have to climb out of your vehicle and do some hiking. And if you do that, be sure you take along the necessary gear to find your way back, as it is easy to get badly (and possibly fatally) lost. You will be rewarded, however, by the chance to see things more incredible than you can possibly imagine.