Vermilion Cliffs National Monument

Vermilion Cliffs Table of Contents

• Map of the national monument
• Photographs
• Regions; sites in the monument
• Hike to the plateau
• Locations and trailsincluding Buckskin GulchCoyote Buttes and White Pocket
• Nearby places
• Similar places

Location

Map of Vermilion Cliffs National Monumentand adjacent areas.

Photographs

All photographs of the national monument.

Vermilion Cliffs Regions

The south and east edges of the national monument are formed by the Vermilion Cliffs themselveswhich must be one of the most spectacular and extensive cliff faces in the US - unusually colorful because of the especially variegated Chinle Formation that forms the lower stratathe escarpment runs for over 30 miles and reaches heights of 2,000 feet. Further southeastthe land is quite flat for 100 miles or more though is split by the Colorado Riverat the start of its Grand Canyon.

The Vermilion Cliffs and their foothillsthe lower canyon of the Paria River and the Coyote Buttes are also part of the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness Areawhich extends a few miles northwardsbeyond the national monument boundary into Utahto incorporate the Buckskin Gulch slot canyon and adjacent lands.



Besides these regionsmost people encounter Vermilion Cliffs National Monument when driving along US 89A between Lees Ferry and Jacob Lake on the Kaibab Plateau - 40 miles of impressive scenery with the cliffs on one side and the vastlevel plains around Marble Canyon and House Rock Valley on the otherfollowed (to the west) by a steep climb into pine forest at the edge of plateau. Apart from the Ferrythe road passes just one other significant settlementCliff Dwellerswhich consists of a few adobe buildings nestled amongst crumbling rocks and oddly shaped bouldersincluding a restaurantlodge and gas station. There are plenty of places for free primitive camping along dirt tracks either side of US 89Amostly on the southeast sidefor example near milepost 548 where a short side track leads to a corralalso used as the trailhead to Soap Creek. Apart from camping beneath the cliffs or just driving past themone obvious goal is to climb to the topbut the sheer Navajo and Moenave sandstone restricts easy routes to just threeone via Bonelli Springreached by a side track near milepost 561and two a few miles away near Jacob's Poolone of which is described below.

Hike to the Plateau

Jacob's Pool and nearby Rachel's Pool are a series of small springs at the foot of the Vermilion Cliffs that were once used byand are named afterthe family of John D Lee who founded Lees Ferry. The area is reached by a 2 mile side road that leaves US 89A between mileposts 557 and 558near a historical marker commemorating the Escalante-Dominguez expedition of 1776. The road passes through an unlocked gate and ends at an abandoned stone house dated 1951next to an old corral and other relicswhich is a good place to parkor camp. The shortest route from here to the top of the cliffs is to walk eastwards along a disused track parallel to a fenceacross then beside a small drainage and up to one of the springs - an area of dense bushes and trees from which a small stream flows. A trail begins when the track endsleading up a slope left of the springsacross a flatter rocky area then ascending a longer slope of increasing steepness. It trends rightclimbing more gradually then sharply once more to the base of the sheer Navajo sandstone layerfinally cutting back northwest along a cairned track to the foot of a narrow crack in the top of the cliffswhich has a number of petroglyphs and inscriptions of early travelers etched on the rocks at either side. The path continues up the crack then fades away once at the top. This part of the plateau is mostly sandy apart from scattered rocky outcropsmostly eroded beehive/teepee formations. Views from the edge encompass countless square miles of the Colorado River valley and the more distant Kaibab Plateauthough all this expanse is rather featureless and the scene is not particularly good for photography.

Vermilion Cliffs - Locations

Sites and hikes in the national monument and/or the wilderness area:

Vermilion Cliffs - Nearby Places

• Lees Ferry - small settlement near the Paria Riverpopular for camping & hikingand the starting point for raft trips down the Grand Canyon
• Paria RimrocksUtah (30 miles from Page) - colorful strata and strangely shaped rocks

Vermilion Cliffs - Similar Places

• Beaver Dam Mountains WildernessArizona - mixture of desertcanyon and mountain scenery