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Escalante Petrified Forest State Park, Escalante

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#3 of 6 in Nature in Escalante
State Park Nature / Park
Escalante Petrified Forest State Park is a state park of Utah, USA, located a half-mile north of the town of Escalante. A visitor center was built in 1991, and features displays of plant and marine fossils, petrified wood and fossilized dinosaur bones over 150 million years old . The Petrified Forest Trail is a one-mile loop, winding up the side of a mesa to the top where most of the fossil wood occurs. Logs two feet or more in diameter are seen at several places along the trail where it is eroding from the conglomerate capping the mesa. This conglomerate lies near the top of the Brushy Basin Member of the Morrison Formation. The wood is multicolored and was prized by hobbyists before the Park was established. The logs are believed to be of conifers that were transported by a river before being buried and later fossilized as agate. A 50 foot log is displayed near the trail head and is one of the most complete fossil logs known from the Morrison Formation.The Sleeping Rainbows trail is an optional.75mi loop off the Petrified Forest Trail. This section is much steeper and requires scrambling and climbing over rocks.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 including swimming, boating and fishing.
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TripAdvisor Traveler Rating
221 reviews
TripAdvisor
  • Nice hike of about 1.5 hours. Not accessible with the annual pass. Need to pay 8 $ entrance fee. Coloured remains of trees. Just a few but nice. Good views over the lake near by.  more »
  • It is quite interesting to see the petrified trees. Meanwhile, the lake view nearby is pretty good as well.  more »
  • Besides offering a nice place to cool off in the water at the reservoir, the park features a fun hike through a petrified forest. The full loop takes about 1.5 hours and is well worth it. Be sure to g...  more »
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12 days in Utah BY A USER FROM UNITED STATES September, outdoors, relaxing, historic sites, museums, slow & easy, hidden gems PREFERENCES: September, outdoors, relaxing, historic sites, museums ATTRACTION STYLE: Hidden gems PACE: Slow & easy 3 days in Escalante BY A USER FROM TAIWAN October, popular PREFERENCES: October ATTRACTION STYLE: Popular PACE: Medium 3 days in Escalante BY A USER FROM UNITED STATES October, popular PREFERENCES: October ATTRACTION STYLE: Popular PACE: Medium 17 days in United States BY A USER FROM UNITED STATES September, culture, outdoors, historic sites, museums, popular & hidden gems PREFERENCES: September, culture, outdoors, historic sites, museums ATTRACTION STYLE: Popular & hidden gems PACE: Medium 32 days in Utah BY A USER FROM CZECH REPUBLIC August, popular PREFERENCES: August ATTRACTION STYLE: Popular PACE: Medium 30 days in United States BY A USER FROM AUSTRIA October, kids, outdoors, shopping, slow & easy, hidden gems PREFERENCES: October, kids, outdoors, shopping ATTRACTION STYLE: Hidden gems PACE: Slow & easy 60 days in Utah BY A USER FROM UNITED KINGDOM December, popular PREFERENCES: December ATTRACTION STYLE: Popular PACE: Medium 36 days in Utah BY A USER FROM SAUDI ARABIA August, popular PREFERENCES: August ATTRACTION STYLE: Popular PACE: Medium 10 days in Utah BY A USER FROM UNITED STATES July, teens, kids, popular PREFERENCES: July, teens, kids ATTRACTION STYLE: Popular PACE: Medium 27 days in Utah & Page BY A USER FROM UNITED STATES September, outdoors, hidden gems PREFERENCES: September, outdoors ATTRACTION STYLE: Hidden gems PACE: Medium 10 days in United States BY A USER FROM UNITED STATES September, popular PREFERENCES: September ATTRACTION STYLE: Popular PACE: Medium 18 days in Utah BY A USER FROM UNITED KINGDOM October, kids, outdoors, historic sites, shopping, popular PREFERENCES: October, kids, outdoors, historic sites, shopping ATTRACTION STYLE: Popular PACE: Medium
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