It is Friday, March 27, 2026, and a deep blue sky stretches over Kanab as I set off on an adventure that will lead me deep into the archaic heart of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. My destination is Cannonville, but the path there is no ordinary road—it is the Cottonwood Canyon Road. After only a few miles on the dusty track, I feel civilization fading behind me. The geology here is so dramatic and alien that I inevitably feel like an explorer on a distant, untouched planet. My reliable RAV4 smoothly handles the washboard sections of the recently graded track. There is an almost reverent silence, interrupted only by the crunch of gravel under the tires.
Soon, the Cockscomb Ridge shifts into view on the left side, its glowing white-red jagged peaks rising like petrified flames into the sky. It is a fascinating contrast to the softer, fossilized dunes in the foreground, which shimmer in a subtle interplay of gray, beige, and an almost surreal bluish-gray. The middle levels look like a canvas of shale and marl, with lighter, sand-colored bands providing accents.
Gallery I: Cottonwood Beauty
After about 14 miles, I reach the foot of Yellow Rock. The path begins gently along a small, gurgling creek, but as soon as I cross the water, nature shows its teeth. The notorious ascent begins—steep, without any saving switchbacks, straight up the scree-covered flank. About three-quarters of the way up, I pause to give my pounding pulse a break. The view offered here is already worth every effort: a panorama of jagged monoliths and color-intense walls surrounds me.
Gallery II: The Ascent and the View at the Stopover
Only ten minutes separate me from the actual plateau, yet the image changes with every step. The canyons below seem more rugged, the vastness of the horizon more breathtaking.
Gallery III: Overwhelming Perspectives
Then I conquer the last ridge and stand frozen in my tracks. Before me spreads a gigantic dome of radiant yellow sandstone. It is Yellow Rock. It looks like a frozen ocean of sulfur-yellow waves, streaked with delicate red and white lines, as if the rocks had their own colorful vascular system.
Gallery IV: The Yellow Giant
The descent into the hollow and the subsequent climb onto Yellow Rock itself reveal new color palettes. Initially, a rich red dominates the ground. I wander to the left flank to capture the transition from the yellow foot of the mountain over to the southern Red Top, whose intense red and orange domes almost glow in the sunlight. On the north side, a white-reddish stripe seems to flow down from the summit like a stream of lava—a surreal image of fluid motion in eternal stone.
Gallery IV (Continued): Colors in Flux
Once at the top, the feeling of freedom is boundless. In every direction, a world of stone and light extends. To the west, colorful peaks line up, and a round elevation reminds me in its majesty of a lonely castle in the desert.
Gallery V: Peak Happiness and Castle Rock
Back in the car, I continue the journey north. The road leads deeper into the canyon, always flanked by the jagged “cockscombs” of the Cockscomb formation. Nature has created artworks here that resemble surf made of stone—bright peaks look like frozen wave crests crashing against dark shores.
Gallery VI: Sculptures of Stone and Dust
Our next destination is the Cottonwood Narrows. I trade the glistening heat for the cool embrace of a slot canyon. At the entrance, I meet a Portuguese couple who enthusiastically rave about the splendor inside but had to turn back at an obstacle. For the first hundred meters, I walk in semi-darkness, as the walls almost completely shut out the sky. But then, it is now about 2:00 PM, the light breaks in from above and ignites a firework of ochre and red tones on the walls. I can often touch the narrow flanks with both arms simultaneously. There are rockfalls to overcome; once I choose the path over a narrow, airy ridge instead of struggling with a smooth colossus. The gorge breathes—at times narrow and mysterious, at others wide, bright, and in lavishly colorful splendor.
Gallery VII: Light Plays in the Deep
Only a few miles further, we take a short detour to Grosvenor Arch. This gigantic double arch of light-colored sandstone towers over 150 feet into the air, appearing like an architectural masterpiece of nature. It is hard to believe that such a delicate marvel stands here in the absolute solitude of the desert. We use the cool shadow of the arch for a quick refreshment and let the monumental silence sink in before tackling the final stretch of the Cottonwood Canyon Road.
The track challenges us once more as it winds through a landscape that can hardly be surpassed in its richness of shapes and colors. Every yard reveals new geological contrasts that stand out sharply against the deep blue of the sky.
Gallery VIII: A Stone Triumphal Arch
The final miles toward Cannonville eventually lead us through a gentler hilly landscape, which nonetheless loses none of its fascination. After barely two miles, the massive, light yellow to white walls of the Henrieville Sandstone appear to our right. Shortly after, the road climbs steeply, leading us onto a ridge. Once at the top, we use one of the two pullouts for one last, overwhelming view.
To our right stretches a colorful mountain range that lies open like a geological history book: the deep red layers of the Carmel Formation form the foundation, above which the pure white of the Entrada Sandstone shines, while the golden-brown Dakota Sandstone perches like a protective cap on the plateaus.
Gallery IX: Geological Finale at the Cockscomb
After this final panorama, the road leads quickly downhill. A soft sigh of relief goes through the car as we finally feel solid asphalt under the tires again. We look back on a day full of geological extremes and unforgettable moments. Finally, we check in at Tropic—exhausted from the hikes and the dirt road, but deeply impressed by the wild, untamed beauty of Cottonwood Canyon and all its hidden jewels.