The small southern Utah community of Boulder provides access to uncrowded trails through the red-rock canyons, forested mountains and high desert in adjacent Grand Staircase-Escalante Canyons National Monument and Dixie National Forest. Boulder offers few amenities compared to other gateway communities, but its comfortable lodging properties and quality restaurants make it an increasingly popular base for hikers and backpackers.
Fundamentals
Located at the base of Boulder Mountain, the remote community prides itself on being one of the last areas in the United States to receive mail by mule train and among the last to gain access to a road for vehicle traffic. Year-round road access didn’t come to Boulder until 1939, according to the town website. The northern portion of that road, Utah Highway 12, wasn’t paved until 1985.
The national monument’s remote northeast section and sprawling national forest give visitors to Boulder a variety of challenging hiking trails to choose from for day hikes and multi-day backpacking treks.
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Park
The rugged nature of the 1.9 million-acre national park makes route-finding skills essential, according to the Bureau of Land Management, which manages the park. Few hiking trails are marked, meaning travel on foot requires detailed maps and a compass or GPS unit. Hiking routes can include walking in streams for long distances and cutting through dense brush, according to the agency website. Visitors planning hikes should check in with the Escalante Ranger Station for up-to-date information on weather forecasts and trail conditions.
The Escalante River hike in the park is easily reached by a short drive from Boulder. The Bureau of Land Management website suggests the 15-mile hike in the river canyon be undertaken in two days, but it can be accomplished in one day by experienced canyon hikers.
Warning
The Bureau of Land Management and trail guides recommend hiking in the park in spring or fall, as summer temperatures can climb above 100 degrees and flash floods become a serious threat. Snow, ice and cold temperatures make most winter hiking in the park unfeasible. The agency website warns that quicksand commonly occurs and can be waist-deep.
Boulder Mail Trail
The Boulder Mail Trail to Death Hollow follows the old mule service trail from Boulder south to the town of Escalante. The moderate 5.5-mile one-way hike crosses picturesque slick-rock areas and then follows the Sand Creek drainage to the rim of Death Hollow, a deep sandstone gorge, according to the Best Day Hikes in Grand Staircase website. The trail then drops to the canyon floor. The hike can be extended by following Death Hollow, usually by wading or swimming the stream, to its confluence with the Escalante River and walking 10 miles back to the original trailhead.
Calf Creek Falls
The relatively easy 5.4-mile round trip Calf Creek Falls hike has become a popular day hike in the Boulder area, according to the Best Day Hikes in Grand Staircase website. From the trailhead at a picnic area on the road between Boulder and Escalante, the trail leads to two waterfalls and through fields of black volcanic rock among red sandstone formations.
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