ADVENTR.co // Adventures and Photography from the Colorado Plateau, Rocky Mountains & Beyond

The Paria Plateau: Returning to the Sand Hills

Beyond the High Plateaus: The Tertiary History of the Grand Canyon District, Part II
Saturday – Sunday, May 2-3, 2026

After spending all day Friday driving across the Arizona Strip, I was up bright and early on Saturday morning to watch the sunrise from the edge of Marble Canyon and then drove up House Rock Valley along the base of the Kaibab Plateau to the western end of the Paria Plateau so I could spend the rest of the weekend exploring the Sand Hills on top. Aside from an amazing backpacking trip through Paria Canyon last spring, I have not been back to explore the Paria Plateau since 2019, which is a shame because it’s a place I used to enjoy visiting at least once almost every year, and sometimes many more times than that! As you can imagine, I was really looking forward to finally returning! After driving up onto the plateau via the Bonal Springs Road I spent the rest of the day following twisty, sandy, two-track roads that roughly followed the southern and western rims of the plateau while also stopping frequently to get out to hike and explore along the way.

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Arizona Strip: Grand Wash to the Marble Platform

Across the Arizona Strip | Friday – Saturday, May 1-2, 2026

After spending Thursday evening in Las Vegas I was up extra early on Friday morning and ready to leave Nevada for a long, hot and dusty drive across the Arizona Strip. I’ve always wanted to enter the Arizona Strip from the west via Gold Butte National Monument and figured this would be a good time to finally do it. I planned to drive all the way across the Arizona Strip to the Marble Platform on the eastern end which would give me the opportunity to see more of the Plateau Province that I started exploring more thoroughly back in 2024. After topping off my gas tank in Moapa for the long drive ahead, I followed the Virgin River to Whitney Pocket at the southern end of the Virgin Mountains and began my trek eastward.

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The Enepitsi Trail in Santa Clara Canyon

Thursday, April 30, 2026

I’m going to be spending all of next week in Kanab at a conference for work, so late last week I made kind of a last-minute decision to drive down to Las Vegas a few days before so I could see Architects in concert at the House of Blues on Thursday evening. Then I would be able to spend Friday and the rest of the weekend along the Arizona Strip before driving into Kanab late on Sunday afternoon. Surprisingly, this would be the very first concert in 2026 that I would be attending, although I did have tickets to a local show in February that was cancelled. I left home bright and early on Thursday morning and made my way Southwest across Utah and the Colorado Plateau before dropping down into the Mojave Desert. After grabbing an early lunch in St. George I had some extra time and thought it would be nice to stretch my legs and go for a short hike on the Enepitsi Trail (Ghost Trail) along the Santa Clara River. I’ve already hiked to the nice petroglyphs above on Anasazi Ridge before and was interested in seeing what could be found down below in the Santa Clara Canyon.

The Uncompahgre Plateau to the Gunnison Gorge

Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area | Friday – Saturday, April 24-25, 2026

Since we just drove home from Arizona this past weekend and I’ll be leaving for Las Vegas early on Thursday morning, I thought it would be a good idea to stay closer to home this weekend and hike a few more sections of the trails found within the Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area, especially since my last trip to the Gunnison Gorge was cut short earlier in the month when I was still battling a bad cold. The weather was calling for rain to begin overnight on Saturday and continue throughout Sunday, so I figured I would just head out after work on Friday for a quick overnighter and come home later on Saturday. I left from work on Friday afternoon, grabbed a quick dinner in Delta and then decided to go on a few short hikes along the foot of the Uncompahgre Plateau before heading over to find a campsite near the Gunnison Gorge.

Potsherds & Petroglyphs from the Painted Desert

Thursday – Saturday, April 16-18, 2026

After spending a full week below the rim in the Grand Canyon we returned to Flagstaff for a night before we planned to drive over to Petrified Forest National Park and the surrounding Palavayu area to spend a couple of days before heading home. Unfortunately, things would not go quite as planned because my right eye started to hurt really bad and bother me overnight and I ended up having to go to Urgent Care on Friday morning where I found out that I had a scratched cornea and wouldn’t be able to wear my contacts for a few days. It’s not surprising based on how much blowing sand we encountered in the canyon, but I am really glad that I didn’t have any issues with my eye while we were still in the canyon because that would not have been fun!

ADVENTR.co Posts

The Paria Plateau: Returning to the Sand Hills

Arizona Strip: Grand Wash to the Marble Platform

The Enepitsi Trail in Santa Clara Canyon

The Uncompahgre Plateau to the Gunnison Gorge

Potsherds & Petroglyphs from the Painted Desert