Grand Staricase Escalante Cottonwood Road

[paul_frank]

In a few weeks I will be driving through Grand Staircase Escalante on

the Cottonwood Road. I will have roughly 30 hours all told on the

road to spare, and since I've never been there, am seeking guidance.

I'd like to find a good spot to camp where I will have nearby

sunrise/sunset opportunities. I would appreciate any info from anyone

who's done it. I am fully aware of the requisite vehicle and

emergency needs, as well as other places in Utah to shoot, so I'd

appreciate a discussion limited to photography along that stretch

only. thanks!

[stan_murawski__jr.]

Hi Paul,

 

Three places that I can think of on or just off Cottonwood Road in Grand Staircase Escalante are Grosvenor Arch, Cottonwood Canyon and Kodachrome Basin. You might want to purchase Robert Hitchmans�s Photograph America Newsletter #52 Grand Staircase/Escalante. His website is http://www.photographamerica.com/.

[chris_browne]

Hi Paul, I drove this road earlier in the year and was thinking how killer it might be in the fall with the Cottonwoods.

 

It seemed to me there was some great rock formations along the road at the northern 1/3, past Grosvenor Arch. There are lots of cool slot canyons along the way too. We stopped at one pull-out/camping spot which looked nice for camping, but was not right at a fantastic get out of your tent and start shooting type of place. It seemed there were a number of decent camp sites all along the road.

 

Sorry I can't be more specific. You should have a blast down there. Watch for rocks/boulders on the road.

 

Cheers,

 

CB

 

www.chrisbrownephotography.com

[gary_anthes]

In addition to Hitchman, you might also look at Laurent Martres' "Photographing the Southwest -- Volume I", which devotes about 25 pages to GSE. (It's just my interpretatation, but both Martres and Hitchman seem to favor other roads through GSE for photography.)

[stan_murawski__jr.]

Hi again Paul,

 

Another thing to remember is the Cottonwood Road is mostly clay and you don�t want to be caught out there in any type of rain. We hit rain in November 2001 and it was worse than driving in snow. The car looked like it came thru a snowstorm and was covered with clay in the wheel wells and inside the tire threads. If rain is in the forecast avoid going.

[don_grall]

I will 2nd the caution about rain. If it does rain just stop and wait an hour or two and it will dry out enough to continue. Waiting sure beats sliding into a ditch or boulder as your vehicle attempts to mimic a crab's sideways gait (yes, even with 4WD engaged). Grosvenor Arch is a definite sunset spot with good camping nearby. I wasn't all that impressed with the slot canyons, Cottonwood slot canyon is ok, but really pales in comparison to Upper and Lower Antelope Slots near Page,AZ. The road north of Grosvenor Arch can be vvVVeeEEeeRRrrYYyy washboardy.

[j_zinn]

Paul,

 

Along the southern section of the road are some grey colored Badland type hills. There also is the Cockscomb which is an absolutely amazing feature but somewhat difficult to photograph. One annoying aspect of the road were the powerlines which seemed to run along its entire length.

 

In terms of sunrise and sunset shots... Most of the road is in a valley which will not make for great early or late light. The southern section opens up into a wider plain and the northern section climbs up out of the valley in the areas around Grosvenors Arch, etc. I spent a whole day driving up and down in the fall and did get some nice shots of the Cottonwoods along the creek. But I wish I had more time to explore some of the roads further east and just to the north of Lake Powell.

[xato]

When I drove Cottonwood in early February it was so slippery I thought I would never get out of there even with 4WD. Anyway here is a photo of some red rock about 1/2 way through. If it wasn't getting dark, I should have walked around some more. I agree that the slots nearby aren't very exciting. Kodachrome Basin has some nice campsites. Otherwise the nearest camping might be at the Paria River.

 

Warren<div></div>