Signs posted at either entrance warn “impassible when wet” and they mean it. What’s the bottom line? For those who love the great outdoors, the Grand Staircase is one the best areas in the country to explore.Ī word of warning about driving the Smoky Mountain Road. Even today, the unspoiled natural beauty of the Grand Staircase remains a frontier. It’s a high, rugged, and remote region that was the last place in the continental United States to be mapped. The Grand Staircase is comprised of five “steps” of multi-hued cliffs and plateaus that rise some 5,500 feet in the southwestern part of the monument. Spanning nearly 1.9 million acres, the Grand Staircase was established in 1996 by Presidential Proclamation when it became the Bureau of Land Management’s first National Monument. The Smoky Mountain Road passes through the heart of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GSENM). When we explored it in mid-May we enjoyed temperatures in the mid-70s during the day and in the low 50s during the night. The elevation of the route varies between 4,500 feet and 6,500 feet, meaning you’ll find relatively moderate temperatures in spring and fall, but it can get quite hot in the summer and cold in the winter. The entire 78 miles of the road can be driven in six hours in a truck camper though I recommend taking more time to enjoy the views and to stretch your legs. The Smoky Mountain Road is a designated scenic backway for the world-renowned and very popular Utah Route-12.

Of all the roads and trails I’ve explored in southern Utah, the Smoky Mountain Road is the longest, roughest, and most challenging of them all.

Mountain 4x4 climb