The Nautilus is a Navajo Sandstone formation in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument east of Kanab, shaped by water erosion into a curving spiral structure that resembles, with considerable accuracy, the cross-section of a nautilus shell. The hike to reach it is about a mile roundtrip with minimal elevation change through a sandy desert wash. The formation is not always easy to find because the trailhead isn’t marked and the access road requires navigating a dirt road 40-plus miles east of Kanab. But the formation itself is one of the more photographically distinctive natural rock structures in the monument, and the region around Cottonwood Canyon Road is itself worth the drive.

I found The Nautilus on a Grand Staircase day that also included other Cottonwood Canyon Road stops. The spiral pattern eroded into the rock is not quite as perfect as a chambered nautilus shell, but it’s close enough to make you check twice whether it’s real. It is. That’s the desert canyon country doing its specific thing.

Quick Facts

Trail Name	The Nautilus Trail
Location	Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, near Kanab, Utah
Coordinates	37.0864 N, 111.8908 W
Distance	~1 mile roundtrip
Elevation Gain	Less than 50 feet
Difficulty	Easy (unmarked trailhead; download map before going)
Time	45-90 minutes
Dogs Allowed	Yes, on leash
Fee	None (BLM/NPS land)
View on AllTrails

How to Get There

From Kanab, head east on US-89 for approximately 40 miles. Watch for the turnoff onto Cottonwood Canyon Road (also known as the Paria River Valley Road). Turn right onto Cottonwood Canyon Road and follow it approximately 5 miles. Watch for a pullout on the left side of the road. There is no official trailhead sign; the formation is visible from the wash near the pullout if you know what you’re looking for.

Cottonwood Canyon Road is a dirt road that requires a high-clearance vehicle in most conditions. The road becomes impassable in wet weather and can have soft sandy sections that challenge lower-clearance vehicles even when dry. Check current road conditions with the BLM Kanab Field Office before heading out, especially after any recent rain.

From Salt Lake City, Kanab is about 4 hours south on I-15 and US-89. From Page, Arizona, Kanab is about 1.5 hours west. From Escalante, Utah, the eastern access to the monument, the Cottonwood Canyon Road area is accessible from the north end of the road off UT-12.

No permit required for day hiking. No entry fee. BLM land within the Grand Staircase-Escalante NM.

Parking Information

The parking area is an informal dirt pullout along Cottonwood Canyon Road. No facilities, no signs, no designated parking spaces. The area is remote and typically uncrowded. If you don’t recognize the pullout as the right one, the AllTrails GPS track will confirm your location relative to the formation. Do not park in areas that block the road or in soft sand that could strand your vehicle.

Cell Service and Navigation

Cell coverage is absent along Cottonwood Canyon Road and at the Nautilus trailhead area. Download AllTrails offline with the GPS track before leaving Kanab. This trail specifically requires offline navigation: the trailhead is unmarked, the formation is not visible from the road in all conditions, and the sandy wash approach has no painted trail markers or cairns. The GPS track is what takes you from the pullout to the formation reliably.

Having the AllTrails waypoint for The Nautilus formation saved as a GPS destination before you lose cell coverage is the move. It’s a short hike, but in the Grand Staircase’s remote terrain, finding the unmarked start in the right place matters.

What to Expect at The Nautilus

The Approach

From the pullout, the hike follows a sandy desert wash through the Navajo Sandstone terrain characteristic of this section of Grand Staircase-Escalante. The walk is flat and easy, the kind of desert hiking that requires comfortable shoes rather than technical footwear. The scale of the sandstone formations visible in the wash and along the canyon walls is Grand Staircase-standard: enormous, stratified, deeply colored in the oranges and reds of the Navajo formation.

The Nautilus Formation

The Nautilus is a specific section of eroded sandstone where water working on a crack or weakness in the rock has carved a curving spiral chamber structure into the cliff face. The spiral geometry is genuinely striking and the name is accurate: the cross-section visible from the approach has the proportional relationship of whorls that makes nautilus shells mathematically famous. Standing in front of it and understanding that this is natural erosion rather than intentional carving takes a moment to accept.

For photography, the formation is best in the morning when the sun is still low enough to illuminate the interior of the carved chamber rather than creating overhead glare. A wide-angle lens captures the full formation and its relationship to the surrounding cliff. A mid-range lens works for the interior spiral detail. Overcast light produces even illumination without the contrast issues of direct sun on the curved sandstone.

Trail Difficulty and Length

The Nautilus is about 1 mile with less than 50 feet of gain. Easy is accurate for the terrain; the unmarked trailhead and the requirement for offline navigation add a complexity dimension that earns the note in the Quick Facts. Budget 45-90 minutes including time at the formation.

Dog Friendly?

Yes. Grand Staircase-Escalante BLM land allows leashed dogs throughout. The sandy wash terrain is comfortable for dogs. The remoteness of the location means there’s no water source on the approach; bring water for dogs in addition to your own supply.

What to Bring

Offline navigation: AllTrails GPS track downloaded before leaving Kanab. This is the essential item for this specific trail. Water: 1-2 liters for a short desert hike in remote terrain. More in summer. Sun protection for the open wash sections. Comfortable trail shoes for sandy desert terrain.

For the vehicle: high-clearance recommended for Cottonwood Canyon Road. Check road conditions before driving in. Do not attempt the road after rain.

For photography: wide-angle for the formation, mid-range for the spiral detail, a tripod for the lower-light morning interior work.

Best Time to Visit The Nautilus

Spring (March through May) and fall (September through November) are the comfortable windows for both hiking and driving Cottonwood Canyon Road. Summer heat in Grand Staircase-Escalante is serious: the monument’s terrain provides minimal shade and temperatures regularly exceed 100°F.

Morning is the photography priority. The eastern orientation of the formation means it catches direct morning light when the sun is low, which illuminates the spiral interior rather than creating overhead glare. Plan to be at the formation within the first two hours after sunrise for the best light.

Never attempt Cottonwood Canyon Road in wet weather or when rain is forecast. The dirt road becomes impassable clay that will strand vehicles regardless of their capability. Check road conditions with the BLM Kanab Field Office before any Grand Staircase dirt road excursion.

Rules and Regulations

Leave No Trace principles apply throughout Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Pack out all trash. Do not touch or climb on The Nautilus formation. The sandstone is fragile and the spiral pattern is irreplaceable; human contact accelerates erosion in ways that geological time alone doesn’t. Stay on established paths and in sandy wash bottoms rather than walking on desert crust. No entry fee, no permit required for day hiking.

Where to Stay Near Kanab

Kanab is about 40 miles west on US-89 and the natural base. Basecamp37 in Kanab is worth knowing about. For points travelers, check available Marriott Bonvoy properties in Kanab, IHG Rewards hotels in Kanab, and Hilton Honors options near Kanab. Escalante, Utah, on the east end of the monument, is the other access base for Grand Staircase-Escalante adventures.

Camping Nearby

Dispersed camping is available along Cottonwood Canyon Road. BLM dispersed camping is permitted throughout Grand Staircase-Escalante on established areas with standard rules: pack in, pack out, 14-day stay limit. No developed campgrounds on Cottonwood Canyon Road itself. Kanab and Escalante have private campgrounds and RV parks for those wanting facilities.

Nearby Adventures

Cottonwood Canyon Road itself is worth driving slowly: the canyon walls, wash crossings, and eroded geology along its length offer a self-guided landscape tour through the Grand Staircase. Several other unnamed formations and geology features are visible from the road.

Peekaboo Slot Canyon, accessible from Angel Canyon Road north of Kanab off US-89, is the other major Kanab-area canyon formation, at 7.5 miles with 629 feet of gain. A different character from The Nautilus but the same general corridor.

Buckskin Gulch via Wire Pass is another Kanab-area route, accessible from the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness Area also reached from US-89 east of Kanab. One of the longest and deepest slot canyons in the world; a serious full-day or multi-day commitment.

Other Kanab-area trails include Toadstool Hoodoos, the Great Chamber, Sand Caves, and Belly of the Dragon as shorter and more accessible stops for building a multi-day Kanab-area itinerary around Grand Staircase visits.

Plan This Hike

AllTrails has The Nautilus mapped with the GPS track that takes you from the pullout to the formation. That GPS track is the most important thing to download before this trip. Plan your hike on AllTrails and pull the offline map and GPS track while you’ve got signal in Kanab.

Chase the Quiet

The Nautilus is a mile from where you park and 40 miles from Kanab on a dirt road that requires checking the weather before you drive it. Most of what makes it worth finding is the specific act of finding it: the remote road, the unmarked pullout, the sandy wash approach, the moment when the spiral comes into view and the name proves itself. Grand Staircase-Escalante is full of formations that reward that kind of deliberately sought encounter. The Nautilus is one of the better ones.

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