Visitor Centers
There are four visitor centers in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, each featuring a unique theme. All of the visitor centers have friendly and knowledgeable staff to augment your learning experience and provide weather reports, hiking recommendations and road conditions updates. Visitor Center staff can also advise on Special Recreation Permits.
Educational programs may be available during your visit; check the Activities and Events page in advance and look for posted signs when you arrive for same-day events. Please contact us if you would like to bring students on a field trip to the Monument or have a ranger visit your classroom.
Big Water Visitor Center
This Bureau of Land Management site is closed until further notice.
For informational inquiries, please contact one of the following:
BLM Kanab Visitor Center at 435-644-1300 or
BLM Paria Contact Station at 435-689-0801
Big Water Visitor Center serves as a real-world time machine, highlighting early geological and paleontological discoveries in the area. Visitors can explore exhibits showcasing dinosaur bones, a stunning mural depicting the Late Cretaceous landscape, and other local discoveries from the Monument. Since 2005, fourteen new dinosaur species have been identified here, making this Monument one of North America’s most prolific sites for new paleontological discoveries.
In addition to exploring the interactive gallery, visitors are invited to picnic at shaded outdoor tables. The Center’s bookstore has a good collection of field guides and souvenirs, and self-guided activities can be picked up at the front desk.
- Hours and Admission
This Bureau of Land Management site is closed until further notice.
For informational inquiries, please contact one of the following:BLM Kanab Visitor Center at 435-644-1300 or
BLM Paria Contact Station at 435-689-0801Admission: Free
Summer Hours are generally, but the Visitor Center is closed until further notice (March 10, 2025, through mid-November 2025): Open Wednesday through Saturday from 9 am – 4 pm.
Winter Hours are generally, but the Visitor Center is closed until further notice (Mid-November through mid-March): Open Monday through Thursday from 9 am — 4 pm. Closed from 11:55 a.m. through 12:30 p.m. for lunch.
Holiday Closures: Martin Luther King Day, President’s Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, and December 24 through January 1 in observance of Christmas Day and New Year’s Day
- Address
20 Revolution Way
Big Water, Utah 84741- Accessibility
This Visitor Center has 4 accessible parking spots next to wide concrete paths leading to the Center's entrance. The parking lot is flat with a compacted road base material.
There are accessible restrooms outside the Center, each with flush toilets, 1 accessible stall, and double sinks. The Visitor Center has a gift shop with a wide entrance.
Accessible drinking water is available via a drinking fountain installed on the exterior of the building. A concrete bench without arms sits near the main entrance.
There are multiple interpretive signs and kiosks both outside and inside the building, some of them explaining dinosaur art and exhibits. They are at a height appropriate for visitors using mobility devices.
A broad, curved concrete path leads from the main building to a nearby shaded picnic area with picnic tables on concrete pads. Both ends of the tables can accommodate visitors in wheelchairs. There are no grills in the picnic area.
- Contact Us
BLM Kanab Visitor Center at 435-644-1300 or
BLM Paria Contact Station at 435-689-0801
Cannonville Visitor Center
Located at the northwestern entrance to Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, the Cannonville Visitor Center is your key resource for exploring this unique area of southern Utah.
The Center focuses on human geography, including Native American & Pioneer history in the Monument. Self-guided activities can be picked up at the front desk anytime.
- Hours and Admission
Admission: Free
Summer Hours (March 10, 2025, through mid-November 2025): Open Tuesday through Saturday from 9 am – 4 pm. Please note, these hours are subject to change based on staff availability.
Winter Hours (Mid-November through mid-March): Open Monday through Thursday from 9 am — 4 pm. Closed from 11:55 a.m. through 12:30 p.m. for lunch.
Holiday Closures: Martin Luther King Day, President’s Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, and December 24 through January 1 in observance of Christmas Day and New Year’s Day
- Address
10 Center Street
Cannonville, Utah 84718- Accessibility
The Center has 2 accessible paved parking spots next to the cement path leading up to the main building. There are 7 other paved parking spots in this area and additional spots on the east side of the Center, along the road. The main entrance to the building has a ramp for easy access.
The concrete path leading to the Center’s entrance takes users by a covered kiosk with information about the National Monument. There are other interpretive signs farther up the path, along with a kiosk displaying safety and weather information and signs inside the building. All of these are at a height appropriate for visitors using mobility devices.
The slope of the cement path leading past the shaded kiosk and other displays to the Visitor Center entrance slightly exceeds 5 percent. This may cause challenges for visitors who propel themselves in non-motorized wheelchairs.
The Center has 2 restrooms with flush toilets and a button that allows users to open the doors automatically. The restrooms each have sinks and 1 accessible stall.
Accessible drinking water is available via a drinking fountain on an exterior wall near the restroom entrance.
The Visitor Center has a small patio area with a non-accessible picnic table that is down three steps. Visitors who use wheelchairs or other mobility devices can access the patio along the concrete path leading away from the Visitor Center.
- Contact Us
Cannonville Visitor Center: 435-826-5640
Escalante Interagency Visitor Center
Located on the northern edge of Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, Escalante Interagency Visitor Center is packed with information about the local geology and ecosystem of the nearly one-million acres encompassed by the Monument. Overlooking the geologic monocline northeast of the facility, it provides a glimpse of the geology of the Escalante desert.
The facility has an exhibit room, restrooms, a picnic area, interpretive signs, and a theater to watch the video “Traces in Time,” about science and human history in the Monument. We also have information on enjoying and exploring the Dixie National Forest and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Self-guided activities can be picked up at the front desk anytime.
Opened to the public in 2005, the Visitor Center is one of the Department of the Interior’s first Gold LEED-rated facilities. It is staffed with personnel from the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, and Forest Service.
- Hours and Admission
Admission: Free
Summer Hours (March 10, 2025, through mid-November 2025): Open Thursday through Tuesday from 9 am – 4 pm (closed Wednesday)
Winter Hours (Mid-November through mid-March): Open Monday through Thursday from 9 am — 4 pm. Closed from 11:55 a.m. through 12:30 p.m. for lunch.
Holiday Closures: Martin Luther King Day, President’s Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, and December 24 through January 1 in observance of Christmas Day and New Year’s Day
- Address
755 West Main Street
Escalante, Utah 84726- Accessibility
The parking area for the facility consists mainly of compacted gravel, along with 3 paved accessible parking spots. One of the accessible parking spots is a van space with an access aisle on the side for vehicles with a mobility device ramp or lift.
An outdoor interpretive kiosk sits on a concrete pad adjacent to the parking lot. It is at a height appropriate for visitors using mobility devices.
A concrete walkway with a slight incline leads from the parking area to the building. The Center has exterior entrances to 3 accessible restrooms.
A covered picnic area sits directly across from the restrooms. There are four metal 4 picnic tables with fixed benches under the shelter, 2 of which have an open space at either end that can accommodate visitors in wheelchairs.
Near the picnic area as well as the entrance to the building, there are numerous interpretive and safety-related signs that are angled to be viewable from different heights. There are also several outdoor benches without arms.
Inside the Center are wide hallways and doorways. Most of the placards and interpretive signs near exhibits are accessible, though a few of the artifacts rest on tables that may be too high for easy viewing for some people. In the video-screening room, the chairs can be moved to accommodate people who use wheelchairs and other mobility devices.
- Contact Us
Escalante Interagency Visitor Center: 435-826-5499
Kanab Visitor Center
The Kanab Visitor Center offers interpretive displays focusing on "traces in time," which includes both geology and archaeology within the Monument. Self-guided activities can be picked up at the front desk anytime.
- Hours and Admission
Admission: Free
Summer Hours (March 10, 2025, through mid-November 2025): Open Tuesday through Saturday from 9 am – 4 pm
Winter Hours (Mid-November through mid-March): Open Monday through Thursday from 9 am — 4 pm. Closed from 11:55 a.m. through 12:30 p.m. for lunch.
Holiday Closures: Martin Luther King Day, President’s Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, and December 24 through January 1 in observance of Christmas Day and New Year’s Day
- Address
745 East Highway 89
Kanab, Utah 84741- Accessibility
The paved parking lot for the Visitor Center has 33 striped spaces. Two of these spaces, near the main entrance, are marked as accessible and share an access aisle for vehicles with a mobility device ramp or lift.
Paved sidewalks lead from the parking area to the Center. At the front of the building are exterior entrances to 3 restrooms, each with 1 accessible flush toilet.
Some of the pathways to interpretive signs near the building are made of paving stones that are separated by small gaps and have loose stones on their surface. One of the signs can be accessed only by traveling on gravel or climbing up uneven steps cut out from a stone wall.
The signs are angled and are at a height appropriate for visitors using mobility vehicles. Some of the signs are faded and might prove difficult to read for people with vision impairments. There is also a 4-sided information kiosk with shaded vertical panels on the sidewalk near the building entrance. The kiosk provides trip-planning and safety-related information as well as information about the Monument.
There are 3 picnic tables near the Visitor Center that can be accessed by visitors using mobility devices. Two of the tables are near the front of the building, next to the parking area. They have fixed benches on 3 sides and an open space at one end that can accommodate wheelchair users. They are not covered by shade structures.
Another picnic table, on the side of the building, is reachable by a paved sidewalk. It has fixed benches and open spaces at both ends that can accommodate wheelchair users. It is partially shaded.
Inside the Visitor Center are wide hallways and exhibits about the history and characteristics of the Monument. Several of the exhibits have angled interpretive signs. There are also artifacts in glass-enclosed cases at a similar height. Some of the images, visual displays, and posters on the walls are hung at a height that might make them challenging to view for some visitors.
- Contact Us
Kanab Visitor Center: 435-644-1300
Paria Contact Station
The Paria Contact Station is a seasonally staffed information center primarily focused on assisting guests visiting the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness, Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, and nearby sites within the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
The station also serves as a pickup location for Paria Canyon Overnight permits. Drinking water is available year-round in the parking area.
- Hours and Admission
Admission: Free
Summer Hours (March 15, 2025, through mid-November 2025): Open daily from 8 am – 3:30 pm.
Winter Hours (Mid-November through mid-March): Open Monday through Thursday from 9 am — 4 pm. Closed from 11:55 a.m. through 12:30 p.m. for lunch.
Holiday Closures: Martin Luther King Day, President’s Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, and December 24 through January 1 in observance of Christmas Day and New Year’s Day
- Address
669 S Highway 89A
Kanab, Utah 84741- Accessibility
The front desk and exterior bathroom meet ADA accessibility standards.
- Contact Us
Paria Contact Station: 435-644-1295