Toadstool Hoodoos

The Toadstool Hoodoos are a short, strange detour just off Highway 89 near Kanab, on the edge of Grand Staircase-Escalante. A dirt parking lot (with portable toilets and a trail register) puts you on an easy wash-bottom path that opens up to a valley of white and red badlands topped with mushroom-capped rock spires — hoodoos formed where a harder caprock has protected the softer sandstone beneath it from wind and rain. Round trip runs about 1.5 miles and most people are back at the car within an hour, though the last stretch to the main hoodoo cluster involves a little scrambling without handholds.

Good to know

• Rating: 4.7 stars from nearly 1,200 Google reviews — consistently one of the better-loved quick stops near Kanab
• Distance: about 1.5 miles round trip, roughly 45 minutes to an hour
• Access: free, open 24 hours, no permit needed
• Best light: reviewers point to sunset for the red-and-white color contrast — just budget time to hike back out before dark

Bring water and sun protection; there's no shade on the trail and reviewers note it runs hotter than expected even on mild days. It's not a destination worth a special trip on its own, but as a stretch-your-legs stop between Kanab and points north, it's an easy, memorable one — especially with kids.