Escalante Heritage Center — Attraction in Escalante

The Hole in the Rock Heritage Center is a simple, honest little stop that feels like a traveler’s journal brought to life. Exhibits explain how Almon H. Thompson’s 1872 surveys helped name the Escalante River and Basin and include gritty pioneer voices like Elizabeth M. Decker’s line about “rocks and holes, hills and hollows.” It’s unpretentious and straightforward — maps, quotes, and photos laid out so explorers of all ages can follow the story. There are clean restrooms and a small exhibit of old agricultural equipment. The nearby Hole in the Rock trail reinforces that history. It’s a technical bit of trail that rewards careful hikers with dramatic views and a real sense of the hardships earlier travelers faced. Escalante, Utah is a place where history, wilderness, and resilience converge. So anyone curious about southern Utah’s frontier past, this small, well-curated spot is worth...

Nice to have this site devoted to the legendary LDS pioneers Hole In the Rock expedition which founded Bluff and was portrayed so movingly in John Ford's film WAGON MASTER (1950). Good outdoor exhibits & murals on the subject. Good bathrooms! Nice gift shop. Complements Fort Bluff on the other end of the journey, telling the 19th century story of settlement in the area. Fills out the picture along with the natural & geological history of the Escalante-Grand Staircase NM centers & National Parks, the Ancestral Puebloan sites of Canyons of the Ancients & Mesa Verde NP, the cultural interactions of the last 200 years seen on the reservations & Hubbell...

This outdoor museum tells the story of the 1879 expedition from Escalante to establish another Mormon mission town (which turned out to be at Bluff) and to find a faster route through the Escalante River Canyon. I feel it should specify that it is the "Escalante Mormon Heritage Center" and is not interested in the heritage of the people who were here before the Mormons arrived (they do get a footnote on one of the players about a reservation you can visit).

The main museum building was closed, which is too bad because I would have liked to learn more about the history of the town. I feel like the outdoor exhibition was still totally worth stopping...