On Thursday evening before MLK weekend, we packed up and headed out to Kanab, Utah. Our plan was to apply for The Wave lottery Friday morning, in hopes of getting a permit for either Saturday, Sunday, or Monday. We try almost every year and haven’t been successful… unfortunately this day wasn’t any different and we didn’t get a permit but we had a pretty awesome backup plan in place.
Trip Overview:
Dates: January 14 – January 18, 2021
Permits and Fees: No permit or fee is required to camp at Alstrom Point.
Dogs: Allowed
Other: No drones allowed
After finishing up work remotely at the hotel, we drove out to the city of escalante and found a dispersed campsite on Hole in the Rock Road. The elevation here was significantly higher than in Kanab and as a result, the weather was much colder. Luckily we brought all of our blankets and our sleeping bags and we’re just fine sleeping in the car.
We woke up to a pretty awesome sunrise and view.
Taking our time packing up, we made our way out to Peek-a-Boo slot canyon. The trailhead is about 26mi from Hwy 12 on Hole in the Rock Rd. The hike from the trailhead to the entrance of Peek-a-boo slot canyon is about 1.4 miles. You can explore as far in as you’d like from there, and the loop is about another 1.5 miles. We had Barley with us, and it can get pretty tight in the canyon so we chose to go about a half mile in and came back out.
After some lunch back at the trailhead, we started the off-road trail south to Alstrom Point. This was going to be the main event for the trip and we were excited for the journey ahead. Coming from the north end of Grand Escalante Staircase down to Alstrom Point requires some technical off roading but is a fairly moderate. The majority of the trail is on Smoky Mountain Rd. We came across a couple frozen washes which were pretty nerve wrecking to drive over. Eventually we make it to Alstrom point trail. The last 1-1.5miles is only accessible with a high clearance 4×4 vehicle. There’s a pretty steep and technical section that required one of us to get out and spot the driver. Once we got over that hump though, the views start to present themselves.
With only 2 other small groups camping in the area, we felt like we had the whole place to ourselves. We ended up choosing a site that had a spectacular vista of Lake Powel below. The weather was a lot warmer than the first night and we lucked out with very little wind in the forecast. Clear skies and a new moon allowed for great stargazing and the warmth of the SoloStove kept us outside late into the night.
When to Visit Alstrom Point:
Alstrom Point can be visited any time of the year. Temperatures could be quite high in June through August and there is no shade anywhere, so if you go during the summer make sure you pack plenty of water. We chose to go in the winter in hopes of fewer crowds. It got pretty cold at night, but it was completely worth it for being able to snag that site with not a lot of other people around!
What to Pack for Car Camping:
Check out our post on our 10 essentials for hiking and camping.
- Tent: We usually use our Marmot Tungsten 2-Person Tent, but this trip we loaded up our blankets in the back of our 4Runner.
- Sleeping pads
- Sleeping bags/bedding: We use these sleeping bags but when we’re feeling bougie we pack a ton of soft blankets and nice pillows 🙂
- Camp chairs
- Lighting
- Camp stove and fuel: We sometimes bring our charcoal grill if we have enough space in the car, but mostly love cooking with our Blackstone Grill.
- Cooler: Yeti, always! unless we bring our Dometic
- Water jug
Leave No Trace
Always remember to practice the principals of Leave No Trace! These 7 principals include:
- Plan Ahead & Prepare
- Travel & Camp on Durable Surfaces
- Dispose of Waste Properly
- Leave What You Find
- Minimize Campfire Impacts
- Respect Wildlife
- Be Considerate of Others
Check out the Leave No Trace program for more information.
