What Are The Toad Stool Hoodoos And Where Are They?
The Toadstool Hoodoos are really cool rock formations located in Grand Staircase/Escalante National Monument in southern Utah. The trailhead is easy to access and the hike to access the Toadstool Hoodoos is a pretty easy and relatively short hike as well. If you are coming from Page, Arizona you’ll drive about 30 miles west along Highway 89 to get to the trailhead. If you are staying in Kanab, Utah, you’ll drive about 45 miles east along highway 89 to get to the Toadstools trailhead.
If you are out in this area of the country, chances are you didn’t plan a trip just to go to see the Toadstools Hoodoos. There are TONS of other sights in the area including The Wave in Coyote Buttes North that includes other sandstone formations like The Dragon. The Wahweap Hoodoos, the Stud Horse Point Hoodoos, and Grosvenor Arch are all in the general area. Of course Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, are relatively close by as is Best Friends and Coral Pink Sand Dunes and Kodachrome Basin State Parks.
The Toadstools Hoodoos are located along Highway 89 that connect Page, Arizona and Kanab, Utah. Chances are you’ll be drive that route at some point anyway so you might as well make the stop since it will be on your way.
What Is It Like To Travel To And See The Toadstools Hodoos?
If you are in the area of Page, Arizona or Kanab, Utah or up by Bryce Canyon National Park or Zion National Park and planing to spend some time in the area, the ToadStool Hoodoos are not a must see. They can, however, be a fairly quick stop that is not out of the way if you will be driving Highway 89 between Page, Arizona and Kanab, Utah at some point in your road trip.
Hotels are plentiful in both towns and both Choice Hotels and Wyndham Hotels have an abundance of properties in the Page/Kanab area. There is one hotel in Big Water, Utah. Big Water is a tiny town between Page, Arizona and the Toadstool Hoodoos and maybe the most convenient place to stay close to the Toadstools. Other than what is usually the cheapest gas station in the area, there isn’t much in Big Water, Utah. You’ll likely want to stock up on food and other supplies in Page.
The parking area for the Toadstools is not huge but there is enough room there for a fair number of cars. If you can go early or late that will probably increase your chances of easily getting a parking spot there.
The round trip hike it about 1.8 miles. It’s not particularly strenuous and in fact is pretty easy. That being said it is still out in the desert so you’ll want to carry all your water with you and not plan for their to be any to filter. While the hike to the Toadstool Hoodoos is pretty short, once you get there you may want to spend more time wandering around the area. In that case you might want to increase the amount of water you take with you.
What Does It Take To Get A Wall Art Quality Photo Of The Toadstool Hoodoos?
If you want to get a good wall art quality photo of the Toadstool Hoodoos, you mostly just need to get there with a decent camera. The colors of the landscape and the cap rocks (the rocks or harder sediments that rest on top of the hoodoos) are pretty awesome under any light.
The challenge here is to try to frame up a shot that is in some way different from what others have done or recapture an awesome shot that you’ve sen before. That can be a challenge here because the Toadstool Hoodoos are so accessible to anyone who drives along Highway 89. The amount of people who visit this area can make it a challenge to get photos without people in them. You’ll need to pack a bit of patience to get your people free photos.
To avoid crowds, the best times are, of course, early in the morning or later in the afternoon. Mid day does provide nice even lighting so most everything in your photo will be evenly lit. Sunrise and sunset can be good times if the skies light up. If sunset is a bust you’ll probably come away with nothing. If sunrise is a bust you can hang out for a while and wait for the sun to come up and the lighting to get better.
What Is The Best Gear For Photographing The Toadstool Hoodoos?
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