You can find some of the coolest, quirkiest, places in Southern Utah. Toadstool Hoodoos is technically within Kanab, Utah and is a part of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

We left Bryce Canyon City early-ish in the morning with intentions to find this trail. We were traveling through the Dixie National Forest (on Scenic Byway 12, the “All American Road”), then turned onto our first real highway in *forever* (US-89, which we’d basically follow all the way down to Sedona later on) when Ike saw that there was a nearby geocache at a cemetery.

I can never, ever, say no to a good cemetery so we made a random turn into a rural somewhat residential area on a gravel road and sure enough – there it was. This is in Hillsdale, Utah.

Hillsdale Utah Cemetery

It took us a while to find the cache, but thaaaank god we finally did. Then we gently let ourselves in through the gate and started walking around the headstones to pay our respects and learn about this family.

So basically, Rebecca Wilson is one of the most badass lost-to-time women I’ve learned about recently. She was the matriarch of this family and as you can see, she lived to be 100 (she was born in September, died in July) in a time where that was damn near impossible. We learned so much about her and her relatives. They had such hard lives.

The time flew when we were back in the car since we finally had cell signal and got sucked into an internet rabbit hole about the Wilson family.

Moqui Cave

Before we knew it, we were making the major fork on US-89 where you can go West toward Zion (it was so tempting) or Southeast toward the Arizona border. We soon found ourselves at the random roadside stop of Moqui Cave. We didn’t stay long because we realized how jumbo of a tourist trap it was, but it was a good excuse for a stretch and pee break.

There’s a little outdoor cafe here, picnic tables in the shade, bathrooms… they also have a museum and store that’s pay to enter.

From here, we’d mapped out two different Visitor Center-type spots to see if they had Passport Stamps. The first was the Kanab Visitor Center in actual “downtown” Kanab, and the other was the Paria Contact Station about 45 minutes away from that and also supposedly in “Kanab” haha. Nearby the first one, Ike found a geocache that involved pulling the cache out from a tube that was buried in the ground?

Paria Contact Station

Unfortunately the Paria Contact Station didn’t have any stamps 😦 but they did have an awesome wide open view of these stripes.

Toadstools Trailhead

Literally two minutes down the road is the Toadstool Hoodoos trailhead! When we approached, it was on our left and I passed it by accident. We had to go down US-89 a ways and book a U-turn, then make a right turn into the parking lot. It was so freaking HOT outside by this point. We got to the parking lot around 1:30pm on April 9. I can’t imagine how melty it must feel in the later summer months.

“This route will lead you to an area of unusual rock formations and end at a stunning rock alcove. The distance is 0.8 miles long one way… Total gain in elevation is only 100 feet, but sandy soils can sap your strength…”

“A toadstool is a spire-like feature with a boulder perched atop a pedestal rock, like a mushroom, or “toadstool.” It forms when softer rock erodes away, leaving a column sheltered from wind and water. This route ahead leads to an area where conditions were right for toadstool development.”

And there’s some info about don’t bust the crust! “Cryptobiotic, or biological soil crusts, are the “bumps” in the sand pictured above. These crusts are a living web of organisms, a medley of lichen, fungi, and mosses. They benefit plants by absorbing water, adding nutrients, and stabilizing the soil. It takes years to build a crust like the one pictured above.”

The stripes here were some of the most contrasty that we’d seen. It probably also helped that we were here right in the middle of the day when the sun was blaring and making everything look neon. I couldn’t have survived here without sunglasses and my sun hoodie.

Like I said, it was H O T outside when we were here. Nothing surprised me more than to cross paths with people wearing jeans, carrying no water, and asking us how much longer it was to go. We always make sure to bring way more than enough water for the both of us and the car we’re living at basically turns into a hydration home base.

This is the main large formation in the Toadstools area. It was so exciting to see from the trail, I loovvee full circle moments when you see things in person that you’ve seen online a million times. I’m grateful to the tiny person photobombing me so you can tell the scale.

The stark line between the orange and white stone is just so striking. If you’re using the main large hoodoo at the entrance as a point of reference, going to the right leads you to an open sandstone plateau with smaller hoodoos you can walk around. This is where the main crowd is. To the left, is an entire trail that I’d bet most people totally miss. It leads you to the other side of the hill where there are two vast overlooks and to a little cave area that’s totally shaded.

We started with the left.

The little goblin hoodoos peaking out of the hillside cracked me up. They remind me exactly of the formations at Goblin Valley, especially the boulders that are at the top of the Three Sisters. Their little faces give them such personalities. Or what that the heat out here? Nevermind.

We had the place to ourselves for a while which was awesome. See that tiny big ol’ formation in the background now?

Have I mentioned how hot it was?

When we started to have too much company, we followed the trail which lead out of this orangey area and into one that was way more white + brown.

But first, how gorgeous is this crazy view?

There’s a delicate balance when you’re outdoors where there are also a bunch of strangers. We come out here for solace, so try to keep away and to ourselves, but never want to come off as rude. We look like we know where we’re going, so people tend to cling to us without meaning to. This was definitely a case where we couldn’t find that balance, and we inadvertently became travel guides for a slow group that followed us the entire way to a dead end haha.

Just remember: We lowkey have no idea where we’re going either. 😉

After going to the left… you’ll never guess this… we went to the right.

You can climb all over that big bad boy if you wanna.

On the walk back to the car, we found even more people dressed in jeans, hoodies, and carrying no water, asking how much longer to “the end.” How do they find out this is out here in the first place?

Luckily there’s that sign-in book I hope everyone used. Desert heat is seriously no joke and this was just April. There’s no way I would’ve parked out here without a complete vehicle’s worth of sunshades.

10/10 recommend.

View the entire known roster of the Hillsdale Cemetery:
https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/109251/memorial-search?cemeteryName=Hillsdale+Cemetery&page=3#sr-111671181

Way more about Rebecca Wilson, including photos:
https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/KWC1-JQS/keziah-rebecca-wilson-1868-1969

Toadstool Hoodoos trail via AllTrails:
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/utah/toadstool-hoodoos-trail