Exploring the Great Chamber: Utah’s Hidden Sandstone Cathedral

Discover the majestic Great Chamber in Grand Staircase-Escalante. This guide covers how to reach the Jurassic-era sandstone formations, photography tips, and essential hiking advice for this Utah desert gem.

Obtaining to the private Great Chamber takes a little planning. A number of regional guides and trip business provide ATV and Jeep scenic tours that make it simple to reach the Great Chamber.

Experiencing the Sandstone Cathedral

The smooth, pale sandstone of this cathedral-like framework adjustments shade with the sun’s angle, almost beautiful in off-whites, soft pinks and yellows when the sun is brightest. Site visitors have compared it to the sensation of remaining in a holy place with its rising archways and meditative aura. Digital photographers recommend that daybreak and sundown offer one of the most remarkable darkness and views over the Grand Staircase-Escalante region.

After that, you’ll make the final get on foot, so consider high boots or hiking shoes and a lot of water; the deep sand and slope can make the walk rather arduous. (It’s at a 6,700-foot altitude, nevertheless.).

The Chamber was produced when erosion consumed into the side of a Navajo sandstone cliff created from dunes 180 million years back in the Jurassic period. Visitors that have actually returned to the Chamber years later state that the sand-scape continues to slowly transform, moving and reshaping.