Cosmic Ashtray Photography Guide

There is surprisingly little information on the internet about how to photograph the Cosmic Ashtray. This Cosmic Ashtray Photography Guide will address that shortcoming.

The Cosmic Ashtray, Escalante Volcano, Galactic Navel, Inselberg Pit, Eye of the Earth, Islomania Dome…yup, it has a lot of names. But whatever you call it, you have to admit that it is visually mind-blowing, otherworldly and insanely photogenic.

But what you don’t call it is accessible. To photograph it you either commit to a tough 9 mile (roundtrip) hike or you brave a nasty sand road which can be a challenge even for veteran off-road drivers in serious 4WD vehicles.

Or you decide that the whole thing is way too much trouble and just don’t go…which is why so few photographers have images of this in their portfolio.

If you are still reading this then you must be serious about photographing it, so let’s first cover the basics:

What is the Cosmic Ashtray?

Geologists refer to it as a cylindrical weathering pit.  But the Ashtray is unique due to 3 factors:

• Its the largest one on earth,
• Its the only one with central ‘pedestal’ (that skull-shaped rock in the center), and
• It’s the only only one filled with bright orange sand. 

It is ancient. Estimates of its age range between 200,000-800,000 years. It is the culmination of a massive amount of erosion that scientists suspect began with water but wind and sand have been the primary culprits. As the area’s strong winds roar across the top of the pit, it generates a circular motion due to pressure, and the resulting ‘cyclonic particle accelerator’ erodes its interior cavity. It’s a continuous but slow process: it’s estimated that it takes a thousand years to deepen the pit by an inch.

Then there’s that shockingly orange sand.  The region is primarily composed of Navajo sandstone. Over the eons it has been eroded into sand particles which the wind whips it into the air and siphons into the pit where heavier grains of sand get trapped. The fierce winds constantly move the sand in and out of the pit…usually the sand is pretty deep but occasionally so shallow that the bedrock is visible.

If you want to know even more details, you might be interested in this scientific paper.

It’s Freaking Huge!

Probably the universal reaction experienced by first time visitors is surprise…if not outright shock. And that’s because the Cosmic Ashtray is a whole lot bigger than folks expect it to be. The photos they’d previously seen failed to convey the size of this monumental showpiece.

The sand pit is over 200’ wide. To put that in perspective, the Statue of Liberty (sans base) could recline on that orange sand and still have 50’ of headroom to spare!  (Remember Charlton Heston’s discovery in Planet of the Apes movie?) 

The pit is 60’ deep on its highest side and that central skull-shaped rock pedestal is as tall as a two-story building.

Where is it?

The Cosmic Ashtray is located in the Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument in South-Central Utah. The nearest town is the little berg of Escalante: population 850. The nearest Starbucks is over 230 miles away. Although remote. Escalante is perfectly located to serve as your base for this trip.

If you are flying in, then look at flights into Salt Lake City or Las Vegas. Salt Lake city is a 5 hour drive away and Vegas is about 15 minutes closer. I usually pick whichever one offers the cheapest flight.

How Do you get there?

There are two possible routes, either come in from the south (Harris Wash Road) or hike in from the north (Spencer Flat Road). Let’s review both alternatives:

The Southern Route/Harris Wash Road

Less than 1/3 of Ashtray visitors arrive via this route despite the fact that it features less hiking. The reason is because this route is less known and it requires a AWD/4WD vehicle with a high wheelbase plus a driver who knows how to negotiate deep sand.

• This isn’t to say that smaller AWD vehicles (ie. Subarus, small SUVs/Trucks, etc) can’t ever handle this road. It’s just that they won’t always be able to do so. Less-capable regular passenger cars often end up stuck here.
• When wet, conditions on this route can get too dicey even for 4WDs. I would not consider this southern route if it has rained recently or if it is in the forecast (take it from someone who had to sleep in my rental car after getting stuck in a Utah washout).

Option 1: Hire a guide

The easiest option is to hire a tour company and let them drive. As of July 2023 the only company I know who does tours of the Cosmic Ashtray is Escape Goats. The owner, Shawn Miller, charges $175 (two person minimum) and will will drive you nearly all the way to the Ashtray and then guide you on the remaining short (1-2 mile) hike.

You could also hire a private guide but they charge more ($600 is average). Utah Canyons Outdoors in Escalante can recommend guides if you contact them.

Option 2: Drive Yourself

Another option is to drive your own AWD/4WD. If you don’t have experience driving in soft sand then you really shouldn’t consider this option. Cell service is not good and it could be a l – o – n – g wait for a good Samaritan to drive by if you get stuck. The bottom line is that deciding to take this route depends on your risk tolerance, your car and your off-road driving skills.

• Rental 4WD vehicles are available at Escalante Yurts.
• I created an interactive Google Map to illustrate this route route (below).

Directions for the Southern Route:

• From Escalante, head east on SR 12 (toward Boulder) for approximately 5 miles and turn right onto unpaved Hole-in-the-Rock Road (HITRR), road number 200. 
• Take the HITRR approx 10 miles to the Harris Wash (BLM 220) turnoff, turn left and follow this dirt road 7.6 miles to the parking lot at the Harris Wash trailhead.  Road conditions degrade as you get closer to the trailhead (Note: Harris Wash Rd appears as “Harris Washington Rd” on Google Maps)
• Don’t rely on maps that use cell service (Google Maps/Waze/Apple Maps) since coverage can’t be relied on. Use a downloaded map that uses GPS (like AllTrails/Gaia, etc).
• If possible, drive past the trailhead and continue across the wash (Harris Wash Rd. changes names to “V Road” on some maps once it passes the trailhead)
• Stop driving when the road conditions get too sketchy for your comfort. Be especially wary of deep sand which can be too much even for jeeps at times. Most folks go about 2-3 miles past the wash and hike the rest of the way in, but the road continues all the way to the Ashtray. The Ashtray is approx. 4.3 miles past the trailhead at Harris Wash so the length of your hike will depend on how far up Harris Wash Road you go.
• If you can drive the entire way, you will have less than a mile hike north to the Ashtray.
• Once you start hiking there is no visible trail and no signs. Plus the Ashtray is difficult to spot even when you are very close to it. You need a downloadable GPS hiking map to find it safely.
• As you hike toward the peak that contains the Ashtray, don’t try to climb the steep western or southern side (as mistakenly shown in AllTrails). Instead swing around and approach from the east where the slope is more gradual and enter via the “Saddle” (See map below)

A final option would be to drive yourself to the Harris Wash trailhead (which usually is possible even for most non-4WD SUVs) and just hike the remaining 5 miles. However, this would be a longer and more difficult hike than the northern hiking route (see below) so this option doesn’t make much sense.

The Northern Route/Spencer Flat Road

This route is the one selected by most of Ashtray’s visitors. Perhaps this is because it doesn’t require off road driving skills, or maybe due it being a much prettier hike.

However, you must be physically capable of a 9 mile (roundtrip) hike with no shade. If that’s not you, then consider the southern route

A regular 2WD vehicle normally will have no problem reaching the Spencer Flat trailhead. Access is via a well-maintained dirt road. Although a high wheel base vehicle is recommended by some, I’ve seen plenty of compact cars parked at the trailhead.

This interactive Google Map illustrates how to reach the trailhead.

Directions for the Northern Route:

• From Escalante, head east on SR 12 (toward Boulder) for approximately 10 miles
• Turn right on Spencer Flats Road (Old Sheffield Road on some maps). There is no street sign. Look for the road on the south side of Hwy 12 just east of mile marker 70 (see photo)
• After 5.7 miles the road has a fork. Take the left fork (straight ahead). On most maps, the right fork shows as Spencer Flats and the left fork shows as BLM 103.
• The trailhead is one mile past the fork at a small car park. If you try to go too far you will see a sign prohibiting motor vehicles.

The Hike

It’s a bit more than 4 miles each way (longer if you do any exploring) with a 900′ elevation gain. The first 1.3 miles is sand and some of it is soft and deep (no fun at all on the way back especially the uphill sections). After the sand, the remaining 3 miles is on slickrock which is easier going.

Basically you hike along a long curved ridge of slickrock trying to stay at about the same level/altitude (this keeps you out of the sand at the base). You will have some unavoidable uphill/downhill detours necessary to skirt a number of crevasse-like slots. Most of your slickrock hiking will be on a sloped surface. This can be tiring for some folks and boots with ankle support are a good idea.

This makes for a slow pace: it usually takes me about 3 hours each way (assuming I don’t get distracted or sidetracked).

GPS

I was a Scoutmaster for years, but even I couldn’t do this hike without a GPS. The trail doesn’t have signs and the few scattered cairns along the way aren’t much help. I used my AllTrails Pro and it allowed me to navigate with no issues.

Without a GPS trail you might be tempted to try a direct route straight from the trailhead to the Ashtray. Although a shorter distance, it will take far more time because the topography is broken by a series of hills/crevices.

Folks without a GPS trail often have a hard time spotting the Ashtray at the end of the hike because it is on the the peak of a ridge/hill that isn’t visible as you approach it from lower elevations.

The local SAR (Search and Rescue) team has spent a lot of time looking for tourists who get lost here. If you don’t have a GPS system that you know how to use, don’t try this hike.

Since you will be totally reliant on your GPS to get you back safely, you should bring a backup device in case your primary unit malfunctions. Pack a portable charger since GPS apps are battery hogs.

These precautions might help you avoid meeting the local SAR team personally:)

PLB

Packing a Personal Locator Beacon would be a smart move, especially for solo hikers. If you get injured, you can’t count on another hiker showing up to help on this lightly traveled trail.

Hot and Dry

There is little shade and no water. Even during the cooler months, bring lots of water. For some reason, folks have a tendency to run out of hydration on this hike.

Summer heat is brutal and should avoided, especially during the middle of the day. Even ‘moderate’ 70°F temperatures will seem hot on this exposed hike.

I know that the above list of watchouts might be intimidating to some. And it should be. This is a tough hike that could be dangerous to the inexperienced and/or unprepared.

Trail Highlights

Okay, so enough with the depressing safety lecture. You will find that there is a lot to like about this hike.

The solitude is blissful. If you hate being jostled on crowded trails, then you will be in heaven.

There are some expansive views and lots of interesting details to examine.

To me, one of the most fascinating things to see on this hike are all the Moqui Marbles you run across. These iron-coated sandstone spheres resemble the ‘Martian Blueberries‘ found by the Opportunity Rover.

When to Visit

As mentioned above, I wouldn’t recommend this hike during the summer unless you can be back well before the heat sets in. Spring and Fall are ideal. Winter is obviously cooler but ice on slickrock isn’t a safe combination, especially since most of the hike is on slanted sandstone. Snowfall can obscure the bright orange sand in the pit, so that isn’t a plus either.

Weather Considerations

Direct sunlight hitting the high southern rim/lip of the ‘caldera’ results in intense and distracting shadows across the ‘pit’. You might think that around noontime in summer there wouldn’t be any shadows but that southern lip will still block a lot of the sun.

A great time to photograph here is right before sunrise and after sunset (Golden hour/Blue hour). You will be able to enjoy nice even light with minimal shadows.

Overcast skies are also great. But if the forecast is for clouds AND rain, you should hike another day. Slickrock is called slickrock for a good reason and when wet it is not your friend. Plus rain can make the roads impassable.

As you might suspect, it can be really windy here and wind-bourne sand can be abusive to you and your gear. Be particularly cautious when near the rim since a poorly timed gust of wind could prove very exciting.

Site Layout/Photo Locations

The Ashtray is a crater carved out of the top of a slickrock dome/hill (it really does resemble a Volcano). The northern and southern rims of the Ashtray are tall and quite steep.

The “Saddle”

As mentioned earlier, you should approach from the east. There is a low notch ‘saddle’ on the eastern rim. This area is relatively flat and a great spot to take a break and park your gear.

The Sandbox/Moqui Steps

The Saddle has a set of steps (“Moqui Steps”) carved into the wall that you can use to get down into the pit (the “Sandbox”). There are no mechanical anchors but if you bring a rope it can be tied to a nearby shrub.

Some folks find the steps easy to use and others consider them an accident waiting to happen. Take a look and see if it is something you are comfortable with. Don’t go down into the pit if you are alone, since help might be a long time coming if you have trouble getting out.

Walking around in the ‘sandbox’ is quite the experience and you can even climb to the top of the rock “skull” in the center. With that said, I’ve never found any particularly outstanding photographic perspectives in the pit. Not saying there isn’t an award winning photo down there somewhere: I just haven’t found it yet.

PS: If you go down into the pit, try to stick to the perimeter of the ‘sandbox’ as much as possible. And please don’t succumb to the temptation to walk to the center and stamp out your initials in huge letters. The wind will erase the imperfections within a few days but the pristine view will be spoiled for those who follow you in the meantime.

The “Wind Tunnel”

On the western rim you will find the “Wind Tunnel” which is my favorite photographic perspective. I encourage you not to leave without checking it out.

From the Saddle, climb up the right (north) side of the Ashtray and over the top to the western side (as shown by the blue arrows on my earlier graphic). Parts of the climb are a bit steep but if you continue bearing to the north (right), you will find areas that can be navigated without too much trouble (I watched an 80 year old guy do it last month). Once you are over the top, circle to your left and come back toward to the rim.

As you near the rim, look for the large corkscrew shaped “Wind Tunnel” that slices thru the top of the rim. This wind-carved groove is about 10-15′ wide and the panoramic view that greets you at its end is unparalleled. This is a particularly great spot for sunrises and Milky Way photography.

How about the Southern and Northern Rim Viewpoints?

It’s difficult to safely get a shot of the entire pit from the northern or southern rims. I think you can do better from the east or west.

People

One of the most difficult things to convey to your photographic audience is the immense scale of the Cosmic Ashtray. If you can do so successfully, it really kicks the emotional impact into overdrive. One tried and true way to accomplish this is to include people in your images.

Aerial Perspectives

The best perspectives of the Cosmic Ashtray might well be from the air. 90% of my favorite images from my last visit here were aerials.

There is a lot of confusion about where it is legal to fly drones. Although not permitted in National Parks, they are allowed in National Monuments IF it is managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Fortunately, the BLM does manage the Escalante Grand Staircase National Monument so you are good to go with your drone at the Cosmic Ashtray.

If you are a visual learner, an aerial video is a great way to familiarize yourself with the topography of the Cosmic Ashtray. Check my short video below:

If you visit on a calm day, consider yourself lucky. But if the wind is ripping, you might not be able to safely fly your drone.

An Interesting Detour

There is one other spot nearby that you might want to check out if you have the time. It’s a nice little layered cavity that I call “The Groove.” If you are hiking the Northern Route, it is about a half mile (1 mile RT) out of your way. It’s not the Wave but it’s quite attractive and worth your attention.

Equipment

The Ashtray requires your wide angle lens. A14mm on a full frame camera will work fine. I usually don’t bring a telephoto (to minimize hiking weight), but if you want to capture details at a distance, drop one in your backpack.

Bring a travel tripod. Obviously if you are shooting in the golden or blue hours a tripod is mandatory. But even if it is sunny, you will need that tripod if you want to take bracketed shots (that you can later combine in HDR and tame the dynamic range). If it is windy, a tripod will help you avoid the shakes.

Have a rocket blower and microfiber cloths. As you can imagine, there can be a lot of sand blowing.

Final Thoughts

I’ve never met a photographer who thought the Cosmic Ashtray was over-hyped after they saw it in person. It is truly awe inspiring. Sure, you have to earn the privilege to photograph it…but that price is a bargain. Enjoy yourself.

Cheers!
Jeff

PS: I mention a number of products and companies in this article. Unlike a lot of folks, I don’t get kickbacks or compensation from any of them. I don’t blindly trust someone’s endorsement who is getting paid to sell a product. I don’t expect you do either. You can trust that my opinions, faulty as they might be, are my own.

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