Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument is located in south central Utah. Established in 1996, it encompasses about one million acres. Grand Staircase boasts some of the Southwest’s most ...

A lone hiker is dwarfed by the walls of Buckskin Gulch near Kanab, Utah. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) Buckskin Gulch is a gnarly rip in the desert that cuts a ragged path along the ...

Editor’s Note: “My Happy Place,” a CNN Original Series following celebrities on deeply personal journeys, airs Sundays at 10 p.m. ET/PT. CNN also tapped correspondents to share their happy places.

If you want a rugged and epic experience, head to Buckskin Gulch in southern Utah. It’s over 16 miles long and carved deep into sandstone. This canyon tests you with pools, rock scrambles, and tight ...