Visiting the Toadstool Hoodoos: Everything you need to know!

Visiting the Toadstool Hoodoos? In this guide we share everything you need to know before you visit these unique, mushroom shaped rock formations.

During our trip to Arizona in 2018, we headed to about as far north as you can in the state to the small town of Page. This area is home to iconic sights, like Horseshoe Bend, Lake Powell, and Antelope Canyon, but just across the border in Utah lies even more gems to be explored.

On our last day we contemplated heading into Utah to check out a spot called the Toadstool Hoodoos, but ultimately ran out of time. Almost 3 years later we found ourselves calling Southern Utah “home” for a bit in our van and finally got to experience this fascinating natural wonder.

We spent a couple hours one evening (watch our experience here), after a good amount of rain, exploring this trail and despite the muddy conditions, had such a great time! The trail felt like a combination of being at Badlands and also being on another planet.

In this guide we’re sharing everything you need to know before visiting the Toadstool Hoodoos. We hope you enjoy this easy, but beautiful hike as much as we did!

Looking for more things to do in Utah? Check out these guides:

Before embarking on your adventure, please review the Leave No Trace principles to ensure you leave every place better than you found it, so that others can enjoy these beautiful places for many years to come!

These seven principles include planning ahead and preparing, hiking and camping on durable surfaces, disposing of waste properly (pack out what you pack in!), understanding campfire rules and always fully extinguishing your fires, respecting wildlife, and being considerate of other visitors.

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About the Toadstool Hoodoos

Located right off the highway lies the Toadstool Hoodoos, a group of mushroom shaped rock formations that formed over 30 million years of erosion (woah!!!).

These unique formations are created due to Dakota Sandstone boulders perching on top of Entrada Sandstone pedestals, and as the softer Entrada Sandstone erodes, the Dakota Sandstone forms a cap, like a mushroom, on top.

On this hike you’re able to get up close and personal with the hoodoos and see their varying shapes, sizes, and even color.

You could easily pass by the trailhead when speeding down Highway 89 in Utah, but if you have a little bit of time to spare, the Toadstool Hoodoos are definitely worth the stop.

Where are the Toadstool Hoodoos?

The Toadstool Hoodoos are located in Southern Utah in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, right off Highway 89. They are about a 42 minute drive east of Kanab, Utah and 30 minutes northwest of Page, Arizona, both of which are amazing destinations on their own.

If you are visiting some of the major sights around Kanab or Page, like Horseshoe Bend, Antelope Canyon, Coral Pink Sand Dunes, Wire Pass, and Lake Powell (just to name a few!), the Toadstool Hoodoos make for a fun and quick stop!

Looking for more things to do in Page and Kanab? Check out these guides:

Toadstool Hoodoos Trail Stats

The best thing about the Toadstool Hoodoos is that it’s a quick, easy, and family friendly hike! For a little bit of effort, you get a nice reward by being surrounded by the hoodoos.

The trail is 1.8 miles round trip and is very flat, with an elevation gain of 141 feet. The terrain along the trail is made up of clay and sand, so it may be slightly more challenging than solid ground.

Want to get 30% off an AllTrails+ membership? Click this link or use our code aplusk30 (you must redeem this code on the website, not the app)!

We use AllTrails+ on every single hike and it is the most helpful hiking tool out there! Some of the features we love are offline maps (so we can navigate even without cell service), wrong-turn alerts, and its 3D maps feature, so we can get a feel for trails before we hike.

When to visit the Toadstool Hoodoos

While the Toadstool Hoodoos are accessible year round, due to how exposed the trail is, the spring and fall are the best times to visit, when it’s not too hot out. We’d highly suggest avoiding going during the middle of the day in the summer.

As for time of day, the hoodoos are best photographed in the late afternoon, but to beat the crowds, we’d suggest sunrise or sunset. We went close to sunset, after a rainy day, and there were still people, but the parking lot was a lot emptier than the other times we had driven by the trailhead.

Another important thing to know, that we know from experience, is if you visit soon after it has rained, the trail will be very muddy and slick! It’s not impossible to walk on and neither of us slipped and fell, but our shoes were trashed by the end (and Kona got very dirty). So make sure to bring some shoes you don’t mind getting muddy and that have good grip. And a towel to wipe off your dirty pup after. 😉

What to Bring to the Toadstool Hoodoos

As always, we recommend having the 10 essentials on you when doing any hike, but here are a few key items we want to point out that will especially help you during this hike!

Sunscreen

This hike is completely exposed, so sunscreen is a must!

Water

We love our Camelbak bladder for hikes because it stores a ton of water and it’s easy to drink from while moving.

Proper footwear

While this hike isn’t hard, you’ll want to wear proper hiking shoes out to the hoodoos. We love our Lowa Renegades (Kathryn) and Altra Superiors (Adam)!

Headlamp

Having a headlamp is not only one of the 10 hiking essentials, but is especially important if you plan to start your hike before sunrise or finish after sunset.

Things to know before visiting Toadstool Hoodoos

Parking

There is a free gravel parking lot that fits probably about 20 cars at the most. You’ll see a small sign and parking lot on the right side of the road (if coming from the east), which is at the start of the trailhead.

Fees

There is no fee to park or hike to the Toadstool Hoodoos!

Restroom

There are two porta-potties at the trailhead, but if you’re wanting something a bit nicer, the Big Water Visitor Center is only 12 minutes from the trailhead and has restrooms you can use before or after your hike.

Dog Friendly

Dogs are allowed to hike to the Toadstool Hoodoos, but they must be kept on leash.

Drones are not allowed

The Toadstool Hoodoos are located in the southern end of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, which does not allow drones.

Avoid climbing

The Toadstool Hoodoos are fragile, so please do not climb on them, as tempting as it may be!

Our Experience at the Toadstool Hoodoos

After waiting out the rain in Page, Arizona, we headed to the Toadstool Hoodoos around 5 PM on a Friday, hoping for a glimpse of sunshine. As we pulled into the parking lot, there were only 4-5 other cars, which was an awesome sight after driving by earlier in the week and seeing a full parking lot.

We laced up our hiking boots and hit the trail, which immediately takes you through some cool badlands, instantly reminding us of Badlands National Park. As we have mentioned, the trail was very muddy, but besides getting tons of mud on our shoes (and on Kona’s paws), we didn’t struggle to walk on the trail.

The majority of the trail until you reach the hoodoos is through these badlands, going across little streams that had formed from the rain and up a few hills. But overall, the trail is super flat and easy.

After about 0.6 miles in you’ll round a corner and reach the first hoodoo, which is a deep orange color and one of the prettiest of them all! From there, you can go to the left of the hoodoo to a wide open area where there are quite a few more to enjoy. Each one is slightly different in color and size, which makes it extra fun to check them out. And make sure to look up! You can see some at the top of the cliffs as well!

Although there were a handful of groups there when we went, there was plenty of space to spread out and we had no problem finding windows to snap photos and enjoy them on our own.

We ended up hanging around for a while and despite having a gloomy hike, the sun started to pop out! Seeing the sun popping out and hitting the hoodoos was really beautiful. It gave the area a gorgeous golden light and really felt like we had transported to another planet.

As the sun got closer to setting, we made the quick trek back out to the van, wiped down Kona, threw our hiking boots into a trash bag (they were CAKED in mud!), and continued our adventures in the Kanab area.

While this hike is short, it’s definitely sweet, and the payoff is great for the amount of effort you put in. It’s such a unique sight to see and worth the quick visit when traveling through Southern Utah!

Things to do before or after visiting the Toadstool Hoodoos

Looking for things to do before or after your hike? Here are some spots nearby to check out! For more suggestions of things to do in Page, check out our One Day in Page, Arizona guide!

Restaurants

Rocking V Cafe (Kanab, UT)—Delicious high quality food (we got the burger and enchiladas), but a bit spendy, so be prepared to pay a decent amount.
Wild Thyme Cafe (Kanab, UT)
Peekaboo Canyon Wood Fired Kitchen (Kanab, UT)
BirdHouse (Page, AZ)—We LOVED this spot!
Sunset 89 (Page, AZ)–Only open 5-9 PM and closed on Sundays.
El Tapatio (Page, AZ)

Coffee and Sweets

Sunny Creek Cafe (Kanab, UT)
Willow Canyon Outdoor (Kanab, UT)–an outdoor gear store with coffee!
Kanab Creek Bakery (Kanab, UT)
Hot n Sweet Coffee and Donut Shop (Page, AZ)
LP Espresso (Page, AZ)

Activities

Visit Lake Powell, which is located in both Utah and Arizona. We recommend checking out Lone Rock Beach for kayaking, swimming, beach camping!
Hike the Wire Pass trail to Buckskin Gulch
Explore the Coral Pink Sand Dunes
Hike up into a Sand Cave, which was created in the 1970s to harvest sand for glass production.
Visit Antelope Canyon or Canyon X, for a fun slot canyon experience. Make sure to book in advance!
Admire the views from Horseshoe Bend.

Looking for places to stay?

Check out our 1 Day in Page, AZ and Things to do in Kanab guides for suggestions on lodging in the area!

Ready to explore the Toadstool Hoodoos?

Pin this Toadstool Hoodoos guide to help plan your adventure!

Visiting the Toadstool Hoodoos near Kanab, Utah