8.3 Miles Roundtrip OR ~3 Miles Roundtrip

Steep Hike up Sandstone Hills to an Amazing Geological Feature in the Desert with Fantastic 360° Views

10.7 Miles Down Hole-in-the-Rock Road is the Turn for Harris Wash

The Volcano (or more recently The Cosmic Ashtray) is quite the hidden gem that’s tucked far away into the sandstone playground that is the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The hike is either just over 8 miles roundtrip if you park at the Harris Wash Trailhead or the much more convenient ~3 miles from the Sandy Sea parking area just beneath the amazing feature.

To reach the Volcano, head down Harris Wash Road towards the Harris Wash Trailhead parking lot. You’ll either cross over the wash or park there. Past the wash, the road is known as “The V Road”. 4WD and High Clearance is required for a safe journey to the Sandy Sea parking area on the V Road. You will cross multiple sandy washes, a few sandy stretches, some steep drainages, and plenty of sandstone steps. You will obviously save hours of hiking if you drive to the VERY small parking area before the long stretch of sand known as the Sandy Sea but you and your vehicle must be prepared for the journey. I’m sure JEEPs and other hardcore off-road vehicles can continue past the Sandy Sea on the V Road. Be courteous of other hikers who have parked and do not block them in. There are other parking areas just before the one before the Sandy Sea.

After parking and grabbing your camera and water head over the sand dune directly to your north and continue towards the larger of the two sandstone hills. But don’t climb directly to the top of that larger one on the left (like my wife and I did). There is no way to reach the inside of the volcano if you approach it directly from the south. You’ll need to walk between the two sandstone hills and then approach the opening of the volcano from the northeast side.

There are carved steps down into the sand but a rope is a good idea for the inexperienced climber. This place is truly amazing to view and I wish we had approached it properly and that we had been able to enter the Volcano but it isn’t going anywhere. Although, it is getting quite popular on social media and it’s even on Google Maps now. We saw a definitely non-hiking group (the non off-road car from California that almost blocked us in) walking in with no water or bags. Always be prepared.