earth tours southern utah-day tours

We have been visiting southern Utah for years but had never been to Escalante. The beauty of the canyons and lack of commercialism and other people made it a dream vacation. Keith is a fantastic guide, knowledgeable and entertaining.

Wow! My wife and I spent a wonderful day of our vacation hiking in Escalante Canyon with Keith Watts as our guide. Keith was formerly a geology professor at University of Alaska and was a fountain of information regarding the geology, geography, flora, and fauna of the region. As others have noted, he took us to secret slot canyons, trails, and overlooks not published in any guidebook. He tailored our hike to accommodate my wife's interest in photography and in wildlife. We greatly enjoyed his sense of humor and his outgoing personality. Our day with him was the highlight of our trip.

Just completed our fourth hike with Keith and Earth Tours over recent years, and every hike has been better than the last! Keith is so knowledgeable about the area that the options for new hikes are almost endless. As experienced hikers ourselves, there are areas in the Escalante where we would still not go without a guide, but we trust Keith implicitly. Besides that, and besides his vast knowledge of the geology and history, Keith is just fun to be with! We enjoy his sense of humor and discussing his thoughts on politics, the environment, and Utah culture (especially since we are members of the same Tribe!). And be sure to stop by the Trading Post run by Keith's wife, Lisa, to enjoy a snack and the fine work of local artists.Meg and David Lass - Breckenridge, Colorado

We had a gorgeous and highly informative tour. Keith Watts is the best. Very personable, funny, and helpful. He is a former geology professor and readily conveyed his knowledge and enthusiasm. We saw areas we never would have found on our own. A most enjoyable day. Mark Nadel

We spent one day slot canyon hiking with Keith in the Escalante Canyon area. It was an amazing experience and I highly recommend it. Keith is incredibly knowledgeable about the area and the rocks, as he is a former university professor of geology. He has the BEST sense of humor and we had a great time hiking to and in remote, beautiful slot canyons. We learned so much in one day and were taken to such special and beautiful slot canyons. Keith takes great care of the group and makes the hiking experience a complete joy. The four of us loved the experience and would highly recommend it to others. It was a fascinating and real experience, a must do!

Keith Watts used to be a geology professor, but he left the academic life to enjoy a more relaxed and fun life with his wife, divided between Wyoming and southern Utah. His experience both as a geologist and as a teacher remain invaluable for his guiding work. Although his original teaching background was with university students, he was also great with our 10 year old son.Keith has found lots of amazing secret routes that you won't work out for yourself if you are just casually visiting the area. Because these are secret routes, you can spend an entire day with Keith and never see another person. Alternatively, he is happy to take guests to well-known spots, if that's what they want, but perhaps throw in a few special variations to the standard route. There are other great guides in the area (Excursions of Escalante) who specialise in more technical canyoneering including rappelling, and in contrast Keith does non-technical routes, ie, not including rappelling but potentially including some scrambling. It is a nice balance to be able to divide a trip to this area between both categories. When in Utah, Keith is based in Boulder, but he is happy to cover areas further afield, including hikes around the Torrey area, hikes off the Burr Trail, Grand Staircase-Escalante NM etc. We did a mix of different areas. We spent 4 days with Keith and would happily come back for more.

Keith leads great adventures into the Escalante canyon country, full of scientific, historic and natural knowledge. While the physical challenge of getting around the maze of canyons goes with the territory, he knows so much about how to navigate the area and what the landscape contains that confusion slips away -- providing mystery around every bend in the canyon or wash but no worries on getting back or getting stuck on a rimrock. His trips can be tailored as an introduction or a deeper layer in the vast landscape.

We had an exceptional experience with Keith that went beyond a highly competent guided tour. He was a very enjoyable companion and an enthusiastic teacher of canyoneering and geology. An indelible memory was made as well as a friendship. Nancy and Bill

Keith is a ex-academic whose knowledge of geology and flora are encyclopedic. The trip was a walking classroom. He has ways of accommodating those of us who are not as young and strong as we used to be. Have a candid conversation with him about you limitations and how he can modify his trip (or not) to make the trip possible. Wear long pants, there is some scrambling involved.

Second trip with Keith Watts and can't say enough about him. Knowledgeable, fun, hilarious, makes everything a real pleasure.

Our trip with Keith Watts was fabulous! His knowledge of the geology, landscape and the area made the trip that much more enjoyable for us. We took two 16-year olds and we all loved it: the spectacular hiking and the mesmerizing, gorgeous slot canyons. And best of all, we went to his secret slot canyons and didn't see anyone the whole time - glorious !Keith was an exceptional guide who shared the wonders of this unique place with us. Highly recommend him as a guide.

If you are wishing to explore the area around Boulder Utah with a professional guide, give Earth Tours a call. Keith is very passionate and knowledgeable about the area. He is sensitive to the needs/interests of your group and will customize a wonderful experience in the wilds of the Capital Reef area. Our group was primarily focused on learning about the geology of the area and as a trained geologist Keith was able to answer all of our questions about the magnificent geology highlighted on the hikes. With an easy-going style, Keith will help vanquish any negative stress you might have brought with you by guiding you to breath-taking vistas and destinations that make you forget about anything but what is in front of you. If you really want to get out into places most people don't go, be prepared physically to traverse fairly rugged terrain. A good pair of shoes that will support your feet comfortably for 6 or more hours is essential. Bring along a back-up pair if you go out for several days. But don't worry about the details, Keith is really good about getting you adequately prepared before you arrive and is readily available before,during, and after your trip. You will like Keith, his professionalism, and the wonderful experiences he will share with you.

Eight of us (adults) recently spent between two and four days hiking with Keith Watts of Earth Tours. He served as our geology guru, local historian, and delightful guide through the Escalante and Capitol Reef areas in Southern Utah. Our group organizer had been on past trips with Keith and assured us before hand that we were in for a remarkable experience. She was correct. The hikes were well planned, varied, and made all the more interesting because of his intimate knowledge of the rocks, the formations, the plant life, and overall history of the region. We walked, stopped to look around, talked, laughed and then moved on, the pace a comfortable one in beautiful country. Keith's rates were modest, his enthusiasm infectious, and we returned home with great pictures and memories. We look forward to our next hike with him.

We visited Boulder last May. By far the highlight was the day we spent with Keith. He took us to a remote part of the monument, to several slot canyons off the beaten track. We did not see another soul all day. This was the perfect way to get out into the wilderness and still feel safe. Keith has a wealth of knowledge about the region, especially the history and geology. And he is a very pleasant guy to spend a day with. He recommended other hikes that we could do on our own. In all a memorable day. (Watch out for his practical jokes)

One of the best things about Boulder Utah is Keith, Lisa and Gracie (the dog) Watts. They always make my stay a pleasant one and of course Keith and his Earth Tours guiding service it the highlight. I have hired Keith and Gracie to take Baby & me out on some nice trips during our stays in the Boulder area and since Keith is a geologist as well as naturalist he not only makes the trips fun but also educational. This time while in Boulder Keith offered to take us to a nice petroglyphs site a few miles out of town. We headed out about noon and had a very enjoyable walk to the site and back. Keith even was gracious enough to bring along a spotting scope and tripod so we could see the petroglyphs easier and better. For those of you not so inclined to take a hike the Burr Trail Trading Post is a great place to relax and have a coffee or check out their locally crafted gifts. The next time you are planning on visiting Boulder be sure to book a day trip with Keith you will be glad you did.