White Pocket Overnight

A rare one, even for us

Almost everyone sees White Pocket in a few hurried hours. A Dreamland overnight is a different thing entirely — a comfortable camp set up and a hearty dinner cooked for you, sunset and sunrise on the rock, and a sky so full of stars it barely looks real. For our 25th anniversary, that overnight gets even better: instead of spending just one night we camp out there for two evenings in a row, which allows us to jointly slow down the pace and spend a whole extra day for optional far-corner excursions and relaxed conversations; s'mores by the fire; and Paul and Sunny leading it themselves.

The strangest rock, the darkest sky

White Pocket doesn't really look like anywhere else — swirled, wind-blown sandstone that photographs like a painting and barely looks real in person.

Most folks who make it to Kanab already know White Pocket — from the photos, or from a Dreamland day trip out there: swirls of white-and-red "brain rock" out on the Paria Plateau, no lottery and no permit, reached by miles of deep sand that keep the crowds away. What almost nobody gets is real unhurried time out there. Stay two nights and you catch sunrise, sunset, and after dark, a sky as black and star-filled as any in the country.

With two days instead of a few hours, there's time to wander far. Paul and Sunny take anyone who's keen out to the hinterlands — the rarely-visited southern reaches of White Pocket — and, for folks who don't mind a scramble, up to the top of the butte for the big view.

White Pocket under the summer Milky Way — a legendary dark-sky spot · Photo: Cody York

Sunset over camp — two nights means you're here for the best light

How the trip goes

• Day 1 — out to camp. Meet in Kanab and roll out at noon. It's a couple of hours to camp — pavement, then dirt, then deep sand. Paul and Sunny set up camp while the afternoon light warms the rock, then dinner, a fire with s'mores, and a first night under the stars.
• Day 2 — the far corners. A full day to roam. With two nights, there's time to reach the hinterlands most visitors never see — and, if you're up for it, an optional scramble to the top of the butte. Back to camp for another sunset, the fire, and a big night sky.
• Day 3 — one more sunrise. Coffee as the rock lights up, a last wander, then pack up and back to Kanab between noon and one. That leaves the evening free for the first of our 25th-anniversary Speaker & Film Nights, where Paul spins stories from his months-long expeditions on Baffin Island — a fitting nightcap to two nights out on the sand.

Remote, comfortable, and far from everything

White Pocket sits way out on the Paria Plateau, reached by miles of deep sand that only a 4x4 with the tires aired down can handle — which is exactly why it stays quiet. Paul and Sunny handle the driving and the camp; you get a basecamp in the middle of one of the strangest sandstone landscapes on earth, and two days spent on foot over slickrock and sand at whatever pace you like.

It's an accessible, comfortable trip — no backpacking, no permit, and a camp that's set up and cooked for you — but it's genuinely remote, with no cell service and cold nights. If you're happy to sleep out and wander on foot, you'll be right at home. The optional scramble to the top of the butte is the one properly strenuous bit, and it's entirely up to you.

The quick facts