[6] The city is named after Silvestre Vélez de Escalante, a Franciscan missionary and a member of the first European expedition into what is now southern Utah.

In 1776, Silvestre Vélez de Escalante and Francisco Atanasio Domínguez left Santa Fe, New Mexico attempting to find a route to the missions of California.

[7] In 1866; Captain James Andrus led members of the Southern Utah militia through the Escalante area during the Black Hawk Indian War.

[1] Settlers from Panguitch first visited the area in the 1870s, where they met members of the John Wesley Powell expedition.

The settlement was named based on a suggestion of Powell's group to honor Escalante even though the expedition had not traveled into the valley.

After a winter spent back in Panguitch, the settlers returned, and the first home was built in March 1876 by William Alvey.

[1][8][9] The primary industries of the new settlement of Escalante were cattle and sheep ranching, dairy farming, logging and mining.

In the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built improved roads to Posey Lake and Boulder.

[10] Since the Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument (GSENM) was established in 1996, Escalante has seen a large increase in the number of tourists, especially in the spring through fall months.

A survey taken from March to October 2004 by Utah State University claims that the BLM has an estimated 600,000 visitors to various parts of GSENM, many of whom pass through Escalante.

[14] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.944 square miles (7.625 km2), all land.

The Escalante River flows from the west, passing by the north side of the city and continuing eastward by an area named Big Flat.