Escalante is a city in central Garfield County, Utah, United States, located along Utah Scenic Byway 12 in the south-central part of the state. As of the 2020 census, 786 people were living in the city. 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. The nearest towns are Boulder which is 27 miles to the northeast on SR-12, and Henrieville, which is 30 miles to the southwest on SR-12.