Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, movie set for multiple Hollywood westerns.

A few miles east of Kanab, a deep canyon slices northward through the multihued cliffs of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Johnson Canyon has an eclectic past. During the 1870’s the infamous John D. Lee, chief perpetrator in the Mountain Meadows Massacre, called the canyon home. In the mid-1900’s it served as a movie set for multiple Hollywood westerns.

Fans Of The Show Gunsmoke Will Recognize This Abandoned Film Set In Utah

Do you remember the TV show Gunsmoke? For twenty years, Americans tuned in to see Matt Dillon, Festus, Miss Kitty, and Doc dealing with the trials and tribulations of life in the Wild West in Dodge City, Kansas. The show ran from 1955 to 1975, and was so popular that when CBS tried to cancel it in 1967, public outcry convinced the network to change its mind. Though the show was set in Kansas, much of it was actually filmed right here in Utah, and the abandoned film set is still standing.

There were 635 episodes and many of the outdoor scenes for this show were shot in Johnson Canyon near Kanab, Utah. The setting of Gunsmoke is Dodge City, Kansas during the 1870’s. A replica of the Hollywood set was created just three miles outside of Kanab.