Utah is unique in the sense that the state offers 5 vastly different national parks. Trailing behind only California and Alaska for the most national parks in one state.
Today, we are talking about Bryce Canyon.
This national park is located in southern Utah and is much less crowded than its counterpart, Zion, located only 90 miles away. Seeing only about half of the visitors that Zion does, this park is far from a secret but does not feel overcrowded.
Bryce is most famous for its unique geology, consisting of a series of horseshoe-shaped amphitheaters carved from the eastern edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau. Millions of visitors a year visit this park to take in the wondrous views of the largest collection of hoodoos in the world. These beautiful rock formations were shaped over millions of years from two driving natural forces of weather and erosion caused by ice and rain.
The elevation at which Bryce Canyon is located means that it sees both above freezing and below freezing temperatures during the same night on an average of 170 days out of the year. This is crucial to the formation of the infamous hoodoos. Water from either rain or snow seeps into the cracks within the rocks during the day when the temperature is warmer. When the temperature drops in the evening, the trapped water freezes, expands and causes pressure on the surrounding rock causing it to break apart over time.
This eventually causes a plateau to be broken down over time into walls, then windows and eventually into the hoodoos that you can see today.
I have never seen such a thing in my life and if you haven’t either, I would suggest making your way to the national park to explore it for yourself. Mother Nature is truly amazing.
Now that I have peaked your interest, and you are planning to be one of the 2 million visitors this year. Here is how I would spend my ideal day in Bryce Canyon.
As always, if possible, I would suggest visiting this park during the offseason, which takes place from the months of November through early April. This almost always ensures that you will have a much less crowded park, which in my opinion, is always better.
I would also suggest arriving early, this is another way to allow you to enjoy the park and any hiking trails with less people. The earlier the better, if you can, sunrise hikes and views are always amazing especially over the hoodoos.
Your first stop should be the visitor’s center if it is open, you can grab a map, talk to the rangers about any questions that you have, get your national park passport stamped and pick up a souvenir smashed penny.
For your first views of Bryce Canyon, I would highly recommend heading to Sunset Point. The views from here are breathtaking and were some of my favorites in the park. Your first hike of the day should be on the Navajo Loop trail; this is one of the most popular trails in the park and for good reason! You start by heading into the canyon itself, passing by Thor’s Hammer, a popular photography stop. Then you further your descent by walking down the infamous switchbacks. Hiking poles are not necessary but would be helpful for those that need some additional support when making a steeper decline.
Another .4 miles following the switchbacks will put you at the Navajo Loop Benchmark where you can either take the Wall Street section back up to Sunset Point, totaling a 1.5-mile hike with 515 feet of elevation gain. Alternatively, you can take the Queens Garden Trail that totals for a 3-mile hike with 652 feet of elevation gain.
One thing to note, during the winter months the Wall Street section on this trail is closed, making the Navajo Loop an out and back trail if you do not decide to continue.
We decided to extend the hike and took the Queens Garden trail after seeing the photos and reviews on AllTrails. There were incredible views along the entire route and we had the chance to walk through many different peekaboo’s. I feel like I say this with every hike but with each corner we turned, the views only seemed to get better and better!
Depending on the time following the completion of the hike, you can have a picnic lunch at the Sunset Point overlook area or you can get started on your drive through the park.
I would then suggest downloading a self-guided audio tour to listen to while you drive through the park. We purchased the Bryce Canyon tour through Action Tour Guide for $14.99. The tour provided us with narration throughout the park, highlighting different features and historical facts. This would be great for those that are interested in learning a little more about the history of the park you are visiting or those that only have a short amount of time in the park.
Bryce Canyon has one main 18-mile road that runs north and south called the Southern Scenic Drive. This road will take you from the visitor’s center to Yovimpa Point, the furthest drivable point within the park. I highly suggest using your self-guided audio tour while you are traveling on this road.
There are many overlooks that you can stop at to enjoy the beautiful views and take some more photos. Some of my favorite views were at Inspiration Point and the Natural Bridge.
After about 45 minutes, you arrive at Yovimpa Point. Along with Rainbow Point, this is the highest viewpoint within this national park. The tectonic uplift has lifted this landscape from sea level over the course of the last 20 million years. To the south, you can see one the grandest and longest views in the park, extending over 100 miles across the tops of the Grand Staircase. The Grand Staircase here is composed of five cliffs: the Bryce Canyon Pink Cliffs, Grey Cliffs, White Cliffs, Vermillion Cliffs and Chocolate Cliffs. These five cliffs that extend from this point to the Kaibab Unwarp in the Grand Canyon, contain one of the world’s most complete sedimentary records of the last 300 million years of life and environment on the planet.
For some of the best views of the upper steps of the Grand Staircase, I highly suggest taking the Rainbow Point, Yovimpa Point and Bristlecone Loop trail. This is an easy 1.3-mile hike with low elevation gain but it provides you with incredible views of the canyon along with sweeping views of the geological layers of this staircase.
Finally, on your way out of the park, be sure to stop at any overlook areas you might have missed on the way. By this time, the sun should be on its way down and the colors should be amazing.
With over 35,800 acres, eight hiking trails that can be completed in a day and two overnight hiking trails, this national park offers a little bit of something for every outdoor enthusiast. If you haven’t already started planning out your trip to explore Utah’s Big 5, take this as your sign to do just that!
Have I convinced you to visit yet?