Bryce Canyon National Park is one of our favourite national parks in the USA. Famous for its hoodoos (columns of eroded sandstone), we are wowed by its unique beauty. It has the largest collection of hoodoos in the world.

Bryce Canyon is at the top of The Grand Staircase – a series of cliffs and terraces that stretch from southern Utah to the Grand Canyon.

Arriving at Bryce Canyon National Park, we pay the entrance fee then pop into the excellent Visitor Centre opposite.

It is a Saturday in early June and there are a lot of people in the Visitor Centre. The rangers are happy to help and there are plenty of information boards, video displays and recommendations to assist us in planning our visit. Apparently the best time of day to visit the park is sunrise, however we thought it looked spectacular anytime of day!

Scenic Drive
To see Bryce Canyon National Park there is one entrance/exit point and an 18-mile paved Scenic Drive following the plateau rim from the Visitor Centre to Rainbow Point with many pull-ins and side roads along the way. Our rental car is a small sedan but if you have an RV you won’t be able to drive it in the park – however there is a Shuttle Bus along Scenic Drive during summer. If you enjoy hiking, there are over 65 miles of walking trails.

We set off on the Scenic Drive and the highlights are:

  • Amphiteater
  • Farview Point
  • Natural Bridge
  • Agua Canyon
  • Ponderosa Point
  • Rainbow Point
  • Yovimpa Point

Amphitheater (Miles 1-3)
The Amphitheater area is a highlight for good reason and here you will find:

  • Sunset Point
  • Sunrise Point
  • Inspiration Point – you are lower and closer to the hoodoo formations
  • Bryce Point – view of the whole amphitheater

We walk part of the Rim Trail from Sunset Point to Sunrise Point (half mile flat walk). The views are amazing.

View of hoodoos from Sunset Point

If time permits, at Sunrise Point take the Queens Garden Trail – a 0.8mile walk descending 320 feet to the bottom of the canyon – winding your way through the hoodoos. You can combine this walk with the Navajo Loop Trail to see the popular hoodoo formations of Wall Street, Twin Bridges and Thor’s Hammer.

Farview Point

View from Farview Point

Natural Bridge (Mile 12.25)

Natural Bridge

Agua Canyon (Mile 13.5)

View from Agua Canyon Viewpoint

Ponderosa Point

Rainbow Point
Rainbow Point is the highest point in the park with views of the full length of the plateau. We took the short Bristlecone Loop Trail (1 mile or 1.6 kms) – well worth doing.

View from Rainbow Point

Yovimpa Point
Panoramic views, including a large section of the Grand Staircase.

View from Yovimpa Point

Accommodation
If you want to stay in Bryce Canyon National Park there are 2 campsite (North Campground and Sunset Campground) or the Lodge at Bryce (Bryce Canyon Lodge) and Deluxe Cabins.

We stayed outside the park at the Duck Creek Village Inn – just over an hour’s drive from Bryce Canyon National Park. We chose Duck Creek Village because it placed within about a 1.5 hour drive from Zion National Park which we visited the following day.

AccommodationGuru.com
Saturday 9 June 2018