We’re sticking in Utah for the next couple of posts about national parks in the USA. Check out our post on Zion if you missed it last month.
Name: Bryce Canyon
Year Established: 1928
Location: Southwestern Utah
Amazing Bryce Canyon.
Season: Open year-round 24 hours a day except for Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day
Cost: $25 per vehicle; $12 for anyone on bike or foot (good for 7 days)
Come for the views, stay for the hiking!
Accommodation: There are campgrounds as well as a lodge inside the park for a nightly fee.
Bryce Canyon Lodge
Brief Description: Bryce Canyon is not really a canyon. It’s more like an amphitheater made up of hoodoos. ‘What are hoodoos?’ you may ask. They are stone structures formed by melting frost and erosion. It was founded in the 1850’s by Mormon settlers. It’s named after Ebenezer Bryce, who homesteaded the area for a few years. Once he was asked how he liked having the canyon as a backyard and he said, “It’s a helluva place to lose a cow!”
Imagine trying to find a cow in these hoodoos.
Beautiful panoramic view!
Personal Experience: Originally when planning our trip, we were going to camp for a night or two, but when we learned how much there was to do in Moab we decided to only spend a few hours on our way from Zion. Upon arrival at Bryce Canyon, it started to rain. As such, we started in the visitor center where they have a small museum with information about how it was started and all the animals and plants that could be found inside the park. We also watched the introductory video.
Learning about the landscape in the museum.
Bryce Canyon, like Zion, has a free shuttle available for visitors but it isn’t required. The park ranger advised us that it would be better to take the shuttle bus to all the most popular sites, but with our short time we decided it would be better to drive ourselves. Before setting out, we ate our lunch of leftovers from Zion. Then we headed to Bryce Point, Inspiration Point and Sunset Point, where we took in the beautiful scenery and took lots of pictures.
Get some inspiration here.
Visitors have the option to hike the rim trail from Fairyland Point to Bryce Point and we found ourselves wanting to hike it, but we just didn’t have enough time. Finally, we decided we couldn’t leave Bryce Canyon without doing one hike, so we studied the map for a short, yet interesting trail and decided that the Navajo Loop trail would be best. It is only 1.5 miles, and unlike the rim trail it actually goes down into the canyon where you can see the hoodoos and spires up close. I’m so happy we made that decision because it’s one of the coolest hikes I’ve ever done!
Going down a switchback in the Navajo Loop.
Up close with the hoodoos.
Such a beautiful place!
After our hike we went to the Bryce Canyon Lodge to rest for a moment and use the internet to be sure we knew how to get to Moab. On our way out we drove through the town of Bryce which is set up like an old western town with a county jail, a saloon, a rocks and minerals shop, and an ice cream store. We were on the road yet again to our next destination. Our time there was much too short and we look forward to returning there to actually camp and do more hiking.
Inside of the Zion Lodge.
