Bryce Canyon was easily one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. In 2022, Bryce was the 15th most visited National Park with around 2.3 million visitors. I’m honestly shocked it wasn’t ranked higher. We visited Utah in 2021 and it was the 4th park we explored. If you want to read more about our full experience in Utah, you can check out my blog post here!
What stood out most to me was the contrasting colors. The orange and tan hoodoos against the bright blue sky with dashes of green from bristlecone pines and the puffy white clouds really set the most beautiful scene for a hike. We unfortunately had our time here cut short by a huge storm. It was some of the craziest rain I’ve ever seen! We ate lunch in the car to see if the rain would pass but it didn’t 😞 We ended up leaving the park earlier than intended. I have so much more to explore there so I will definitely be making a return trip. It’s such a stunning park!
𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝: September 2021
𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐄𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝: June 7, 1924
𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Bryce, Utah
𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐤 F𝐞𝐞: $20-$35 or use the America the Beautiful annual pass
Hike Recommendations:
- Easy Hikes
- Bristlecone Loop – While this short trail itself isn’t the most exciting, the views you can get while here are amazing!
- Click here for AllTrails
- 1.1 miles, 104 ft. elevation gain
- Pit toilets available
- Bristlecone Loop – While this short trail itself isn’t the most exciting, the views you can get while here are amazing!
- Moderate Hikes
- Queens Garden and Navajo Loop – When I think of magical trails, this is one that’s at the top of my list. It has mind blowing feats of geology – towering hoodoos, sandstone tunnels, bristlecone pines jutting out of the red dirt. It’s one of my favorite National Park hikes!
- Click here for AllTrails
- 3 miles, 646 ft. elevation gain
- Pit toilets available
- I suggest starting at Sunrise Point so you’ll finish the loop coming up “Wall Street”, which is grueling, but fun to experience
- Queens Garden and Navajo Loop – When I think of magical trails, this is one that’s at the top of my list. It has mind blowing feats of geology – towering hoodoos, sandstone tunnels, bristlecone pines jutting out of the red dirt. It’s one of my favorite National Park hikes!
- Hikes I want to do but haven’t yet
- Fairyland Loop
- Peekaboo Loop
- Mossy Cave Trail
Things to see and do in and near the park
- Rainbow Point – One of the park’s many scenic overlooks – the highest point in the park. At 9,115 feet in elevation, the altitude is no joke here!
- Go horseback riding – We didn’t get to do this, but I would love to trail ride horses into the canyon!
- Southern Scenic Drive – Follow the scenic drive all the way through the park and make sure to stop at multiple overlooks.
- Speaking of overlooks… – Yovimpa and Piracy Point were two that we enjoyed. Yovimpa isn’t far from Rainbow Point, just a short walk away!
Lodging suggestions:
- Red Ledge Inn – We stayed at Red Ledge Inn in Tropic, only 17 minutes from the visitor center. It was a decent spot, and most importantly, it had a laundry room so we could wash some dirty hiking clothes before our trip home.
- If we went back though, we’d want to camp in the park at either Sunset or North Campground. There is a lodge within the park too. There are plenty of options out side of the park as well.
Suggestions on food/drinks/shop:
- The Pizza Place – small, but tasty pizza restaurant with frosty mugs of beer – perfect for post-hiking hydration!
- There were a handful of other places in Tropic but we only had dinner in town one night
I would love to go back to Bryce Canyon National Park now that I have a camera other than my cell phone, I feel like it’s a photographer’s paradise. We only spent about half a day there so I definitely need to go back 🙂 I hope this guide helps you start planning your Bryce Canyon trip!
📍I acknowledge the lands mentioned in this post are the ancestral lands of the Pueblos, Nuwuvi (Southern Paiute) and Núu-Agha-Tʉvʉ-Pʉ̱ (Ute) people.
The Adventures of Suze 
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