Bryce Canyon National Park

Bryce Canyon is not one canyon but a chain of natural amphitheaters carved into the eastern edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau. The largest and most famous of them, the Bryce Amphitheater, holds the greatest concentration of hoodoos anywhere on Earth. Frost and rain slowly dissolved the plateau's soft limestone, leaving these thin rock spires standing in crowded ranks, tinted orange, pink, and white by iron and other minerals in the stone. Standing at the rim and looking out over that sea of pinnacles is a view that tends to stop conversation.

The classic way to take it in is from the overlooks that line the rim. Sunrise, Sunset, Inspiration, and Bryce Points each gaze out over the main amphitheater, and each frames the hoodoos a little differently, most dramatic in the soft light at the ends of the day. The Rim Trail links several of them with gentle walking along the plateau edge, so you can drift from one grand view to the next without ever leaving the top.

To feel the true scale of the place, though, hikers drop down into the amphitheater on trails like the Navajo Loop and Queen's Garden, walking among the spires that towered overhead from the rim. This is high country, with the rim standing between about 8,000 and 9,100 feet, which means cool summer days, cold nights, and snow that lingers into spring. The reward for the altitude is some of the clearest, darkest skies in the country, a park famous by day for its color and by night for its stars.

• Main Entrance, off UT-63 where it branches south from Scenic Byway UT-12 near the town of Bryce, is the only vehicle entrance and is open year-round. It leads past the Bryce Canyon Visitor Center and on to the rim overlooks and the 18-mile scenic drive.
• Most visitors arrive from the west on Scenic Byway UT-12, which links to US-89 between Panguitch and the park. From Las Vegas, the drive runs north on I-15 to UT-20 and US-89, roughly four hours; from Salt Lake City, follow I-15 south and then US-89 and UT-12, about four hours as well. Zion National Park lies about two hours to the southwest along the same scenic corridor.

• The Navajo Loop and Queen's Garden trails combine into a prized three-mile route that drops off the rim and winds among the hoodoos. The Navajo Loop switchbacks steeply through a narrow slot past towering walls, and the Queen's Garden path threads gently among the spires, giving the full stone-forest experience in a single loop.
• Sunrise and Sunset Points are the classic viewpoints over the main amphitheater, most dramatic at golden hour when the low sun sets the hoodoos ablaze with color. They sit an easy walk apart along the Rim Trail.
• The Fairyland Loop is an eight-mile backcountry alternative that trades crowds for solitude, winding through hoodoos and fins on the quieter north end of the amphitheater.
• Dark Sky astronomy programs run on summer nights at the park's outdoor amphitheater, where rangers set up telescopes and point out planets, star clusters, and the Milky Way in one of the darkest skies in the country.

Long before it was a park, this high plateau country was, and still is, part of the ancestral homeland of the Southern Paiute people. They lived and traveled across the region for countless generations and had their own understanding of the strange rock figures. Their legend tells of the Legend People, ancient beings who once lived here and who were turned to stone by Coyote as punishment, frozen forever in the shapes of the hoodoos. The Paiute remain in Utah today, and their long connection to this land runs far deeper than the park's history.

The name Bryce comes from Ebenezer Bryce, a Mormon pioneer who settled below the amphitheater in the 1870s and grazed cattle in the area. He is remembered for describing the maze of hoodoos in plain, practical terms as a hard place to lose a cow. Local settlers called the amphitheater below his homestead Bryce's Canyon, and the name stuck to the whole park that grew up around it.

As word of the extraordinary scenery spread in the early 1900s, the government moved to protect it. The area was set aside as Bryce Canyon National Monument in 1923, and in 1928 it was established as Bryce Canyon National Park, safeguarding the amphitheaters for the many visitors who now come to see them.

In the 1930s the Civilian Conservation Corps went to work here, as they did in parks across the country. They built trails, improved the roads and overlooks, and laid up stonework along the rim, much of which still frames the views today. Their work helped turn a remote plateau edge into a park that anyone could reach and explore.

• Bryce Canyon holds the largest concentration of hoodoos found anywhere on Earth. A hoodoo is simply a tall, thin spire of rock left standing when the softer stone around it erodes away.
• The hoodoos are carved mainly by frost, not by a river. Bryce sits high enough that the temperature crosses the freezing point roughly 200 times a year, and water that seeps into cracks freezes overnight, expands, and slowly pries the rock apart.
• Despite the name, Bryce is not a true canyon. A canyon is cut by a river, but Bryce is an amphitheater eroded into the edge of a plateau by frost, rain, and runoff.
• The whole rim is retreating. The amphitheater eats back into the plateau by roughly a foot or two each century, so the Bryce of the distant future will look very different than it does today.
• Bryce is one of the darkest places in the country and a certified Dark Sky Park. On a clear moonless night, thousands of stars are visible, and the air is clear enough to see for well over a hundred miles from the overlooks.
• The plateau is home to bristlecone pines, some of the oldest living trees on the planet, gnarled survivors that can live for thousands of years in the thin soil and harsh weather along the rim.
• The park is high enough that its weather is more mountain than desert. Snow can fall in the fall, winter, and spring, and the sight of white snow draped over the orange hoodoos is one of Bryce's most beautiful scenes.
• The rare Utah prairie dog, found only in this corner of the state, lives in the park's meadows, one of several species that thrive in the cooler high-country habitat.

• An entrance fee applies (per vehicle, good for seven days); check the park website for current rates, and interagency annual passes are accepted.
• The park is open year-round, and the only vehicle entrance and the visitor center stay open through winter, though snow and ice can close individual trails and overlooks in the cold months.
• A free shuttle is recommended in the busy season, roughly April through October, and it helps ease the parking crunch at the popular amphitheater overlooks.
• The 18-mile scenic drive runs one way out to Rainbow Point at the south end of the park; plan two to three hours to drive it and stop at the overlooks along the way.

Bryce Canyon, in southern Utah, is famous for holding the largest concentration of hoodoos on Earth. Hoodoos are tall, thin rock spires that glow in vivid orange, pink, and cream, filling a series of natural amphitheaters along the edge of a high plateau. Perched on the rim, the park offers a surreal landscape best seen from its overlooks and from trails that wind down among the spires, and after dark it is one of the finest stargazing spots in the country.

The rim sits between about 8,000 and 9,100 feet, high enough that the thin air can leave you winded, especially climbing back up from the amphitheater, so pace yourself and drink plenty of water. It is much cooler than the low desert, with cold nights even in summer, strong high-altitude sun, and snow that can fall from fall into spring. The park stays open all year, but winter brings real snow and ice, so bring layers and traction for the trails and expect cold, changeable mountain weather.

The hoodoos are shaped mostly by frost, not by a river. Bryce sits high enough that the temperature crosses the freezing point roughly 200 times a year. Water seeps into cracks in the soft limestone, freezes overnight, and expands, slowly prying the rock apart in a process called frost-wedging. Over long stretches of time this carves the plateau edge into walls, then windows, and finally the tall isolated spires. Harder cap rocks protect the columns beneath them, which is why so many hoodoos wear a resistant stone on top.

Yes, Bryce is one of the darkest places in the country and a certified Dark Sky Park. The high elevation, dry air, and distance from city lights make for exceptionally clear night skies, and on a moonless night thousands of stars and the Milky Way are visible overhead. In summer, rangers run astronomy programs at the park amphitheater with telescopes. A new moon, meaning the nights around the darkest part of the lunar cycle, gives the very best views.

Late spring through fall is prime for hiking, with pleasantly cool temperatures at this altitude even in summer. Winter transforms the orange hoodoos with snow for a stunning, quieter experience, and the vehicle entrance and scenic road stay open. Sunrise and sunset are the magic hours, when the low sun sets the hoodoos glowing. A free shuttle runs in the busy season to ease parking, and a full day lets you enjoy the park without rushing.

You can take in the main rim overlooks and drive part of the way in a half day. To hike a trail like the Navajo Loop and Queen's Garden, drive the full 18-mile scenic road out to Rainbow Point, and not feel rushed, give it a full day. Add more time if you want to catch both sunrise and sunset over the hoodoos, join an evening astronomy program, or explore the nearby canyons and state parks.

Start with the rim viewpoints, Sunrise, Sunset, Inspiration, and Bryce Points, which overlook the main amphitheater of hoodoos. Then hike down among the spires on the classic Navajo Loop and Queen's Garden combination, one of the great short hikes in the national parks. The 18-mile scenic drive leads to more overlooks, including Rainbow Point at the high south end, and an evening under the stars rounds out the visit.

Pets are allowed in developed areas, parking lots, campgrounds, and along paved roads and the paved parts of the Rim Trail, but not on the unpaved trails that drop into the amphitheater or in the backcountry. Keep pets leashed, bring water for them at this dry altitude, and never leave a pet in a vehicle. Check the park website for the current pet rules before you go.

There is a historic lodge and two campgrounds inside the park, and they fill early in the busy season, so reservations well ahead are wise. Just outside the entrance, the small community of Bryce Canyon City offers additional lodging and dining, and more options spread out along Scenic Byway UT-12 and US-89 in the surrounding towns. The nearest Boutel stays are listed right on this page.

Respect the high elevation by taking it slow and drinking plenty of water, and dress in layers for cold, changeable mountain weather. The rim and many overlooks have unfenced edges with steep drops, so stay back from the edge and keep children close. Trails into the amphitheater lose and regain real elevation, so know your limits, and in winter icy paths call for traction devices and caution. The high-altitude sun is intense, so bring sun protection even on cool days.