Nothing can prepare you for a visit to Bryce Canyon National Park. Its scenery is unlike anything you can experience elsewhere on earth. Yet it is incredibly accessible as it is less than four hours from Las Vegas and 90 minutes from its park cousin, Zion National Park.
Just outside of Bryce Canyon City, and three miles before the Fee Stations, are parking lots and shuttle boarding areas. Visitors outnumber parking spots during peak season so you have option of leaving your car and taking the shuttle to some of the parks most popular spots. However, the shuttles only run as far as Inspiration and Bryce Points. Over 15 miles of paved park road lay beyond the final stop. The shuttles are great for the crowded stops early in the park, but we decided to drive our car, visit the popular spots early (before they got crowded), and spend the busy part of the day exploring the rest of the park.
We began with a hike that combined portions of Queens Garden Trail, Navajo Loop Trail, and the Rim Trail. We descended into the canyon at Sunrise Point and ascended at Sunset Point, but thankfully it didn’t take us from sunrise to sunset to complete our trek. The three mile course was a great introduction to the uniqueness and beauty of hoodoos – columns of weathered rock.
The first part of the hike was overwhelming with colors and unique beauty nearly assaulting our senses. I felt like my head was on a swivel – looking left, then right, then left again trying to take it all in.
The end of the hike was much more strenuous as we now had to climb out of the canyon we just explored. The climb back to the rim is a solid wall of switchback after switchback. Beautiful. But grueling.
The park was getting busy by the time we successfully completed our hike so we decided to move further into the park along the Scenic Drive. This road could also be called the Only Drive because it’s the only road in the park.
We stopped at every outlook that had a free parking space. My favorite was the view of Natural Bridge. Even after a week of seeing arches throughout the desert, these still amaze me.
At the end of the road we had lunch in the picnic area at Rainbow Point. We then walked the mile long Bristlecone Loop Trail – named after the ubiquitous Bristlecone Pine tree. These trees are among the oldest on the planet and do well in harsh environments as part of the tree can die while the rest continues to thrive. The needles of Bristlecone Pines are unique and appear almost like a bottle brush.
We worked our way out of the park stopping at places that were too crowded earlier in the day. Spots like Paria View, Bryce Point, and Inspiration Point.
On our way out we stopped at Fairyland Point for one last look at the mysterious and majestic Bryce Canyon.
What is the most unique landscape you have ever seen? Let me know in the comments below.
Go. Live.
