Bryce Canyon National Park

Overview

About

Bryce Canyon National Park is in Utah. It became a US national park in 1928.

Visitor map

Main sights

Bryce Amphitheater: a huge basin in the north of the park, about 19 km long and filled with red-orange pillars; Sunrise, Sunset, Inspiration and Bryce Points line its rim.

Queen's Garden: a trail from Sunrise Point down into the basin past a pillar said to resemble Queen Victoria; it is the easiest way into the hoodoos.

Wall Street: a narrow slot on the Navajo Loop with high walls on both sides and tall Douglas firs growing in the bottom.

Thor's Hammer: a top-heavy pillar near Sunset Point with a wide cap like a hammer, one of the most photographed in the park.

Fairyland Point: north of the entrance, with a view of the hoodoos of Fairyland Canyon and fewer visitors than the amphitheater.

Natural Bridge: on the scenic drive, a red arch formed by running water and frost.

Agua Canyon: an overlook on the southern part of the drive, with two pillars known as the Hunter and the Rabbit and a darker dolomite layer above.

Rainbow Point: the southernmost viewpoint, at about 2,775 metres the highest in the park, with a long view into Arizona and a bristlecone pine trail nearby.

Geology and landscape

Bryce is not a true canyon but a series of round basins eroded into the eastern edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau.

The hoodoos are cut from soft rock of the Claron Formation, laid down in lakes and streams about 50 million years ago; iron and manganese give the red, orange, pink and white colours.

The pillars, called hoodoos, range from a few metres to several tens of metres. The rock at the top is harder than that below, so they are often wide at the top and narrow at the base.

The main force at work is frost. At this elevation temperatures cross freezing on more than 170 days a year; water enters cracks, freezes and expands, and splits the rock.

Rain then washes the fragments away. The plateau edge retreats by tens of centimetres a century, so hoodoos keep forming and collapsing.

History and culture

Paiute people lived in the region long before settlers arrived. In their tradition the pillars were once the Legend People, turned to stone by Coyote for their misdeeds.

In the 1870s the Mormon pioneer Ebenezer Bryce moved his family to a nearby valley, and the park takes its name from him.

It became a national monument in 1923 and a national park in 1928.

Far from large cities, the park has very dark skies and was designated an International Dark Sky Park in 2019; the park runs astronomy programmes in summer.

Travel tips

Getting there: the nearest airports are at Cedar City and St. George; the drive is about four hours from Las Vegas and four to five hours from Salt Lake City. A free shuttle runs from about April to October.

Shuttle: from spring to autumn a shuttle links the entrance, visitor centre and main viewpoints, which helps when parking is full.

Main viewpoints: the Bryce Amphitheater has Sunrise Point, Sunset Point, Inspiration Point and Bryce Point, and has the densest concentration of hoodoos.

Trails: the Queen's Garden Trail and Navajo Loop descend from Sunset Point into the hoodoos and are often combined, about two to three hours, with a tiring climb back.

Scenic drive: the road south leads to Rainbow Point, about 18 miles from the entrance and above 2,700 metres, with several overlooks on the way.

Time: one day is enough; the rock is reddest at sunrise.

Season: summer is the easiest but busiest; in winter snow covers the hoodoos, visitors are few, and early mornings fall well below freezing.

Where to stay: the Lodge at Bryce Canyon and campgrounds are inside the park and should be booked early in season; many motels are just outside at Ruby's Inn.

Caution: the elevation is 2,400 to 2,700 metres, so climbing back out is tiring; thunderstorms are common on summer afternoons.

Map