Bryce Canyon Travel Guide

On my recent trip to Utah and Zion (See: Zion Travel Guide) I also visited Bryce Canyon, and it was so spectacular I felt it deserved its own highlight. Compared to Zion, Bryce Canyon is the more underrated park, but is often preferred by Utah locals and many visitors. With fewer visitors, cooler weather, and beautiful scenic hikes, Bryce Canyon is a place you’ll want to add to your bucket list if you’re already planning on visiting Zion National Park.

Below, I’ll be sharing my tips and advice to help you best plan your travel to Bryce Canyon.

WHERE TO STAY

Bryce Canyon is located only 50 miles away from Zion, one hour away by car. When we were in the process of booking our trip, we were debating between staying the night near Bryce or just making it a day trip. Ultimately, we decided on the latter, as we figured chaining hotels would be more of a hassle than the drive back to Zion would be. While planning your trip, I would highly recommend adding an extra full day to your trip to maximize your time in the awe inspiring beauty of Bryce Canyon. Obviously, if you don’t plan on visiting Zion and you’re making a specific trip just to see Bryce, there are plenty of places in the main town to stay at. I always recommend researching the city you plan on visiting on Tripadvisor. Past visitors leave the best and most honest reviews on hotels and restaurants and Tripadvisor shares great articles on what to see, activities to do and more.

WHEN TO GO

We visited Bryce Canyon in early October and the weather was mid 70’s, about 10-15 degrees cooler than Zion. I prefer it to be on the colder side when hiking, so I enjoyed the few cool breezes we experienced. Honestly, I’d say you could enjoy Bryce year-round, visit during the summer for hot weather, fall and spring for perfect cool temperatures, and winter for the cold. I read that Bryce during the winter is a must- see, that it’s beautiful with all the snow. So the best time to visit depends on your preference. The one thing to keep in mind is the elevation difference. I was often out of breath since Bryce sits at a higher peak around 9,000 ft, whereas Zion is around 3,000 ft. If you’re not in the best shape like me, this could affect you during your visit. I made sure to stay hydrated by drinking lots of water and adding electrolytes.

WHAT TO BRING

If you’re just going for the day, all you need is a backpack with water, food and snacks. I would check the temperature before going to see what clothing you need to wear and if you need to bring any extra in case it gets really cold. I was perfect in leggings, sneakers, hooded sweatshirt and a baseball cap. I got hot a few times during our hike and ended up taking off my sweatshirt.

WHAT HIKES TO DO

Just like any national park, Bryce has numerous hikes you can do that vary depending on what you want to see, difficulty level and length. We decided to do a few hikes that all led into one another starting from the top and traversing all the way down the canyon and back up so that we could take in the beauty of Bryce with all the glowing orange rocks and “voodoos” as they call call it. We parked in the lot at Sunset Point, walked clockwise along Rim Trail, to the start of Sunrise Point. From there, we headed down the trial to Queens Garden Trail, then climbed back up Navajo Loop Trail, back to Sunset Point where we parked. The hike took us about 2 hours but we stopped a few times to take pictures. The hardest part was the climb all the way back up. Despite being physically out of shape and the elevation working against me, I powered through and made it.

I found a great article that shares Ten Top-Rated Hikes in Bryce Canyon if you’re looking for more: https://www.planetware.com/utah/top-rated-hikes-in-bryce-canyon-national-park-us-ut-155.htm

ADDITIONAL INFO

Unlike Zion, you don’t need shuttle tickets, cars can drive in and park at one of the numerous lots. The entrance fee is $35 and good for 7 days. If you plan on visiting more national parks this year, I would highly suggest purchasing the annual pass for $10 more.

One of the main things we saw on our drive from Zion to Bryce was the amount of deer road kill along the road. My heart broke each time we passed one and the pain never got easier. Just be prepared to see this along the way and be careful that you don’t hit one yourself.

As I suggested in my Zion Travel Guide, moisture wicking clothes is a must and I would actually recommend wearing hiking shoes or boots here. I wore plain sneakers and slipped quite a few times.

Stay tuned, my next post with be highlighting another underrated and often overlooked place, Valley of Fire State Park.

Thanks for stopping by!