Bryce Canyon National Park is easily in my top 5 favorite National Parks to visit!

It’s not hard to see why. The landscape is so unique – literally like nowhere you’ve ever been before. It is also much less visited than other parks. The spiral shaped hoodoos found at Bryce Canyon are impossible to describe. Pictures never do the spectacular views from the rim of the canyon justice. The colors are incredible and change throughout the day. And, the hiking is as strenuous or as easy as you want it to be without missing the views!

Bryce Canyon is located in southern Utah between Zion National Park and Capitol Reef National Park. The drive to and from the park is spectacular in either direction, but if you’re going to Capitol Reef I really suggest taking Utah Scenic Byway 12. It’s one of the most spectacular drives in the country through Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

In my opinion, Bryce Canyon is a must stop location on a trip through Utah’s National Parks. I’m not sure why it’s often overlooked in favor of the more popular Zion or Arches National Parks, but it is just as spectacular and unique! This spot is the only location where we chose to wake our kids up to see the sunrise!  After visiting the visitor center the evening we arrived, we took in an incredible night sky from our campground and then prepared for an early morning. There is nothing quite like viewing the sun come up over the horizon with the hoodoo valley in front of you. We fed the kids some breakfast on the rim of the canyon near Sunrise Point (yes, there is a Sunset Point too!) while we watched the sun peek up.

After the amazing sunrise, we chose to hike the Rim Trail to Sunset Point. Then down the Navajo Trail that connects to the Queen’s Garden Trail. It then leads back up to Sunrise Point. The Rim Trail is an easy paved path with fantastic views into the amphitheater of hoodoos. You can see them along the entire trail, which is approximately 1 mile from Sunrise Point to Sunset Point. Beginning at Sunset Point, the Navajo Trail leads you in to the canyon through a series of switchbacks. Inside the slot canyon there are beautiful Douglas Fir Trees lining the trail. The Navajo Trail is a loop trail that will lead back to Sunset Point. However, we chose to connect the Queen’s Garden Trail to get a longer loop and to end back at Sunrise Point where our car was!

The views of the hoodoos along the Queen Garden’s Trail are hard to beat, and the tunnels along the trail made it super fun for the kids! The trails do have some drop-offs and the hike out is pretty steep, so we chose to put the kids in our hiking backpacks. The hike along the bottom of the canyon is flat and easy though, so both kids enjoyed running and picking up sticks!

Emelia loved deciding what each hoodoo looked like. Many of the hoodoos have names already, but she enjoyed telling us what she thought they should be named. She was also fascinated with the tall Douglas Fir trees at the base of the slot canyon on the Navajo Trail. She said “Do they go all the way to heaven?” I imagine it was almost impossible for her to see the top of the tree! There are also several areas where trees have fallen and little caves are carved into the side of the canyon. Both Emelia and Philip enjoyed climbing on the trees an in the caves. After finishing our hike, we drove out to Inspiration Point where the views of the entire amphitheater are hard to beat!

Tips For Bryce Canyon

While at Bryce Canyon, our expenses were minimal. We brought bananas and yogurt for breakfast during sunrise at the canyon and grabbed sandwiches after our hike for lunch. We stayed at the Ruby’s Inn RV Park and Campground. Ruby’s is located right outside the main entrance to the park and is close to restaurants and a small grocery store. I would suggest looking into booking a room at the Lodge at Bryce Canyon in the National Park. Rooms are available at both Sunrise and Sunset Point making the viewing of both events in the park easy!

While I find it hard for photos to do the spectacular scenery at Bryce Canyon justice, you will of course snap a ton while you are here! I think the best photo ops are along the Queen’s Garden Trail where you can truly get a sense of the size of the hoodoos surrounding you. You can also get a view through the tunnels along the trail!

Bryce Canyon is not touristy at all, though the stores and restaurants outside the park are a little overpriced and there are a lack of options in the remote location.

Service inside the park was spotty, but when I was able to post, the snaps were pretty incredible!

Bryce Canyon is most definitely worth a stop on your next trip through Utah!