Experience One Day in Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

Bryce Canyon is like nowhere I’ve ever been or probably will ever go in the world. It is indescribable and one of the (admittedly many) highlights of our road trip through the magnificent state of Utah. We only had one day in Bryce Canyon but thankfully that’s enough to see the highlights and even sneak in a hike.

Like most of the popular national parks in America it was very well setup. Because it was peak season (late April), RVs were not allowed in any of the amphitheatre parking lots so we had to use the park shuttle to get around. This was not a problem and actually a better option than self driving anyway. As I get to what we did in Bryce you’ll understand why.

Orientation

The bloodline of Bryce National Park is the Scenic Drive that extends 18 miles from the park entrance towards the south. It tracks the canyon rim to the west and allows you to stop as certain overlooks every few miles. Bryce National Park, not unlike many other Utah national parks like Zion, Arches or Canyonlands Island in the Sky, is an in and out situation where you don’t drive through the park to get anywhere; at a certain point, the road just stops.

The Amphitheatre is where most of the action happens. It’s where most photos of Bryce are taken. There are several lookouts around the rim where you can look down into the hoodoo-filled canyon. In peak season (April to October) it is best to utilise the shuttle system that ferries people from point to point. Or, it is possible to walk the whole way around the canyon rim on a wide and flat path called the Canyon Rim Trail.

If you look closely (and definitely ask a ranger to point it out if you see one) you’ll see some hiking trails in amongst the hoodoos and maybe even some hikers. If you get the chance, hiking among the hoodoos is an absolute must-do as their beauty, fragility and size must be seen up close to be believed.

You can see where the amphitheatre is located on the map above as it is where the cluster of pins are situated together.

You can also drive between these lookouts as each has a parking lot, but if you are going in peak season you will not be allowed to bring your RV into the amphitheatre due to parking limitations. You’ll have to use the shuttles. This is fine though, the shuttles come every few minutes. You can drive your van along the scenic drive though and that’s worth doing.

How to Plan Your Day in Bryce Canyon

When you enter the park you will be given a map that details the stops along the scenic drive as well as hiking trails should you wish to get the blood pumping. The map will look something like this.

Like I mentioned, the shuttles run between the lookouts at the amphitheatre and this is very convenient if you plan to walk around the canyon rim because you can start at one end (either Bryce Point or the Visitor Centre), walk the rim, and catch the shuttle back without having to hike the same piece of land twice.

For the rest of the scenic drive, you must self-drive and since the canyon and all of the viewpoints are to the east, we found it beneficial to drive to the end first, then make all the stops on the way back because then you are on the correct side of the road for the pull-outs.

Lastly, keep an eye on the NPS website as they keep it very up to date with trail closures and whatnot.

Arriving in Bryce Canyon

Our day started in Page as we’d just spent a couple of days around Lake Powell and Antelope Canyon. Coming back into Utah from Arizona we lost the hour gained 2 days prior, so even though we left Arizona at 8 on the dot, the 3.5 hour drive got us there at 11:30 was actually 12:30, and the other RV in our party didn’t arrive for almost another hour so we didn’t enter the park until 1:30.

Still, with only half a day I was surprised at how much we were able to see and we managed to see everything we wanted to. In fact, I’d argue we saw more than I had planned to so if you are feeling pressed for time when you visit Bryce, don’t write it off. There’s plenty of time to see a lot because everything is reasonably close together.

We parked our RVs in the large parking lot across the road from the Bryce Canyon Visitor Centre, had a brief look inside, then caught the park shuttle from the Visitor Centre to Bryce Point; a total of two stops.

Bryce Point

As the most southerly viewpoint of the Bryce Canyon amphitheatre I found that you get the best overall view of the amphitheatre from Bryce Point so this stop is non-negotiable. It’s a short walk out to the point on packed gravel.

From here, you have the option of walking the entire rim trail but we decided to shorten it a little and get back on the shuttle for Inspiration Point, the next point and shuttle stop around the amphitheatre.

Inspiration Point and the Bryce Canyon Rim Trail

Inspiration Point is obviously just a slightly different view of the same hoodoos, but this time we took the Rim trail from Inspiration Point around to Sunrise Point. The Rim Trail is safe: it is a wide, even path. However, at times it is a pretty steep drop off deep into the Canyon at times so some level of caution is required. Despite this, Nanny wasn’t keen to walk it due to her crippling fear of falling off the edge so she jumped back on the shuttle and met us at Sunset Point.

After discussing the topic at length, we decided that even if you did fall over, the gradient of the canyon was such that you wouldn’t die (like you would in Canyonlands), but you would slide quite a distance and probably lost a lot of skin.

It was such a beautiful walk around the rim of the canyon and since it is flat, it’s a very easy walk for anyone with working legs. There is no shortage of places to stop for a photo, the only problem will be choosing which one and ensuring you are still absorbing everything as well.

Queens Garden Trail

If you’re keen to walk down into the canyon among the hoodoos there’s a trail from Bryce Point and Sunset Point but these were both closed when we went.

The one trail that was open was the Queens Garden Trail, which starts from Sunrise Point (not to be confused with Sunset Point).

The path was well marked and well-travelled, pretty even in most parts but quite steep at times too, especially near the top. It gave an amazing closeup view of the hoodoos and I got a much better appreciation for their size and scale.

From photos, and even from the rim, the hoodoos look small. Like, smaller than a human small. There are so many that you think how big can they possibly be? It was not until I was right up close to them that I realised that most of them are still probably more than 10 metres high, all created through the incredible forces of water and ice erosion and the enduring patience of time.

The Queens Garden is named for a hoodoo on a wall that, from one side resembled Queen Victoria in a seated position from the side. Once at the Queen’s Garden I saw it instantly. This is was not one of those abstract names where you really have to use your imagination, it’s there.

In creating the trail, the national park had to create a few sections of switchbacks to make the grade doable and also had to cut a few holes through some rocks creating a small tunnel.

The walk back up was strenuous but seemed to go much quicker than the way down. By the time we were back up to the rim, it was close to 5 and we jumped on the next shuttle and headed back to the campervan to complete the scenic drive.

Bryce Canyon Scenic Drive

I mentioned above that since we were in a camper van we were not allowed to park in any of the amphitheatre parking lots and we’re required to use the shuttle. But the shuttle only goes as far as Bryce point so they have no problem in us visiting the other viewpoints in an RV. There is good logic to this, the amphitheatre is the main attraction. It is the grandest and the most visited. If you only saw the amphitheatre you would feel like you saw Bryce National Park.

Even so, we drove down to Natural Bridge, which happened to be the furthest we were allowed at the time, as the road was closed due to snow (in late April). This is an 18-mile scenic drive and Natural Bridge was at mile 12. The Natural Bridge (technically it’s an arch, like in Arches National Park) is a huge arch right below the overlook. The lookout has a perfect view of the arch and out over the canyons below.

It was the most impressive “other” overlook on the scenic drive that we went to, but around Bryce, every view is a good view, and the stops are quick and require little walking to see so each one, in my opinion, is worth stopping at.

The next stop after Natural Bridge was Farview Point, which was a lovely view out over the mountains with some closeup rock formations. There is a brief walk down to Piracy Point from here, which we skipped, as it was 6 pm by now.

The last stop of the day was Swamp Canyon Overlook, where you look right down the valley with buttes and hoodoos flanking both sides.

Where to stay in Bryce Canyon

After Swamp Canyon we headed back north and exited the park. There is only one hotel available to stay at inside the national park, which is The Lodge at Bryce Canyon. The Lodge is located about halfway between Sunrise and Sunset Points.

There are two campgrounds at Bryce Canyon: North Campground and Sunset Campground. North is on a first-come-first-served basis but you can book Sunset Point online for most of the season (a few weeks at the shoulder are first-come-first-served).

The closest town to the National Park is simply called Bryce and is a few minutes from the Visitor Centre. We stayed at Ruby’s Inn RV and Campground and this was perfect for us. Ruby’s is the closest RV park to Bryce Canyon, had full hook ups, a pool and hot tub and all the other facilities you need to keep stocked and entertained while not exploring.

If you need a hotel, Ruby’s Inn is just up the road and the Best Western Plus Bryce Canyon Grand Hotel is nearby too.

That’s it for Bryce, it’s pretty limited so book as early as practicable. There are more hotels as you go further afield. I’m not going to go through them one by one but a simple search will show you what’s available.

Click here to view more Bryce Canyon accommodation options.

Final Thoughts

I had seen pictures of Bryce Canyon before but nothing could prepare me for the incredible grandeur of the amphitheatre. It was so much bigger and expansive than I realised. The hoodoos are larger than life and the view out over the Grand Staircase in the distance is phenomenal. It is truly like nowhere else on earth.