Bryce Canyon: The Underdog National Park
Step aside, Zion!
Hey, question for you. Have you heard of Bryce Canyon National Park? No, not Grand Canyon — Bryce Canyon. No? I’m not really surprised. How about Zion National — oh, yeah, you know that one.
Bryce Canyon National Park is often overlooked by its much more popular sister, Zion National Park. The two of them are right next to each other and share Utah as their home state, but while Zion is the fourth most-visited national park in the entire United States, Bryce Canyon is floundering somewhere…lower on the list.
When I visited the two of them, I was flabbergasted. Sure, I can see why Zion is so beloved — it really is a beautiful park. But it’s also kind of small, and very crowded, and stressful to navigate — none of which apply to Zion’s next-door neighbor.
Bryce Canyon National Park is not stuffed with things to do. It’s much less popular and therefore, also much less well-guided than the more famous ones like Zion or the Grand Canyon. However, if you’re going to make a stop at the Grand Canyon and/or Zion, I think it definitely warrants a visit, especially when you have views like this so close to you:
The Bryce Amphitheater is the main feature of the park. It’s essentially a gigantic bowl-shaped valley filled with these weird, orange rock spires called “hoodoos.” (Yes, I enjoyed the name thoroughly.) Hoodoos are formed by wind and the expanding ice that cracks and weathers the entire canyon in the winter, resulting in this mysterious and distinctive rock formation that you can’t find in the other national parks. There are only a couple noteworthy trails in Bryce, but they are more than stunning.
The most popular trail, for good reason, is the combination of the Navajo Loop and the Queen’s Garden Trail. The trails intersect at a certain point and are very easy to follow. This trail starts at the rim of the amphitheater, before descending down through rocky orange clouds and into hoodoo wonderland.
After reaching the Navajo Loop section, the trail becomes more wooded and green for some time for a change of scenery, before navigating through a shaded orange valley reminiscent of a slot canyon and following a nasty section of switchbacks back up towards where you started.
If you’re feeling more challenging trails, the Fairyland Loop Trail is 8 miles, and the Peekaboo Loop is a classic trail that is often taken on horseback.
There are also several viewpoints in the park, but I didn’t think any of them beat out just looking at the amphitheater. However, if you’re interested, Sunrise Point and Sunset Point (wow, one for each, I guess!) are very close to each other and situated on the canyon rim. If you’re tired of looking at the amphitheater, Rainbow Point, Inspiration Point, Natural Bridge, and Bryce Point are all viewpoints that open up to more colorful (and green) vistas.
Bryce Canyon is also situated right next to the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, which is filled to the brim with slot canyons, basins, waterfalls, and the beautiful striated rocks that you came here for. Unfortunately, while right next door geographically, it does take an hour and a half or so to get there depending on where you are, so I was not able to go this time around. However, I’m dying to go and explore next time! Anyone who passes up this canyon is missing something truly beautiful. Everyone knows about Antelope Canyon, but Grand Staircase is just as full of gorgeous slot canyons — and I’d wager they’re a lot less crowded as well!
Case in point, Bryce Canyon is sorely underestimated as a national park — remember, these places are bound to be stuffed full of wonders! And if you’re planning on making the trek to Zion or the Grand Canyon anytime soon, make sure to schedule an extra day or two into your itinerary for Bryce Canyon. It’s not a place to be missed.
