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WHAT IS IT?A U-shaped amphitheater (not a canyon at all) that contains thousands of fancifully shaped pinkish orange pillars, called hoodoos.
BEAUTY (10/10)
The freakishly bright colors and gravity challenging shapes of Bryce Canyon defy the mind’s understanding of how nature works. What you look at does not make sense. The formations challenge the very concept of beauty. Is Bryce beautiful? No. Is it one of the most amazing things you have ever seen? Oh my gosh, yes.
The Paiute Indians described the hoodoos as evil men who were turned to stone because of their maleficent actions. That makes sense to us. At least as much as the confounding geological explanation. What you see at Bryce is limited only by your imagination. The amphitheater’s viewpoints and angles change dramatically with every step, whether leisurely walking around the rim or scampering around the hoodoo mazes at the canyon’s bottom.
HISTORICAL INTEREST (2/10)
Plenty of geological bizarre-ness but little to no human interaction prior to it becoming a National Park. Mormon settler Ebenezer Bryce farmed on the land in the late 19th Century and gave it its name. Even though he was living in a geological and sensory wonderland his most notable account of the land is the it is a “heck of a place to lose a cow”. A much different portrayal than the words of the Paiutes and later the flowery descriptions of John Wesley Powell‘s right hand man, Capt. Charles Dutton.
CROWDS (5/10)
The Bryce Canyon NP scenic drive stretches 18 miles from north to south. All views of the amphitheater, what makes Bryce Bryce, is in the first two miles of that drive. Understandably, few tourists venture south of the Rim Trail. The Trail is wide enough and provides enough benches that it is never hard to find a place to sit and enjoy the view.
Certain trails in among the hoodoos can be crowded with wheezing, sweaty hikers especially the Navajo Loop Trail. Good luck trying to get a picture of the Wall Street formation without somebody else in the foreground. Other amphitheater trails, like the Queens Garden Trail and the Peekaboo Loop Trail tend to have less traffic.The overlooks do get crowded. We attended a Ranger-led geology talk at Bryce Point. We heard and saw very little of his talk because of a few cackling tour bus groups who evidently never learned parliamentary procedure or general politeness.
EASE OF USE/ACCESS (3/5)
Bryce Canyon NP is a must-see destination park and a part of the southwest “Grand Circle” of National Parks. It is out of the way, but well worth the drive and more than just a detour. The Park entrance is over 50 miles from Interstate 15 Exit 95. The closest town is Cedar City, some 75 miles away. Here are some more relevant distances: 78 miles from Zion NP, 150 miles from the North Rim of Grand Canyon NP, 300 miles from the South Rim of Grand Canyon NP and about 250 miles from Las Vegas, NV.
The Park operates a free voluntary shuttle that travels from the intersection of Utah Routes 12 and 63 (about 3 miles north of the Park) to Ruby’s Best Western Inn, into Bryce Canyon and from overlook to overlook around the amphitheater rim. The shuttle is a nice alternative to driving but its necessity is dubious at best. While the Visitor Center parking lot may be strained for space, there is plenty of room at the overlooks. And the Rim Trail is a flat easy walk. Under no circumstances should you hop either in your car or on the bus to go a half mile to the next overlook. Just walk and savor in the breathtaking surroundings.
The Rim Trail is mostly paved and provides terrific views of Bryce. The best part about the Park is the access it offers to the amphitheater floor. Well-marked and well-maintained trails lead to astounding places.
CONCESSIONS/BOOKSTORE (4/5)
The Bryce Canyon NP bookstore is blinding. Yes, blinding. Almost all of the merchandise (copious amounts of posters, coffee table books, shirts, magnets, etc…) displays the classic Bryce Canyon panorama at different stages of sunrise. The pinks, oranges and reds are overwhelming. They reflect off the clean white floor and walls creating multi-hued overload. Pretty much the same effect as the amphitheater, come to think of it.
COSTS (2/5)Entry costs a whopping $20 per car but is free with the National Parks Pass.
There are two campgrounds at Bryce Canyon NP. Both charge an inexpensive $10 per site. The 101-campsite Sunset Campground operates on a first-come first-served basis. We arrived at 6pm on a Thursday, mid-September and snatched up one of the last sites. We might not have been so lucky in the summer months. The 107-campsite North Campground allows for reservations and had no weekend openings during our stay. It costs an additional $9 to make a reservation.
The Xanterra corporation runs the historic Bryce Canyon Lodge which sits right along the amphitheater rim. Room prices range from $107 to $135 per night.
RANGER/GUIDE TO TOURIST RATIO (1/5)
We saw Rangers only at the Visitor Center and there only a few left to answer questions from over a hundred guests. The one Ranger we did talk to was so full of cynicism that we were immediately put off. Instead of telling us what to do, he told us what we should not do. Helpful, maybe, but Bryce is such a fantastic and unbelievable place that we balked at a Ranger so grizzled that he could not say nice things about the area. And only two Ranger tours per day at a packed American treasure? Just pathetic.
TOURS/CLASSES (3/10)
Bryce Canyon offers a shockingly small number of Ranger-led tours and classes, especially since, according to the Park brochure, nearly 1.7 million people visit the site every year. In September, only two classes are offered per day. During our visit, both campsites were full and people were everywhere. We attended the sole geology hike and left early. The Ranger started his geology talk before over 40 people by explaining that he does not know much about geology. Huh? His confusing explanations, when heard above the multitudes, proved his self-awareness accurate.
The lecture situation does not improve much in summer when the number of tours range from four to seven. If you want to learn anything about the geology of hoodoos you need to travel to the nearby Cedar Breaks NM where despite year-round sub freezing temperatures and much less visitation, geology talks are given every hour.
Also at Bryce, there are no self-guided hiking trails and the park video is terribly boring. Gab could not stay awake.
FUN (10/10)Just as the City of Rocks NM was a playground for climbers, we felt that Bryce Canyon was made for day hikers.
We had come to Bryce with the intention of spending a few days in the backcountry. A Ranger at the Visitors Center thought we might be disappointed, since all of Bryce’s landmarks are right here in the front country. He strongly suggested we fill our daypacks with water and snacks and just spend the days exploring the Canyon. We did. And it was great.
We descended into the Canyon as the sun was rising and just kept combining loop trails into figure eights and expanding spirals, each turn taking us into someplace more magnificent. Before we knew it, the day was nearly over and the sun was starting to set. We ended our hike with a final walk on the Rim Trail, where we could survey all of the trails that we had trekked during the day and finish off the remaining space in our camera. We have hundreds of pictures from our few days at Bryce. No exaggeration.
The very affordable campground also kept our spirits high. $10 a night – that’s a steal.
WOULD WE RECOMMEND? (10/10)
Bryce Canyon NP is an incredible scenic fantasyland. Does that make up for the Ranger shortage, the infrastructure problems, no human history and horrible tours? Gonna have to say yes. The hikes are transcendent, the views otherworldly and the experience an American must.
TOTAL 50/80
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