The drive from to Utah’s Bryce Canyon National Park takes only about six hours, but the landscape that greets arriving visitors is dramatically different from home.
Bryce Canyon is so filled with colorful, fantastic and surprising views that you’ll need at least a day – if not a whole weekend – just to make stops along the park’s scenic drive where the view changes at every overlook.
Called the Bryce Amphitheater because its sloping sides resemble an ancient gallery, this is a canyon filled with hoodoos that rise from the lower canyon floor. The hoodoos, pillars of colorful shaped rocks, are formed by the forces of erosion. Two hundred days a year, as temperatures fluctuate above and below freezing, water expands and contracts and erosion reshapes – albeit slowly – the layers of rock.
The park’s 18-mile scenic one-way drive has dozens of overlooks and pull-outs. Wayside exhibits at each explain what visitors are looking at. Many overlooks are also starting points for hikes along or below the canyon’s rim.
Before starting on the scenic drive, stop at the Visitor Center, which is just south of the entrance station. There you’ll find the Bryce Canyon Natural History Association's bookstore, the auditorium and museum, plus restrooms. Rangers and bookstore employees are on-hand to answer questions and help with trip planning.
If you don't want to take your own vehicle through the park -- it is a 36-mile round trip drive -- you can board the free shuttle bus. It isn't mandatory to ride, but if you're interested in going green, it’s a huge help to the environment.
Bryce Canyon National Park is open year-round. For updates on park hours, click here.
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