3 Days in Bryce Canyon: A Hoodoo Wonderland

Bryce Canyon marks our 16th national park adventure on our quest to visit all 63. This is our second Utah check off (we visited Zion years ago and loved the gorgeous Emerald Pools trail). Since we are currently living in Phoenix, we figured we would check all the Utah parks out while living within a reasonable roadtrip distance. Getting to national parks can be such a hassle as many are located hours from a major city. Airfare, car rental, plus food and lodging costs can really add up. If you have the extra time, Bryce and Zion are pretty close so you can combine both to save another trip.

Bryce, one of the country’s most underrated, is located about 4 hours from Las Vegas and Salt Lake City. It took us about 7 hours to get here from Phoenix and it was definitely worth it. I would say it is one of the most uniquely beautiful and convenient parks we have visited thus far.

In my guide, I will cover some of the beautiful trails and overlooks you can enjoy in a short weekend stay. I think this is a decent amount of time to enjoy the park’s 4 major overlooks, a hiking trail or 2, and the beautiful scenic drive. I would say this park is a great pick for everyone as there are a range of activities to enjoy no matter your current fitness level.

Day 1: Check into Ruby’s Inn & hike to the Mossy Cave waterfall

If you are planning a long drive, you won’t want to do much your first day besides checking in, eating dinner, and maybe embarking on a small hike. With advance booking, a stargazing tour also sounds pretty cool.

4:00pm: Check into Ruby’s, a 3 star Best Western property located just minutes outside of the park. Unfortunately, I’ve noticed that most national park lodging options are pretty sub par and overpriced. This hotel, while still overpriced, is super convenient. The property itself is nothing to write home about, but it’s close the park and offers a number of convenient amenities.

Most importantly, you have easy access to the free shuttle which takes you to the park. You can conveniently purchase park tickets at the hotel’s info desk. Second, there is a complimentary breakfast so you can conveniently fuel up pre-exploring without driving around searching for a restaurant. Third, there is a pool and hot tub so you can relax after a day of hiking. Finally, there is a convenient lunch and dinner buffet on-site (a nice treat after a long hike). It helps to eat more to prevent altitude sickness according to experts.

Cheaper alternative: Bryce View Lodge, located just across the street, offers much cheaper rates and you still have access to Ruby’s amenities. There is a convenient walking path to and from the hotels.

5:00pm: Enjoy dinner at Cowboy’s Buffet at Ruby’s. They offer a dinner buffet or you can order a la carte off the menu. We opted for the soup and salad buffet which was just ok but enough to hold us over. It was nice to get to our hotel and not have to search anything out (we were so tired after 7+ hours in the car). It was busy but they kept the buffet stocked and it seemed pretty clean despite the traffic. The setting is rustic and family friendly.

6:00pm: Take a quick hike to the Mossy Cave grotto and waterfall. This beautiful hike is located outside of the main amphitheater (unfortunately, this means you can’t take the shuttle!) so you will have to drive. It’s totally worth it though because you get to enjoy views of the colorful hoodoos, a grotto, a beautiful creek, and a small waterfall. It’s just 0.8 miles and one of the easier, lower altitude trails within the park system. It shouldn’t take more than an hour so to complete.

Note: No National Park pass is required to park at this trailhead, but you will want to have it ready as you need it to take the shuttle around the following day. It’s $35 for a one day pass and $70 for an annual. We purchased the annual since it will easily pay for itself after visiting just 2 parks.

7:00pm: There is a seasonal old time western shops area just across from the hotel. Hours are 8pm-10pm during the summer so you have plenty of time to treat yourself to an ice cream cone after your hike. There is also a rock shop selling petrified wood and lots of fun photos you can take. The kids seemed to be enjoying this area during our visit.

Fall/winter alternative: As the sun sets much earlier this time of year, you will not be able to hike at this time. I recommend checking out the hotel’s pool/hot tub, general store, and art gallery. Note that spring and summer is the best season to visit this park. The altitude is pretty high (8000+ ft) so temps stay reasonably cool even in the dead of summer. Temps were pretty cold in the morning during our visit (50’s) and rose to the lower 80’s by mid afternoon.

Day 2: Exploring the Amphitheater

Your second day will be all about exploring the gorgeous amphitheater via the easier Rim trail or a more intense trek. It’s hard to do much hiking on the day you drive here and the day you drive back, so this is the best day to explore. This park is actually home to the most hoodoos in the world. You may be wondering what are hoodoos? They are basically tall rock spires formed by erosion that look brilliant hues of red and orange due to iron oxidation.

7:00am: Enjoy the free continental breakfast. It’s nothing to write home – your standard free breakfast fare like eggs, toast, oatmeal, pastries, etc. but it’s good to eat something hearty before working up a sweat in high altitude.

8:00am: Get ready to take the free shuttle to the park. It runs from 8am-5:30pm starting in April each year and ending in October. Have your national park pass ready or you won’t be able to get on. The shuttle leaves every 15 minutes, so if you miss it, you won’t have to wait long. I love this convenient shuttle – you can basically take it to any of the park’s major viewpoints/hiking trails. I’ve never seen a park organized so conveniently.

Hiking essentials:

• Wear proper hiking shoes with traction.
• Wear workout clothes.
• Bring plenty of water. There are also refill stations at the visitor’s center and Sunset Point, and also by the hotel pool area.
• Pack a few snacks like trail mix. The General store carries some food items if you didn’t pack any.
• Use a camelbak for convenient water access.
• Sunglasses and a sunblock are a must. There is no shade!

There are a variety of shuttle stops, but I recommend starting at the Visitor’s Center. You can get your National Parks booklet stamped, learn more about the park, pick up a trail map, take your picture by the park sign, etc.

Note: There are 4 main lookouts in the park located along the 5.5 mile Rim Trail: Bryce, Inspiration, Sunset, and Sunrise Point. You can take the shuttle to each of these separately or choose to walk to and from each. Sunset to Sunrise is the easiest section, a 0.5 mile paved, accessible route which offers awesome scenery.

9:00am: Take the shuttle from the Visitor’s Center to Bryce Point, the park’s most stunning overlook.

There is a moderate 1.5 mile trek here to Inspiration Point, a three level lookout offering amazing vistas of the hoodoos. I really enjoyed the scenery along this trail. Some of the hoodoo lookouts were just amazing and this trail was not crowded at all (we only saw a handful of walkers). It’s probably my number one pick if you are limited on time and want to enjoy the best scenery.

There are a few steep drop offs, so if you are afraid of heights you might want to stick to an easier section of the Rim Trail. On a side note, Inspiration is considered the parks’ best sunset viewing spot & a stargazing hotspot if you want to make evening plans.

Alternative: Take the shuttle to Sunrise and walk to Sunset Point. The views are just as incredible even though this is the easiest walk in the entire park. It’s also the only wheelchair friendly path and the only one you can walk a dog on. I would add this short section to your itinerary even if you are completing one of the harder hikes (there are so many great views into the amphitheater!).

Noon: Head back to the hotel for lunch. You can take the shuttle back from any of the points back to the property. We conveniently dined at the Cowboy’s buffet which was decent enough. The food was just ok but they offered a nice variety for everyone including plenty of options for everyone including: meat, sides like mashed potatoes and mac and cheese, rolls, a salad bar, and a small dessert bar. Basically everything you need to fuel up and recover before or after an intense exercise session.

1:00pm-4:00pm: Relax, take a dip in the pool, head over to Bryce Town Shops for ice cream, etc. Enjoy a few hours of downtime before heading back for another hike. Head over to the shuttle around 4:30pm.

5:00pm: Take the shuttle back into the park to enjoy one of the hikes into the amphitheater. Queen’s Garden to Queen Victoria is considered the easiest amphitheater hike but it is still hard due to the steep switchbacks, high altitude, dry conditions, and scary overlooks. I found it pretty challenging even though I hike and workout regularly. For this hike, you will climb 0.8 miles down into the amphitheater and then turn around and make the steep climb back up. You can also connect to the Navajo trail to make it a loop. The Navajo Loop trail is considered harder so don’t attempt this one unless you consider yourself in excellent shape.

Queen’s Garden is a moderately challenging 1.8 mile trek into the amphitheater which begins at Sunrise Point. You will get to experience an up close look at the enchanting hoodoos. We were pulling our camera out every second the views were so fabulous.

What I found really cool on this trail were the main made tunnels carved out of the hoodoos.

This hike ends at the famous Queen Victoria hoodoo which was named after a 19th century British Queen.

Alternative: This is a pretty challenging hike especially with the high altitude. A non hiking alternative would be a guided horseback riding adventure. It’s a bit pricey, but you will get to enjoy great views of the amphitheater without working up a monster sweat.

7:00pm: Enjoy Bryce’s famous “Golden Hour.” Our shuttle driver told us this time of the day is approximately the 1-2 hour window before before sunset and an hour after sunrise. At this time period, these weirdly shaped rock formations seem to stand out more. You will notice even more dramatic hues of orange and red. Due to the park’s position, the sun sets behind you so as it is going down it casts dramatic shadows of light. Note: The shuttle runs to 8pm during the prime season (mid May to mid September) but closes at 6 in the spring/fall. You may have to drive if you are visiting out of peak to time your pics just right.

Winter alternative: Due to the sun setting earlier, you will have to move everything on this list up. You can hike Queen’s Garden and enjoy the Golden hour a few hours earlier. At night, one cool option would be to sign up for a stargazing tour.

Day 3: Take the Southern Scenic Drive to Rainbow Point

7:00am: Enjoy another complimentary breakfast at the hotel. As I said it’s just ok, but filling enough not to stop somewhere else.

8:00am: Take the Southern Scenic Drive, an 18 mile long route featuring marvelous overlooks of interesting hoodoos and rock formations you will not see in the main amphitheater. The amphitheater runs from miles 1-3 on this drive, so there are 15 miles to go once you leave the main area. This drive will take about 1.5-2 hours depending on how long you take at each overlook. All of them are beautiful with Natural Bridge and Agua Canyon being the most stunning in my opinion. The end of the drive takes you to breathtaking Rainbow Point, which is the park’s highest point at 9115 feet.

Note: The park also states that the drive sometimes closes after mile 3 due to snow. Trails sometimes close and often require the use of special equipment like snowshoes. Check out the NPS for more winter recreation options.

11:00am: Check out of the hotel. Take one last look around the general store for souvenirs, enjoy lunch at the Cowboy cafe, etc. before embarking on the long drive back to wherever you are going.

Alternative: If you are staying longer, you can always plan a daytrip to Zion while you are in the vicinity. It’s a relatively close drive at just 2 hours (plus it would cost way more to plan a separate trip). While you are here, I recommend hiking the moderate Watchman and Emerald Pool trails, or strolling along the Pa’rus trail if you are seeking something easier. It’s another gorgeous park to check off your bucket list! Check out my Zion travel guide for more details.

Noon: Start the drive back to your home/hotel (hopefully you are ot driving as far as us). We stopped in Page and Flagstaff to break up our long drive. If you are taking this route, I recommend checking out the unique sandstone arch Biidi and the Glen Canyon Dam overlook in Page. Distance from the national park: ~2.5 hours.

We also came across some dinosaur tracks in Tuba City. They are called the Moenave tracks and they are estimated to be more than 200 million years old from the Jurassic Period. This site is located about an hour and 15 min north of Flagstaff (you will see various signs on the road). On a side note, it feels a bit scammy because they claim it is free, but in reality you have to pay for a tour to access the land. They are quite pushy and will not let you take a self guided tour (just a head’s up). Come with cash if you want to see the tracks. Cool to see but I would never visit again due to the pushy surly guides. Distance from the national park: ~4 hours.

In Flagstaff, a cute high altitude mountain town, you can enjoy tons of local dining. I recommend checking out Salsa Brava, a long running local Mexican restaurant on historic Rt. 66. On a side note, there are some amazing hiking trails here. It would be hard to hike after a national park trip, but definitely plan a separate trip – it’s such an awesome little 4 season mountain town. Distance from the national park: 5 hours.

Things to know

This is a high altitude area and mountain sickness is common. The park recommends a day or 2 to adjust to the conditions before setting off on any hikes. Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough time to wait it out but we lived in high altitude Flagstaff for many years so we are used to the conditions.

Hiking is much harder at such a high altitude. There is less oxygen in the air so don’t be surprised if a short hike seems more challenging. It is normal. Take it slower than normal and do not challenge yourself to anything too extreme. Drink extra water and limit alcohol. Check out the park’s tips before heading out.

Bryce is not actually a canyon despite the name. We learned this from our shuttle driver. It’s a bowl shaped amphitheater and the hoodoos were not created by a river, but rather by rain, snow, and ice.

The shuttle runs seasonally. Old Town is also seasonal. This makes April-October the best time to plan your visit.

May through September is the best time to see the Mossy Cove waterfall at full power. The park receives the most monsoons in July and August.

Things to do nearby

US highway 12 scenic drive. This is a 123 mile long road connecting this national park to Capitol Reef. We drove just a short section (about 13 miles) to Red Canyon. This section of the drive is really unique with some man made red rock tunnels you get to drive through. There is a short hike in this area called the Arches trail where you can see 15 arches in less than a mile.