Bryce Canyon National Park guides
11 in-depth guides to Bryce Canyon National Park, in reading order: what to see, how to get around, and what to know before you go. Back to the Bryce Canyon National Park overview.
One Road, One Entrance: Shuttle and Parking
Bryce Canyon has a single 18-mile main road running north to south. Its one entrance and exit means every car and shuttle bus passes the same gate.
Freezing Nights from October to May at Bryce
From October to May, temperatures at Bryce Canyon drop below freezing nearly every night. The park's high elevation, around 8,000 feet, shapes these conditions through the cooler months.
Earth's Largest Concentration of Hoodoos
Hoodoos are odd, upright pillars of rock, and this park holds more of them than any other place on Earth.
Bryce Amphitheater's Four Rim Viewpoints
Bryce Amphitheater holds the greatest concentration of hoodoos, the irregular rock spires that erosion sculpted out of the Paunsaugunt Plateau.
Queen's Garden, Navajo Loop and Peekaboo
Queen's Garden Trail is the gentlest of the routes that drop from the rim into the Bryce Amphitheater.
Gold Tier Dark Skies and Astronomy Festival
Bryce Canyon became a Gold Tier International Dark Sky Park in 2019. Its high elevation, clean air, and location far from towns mean its skies count among the darkest in the country.
From Cretaceous Seaway to Paunsagunt Plateau
The park's oldest rocks now lie hidden beneath the Claron Formation, laid down long before the hoodoos took shape.
Utah Prairie Dogs, Pronghorn and Peregrine Falcons
Utah prairie dogs are a threatened species, and Bryce Canyon holds the largest protected population of them.
Ebenezer Bryce and the Paria Valley Pioneers
Ebenezer Bryce gave the park its name. A Scottish immigrant, he was sent by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to make a home in the Paria Valley, east of the canyon, and he put his building skills to work there.
Bryce Canyon Lodge, North and Sunset Campgrounds
Bryce Canyon Lodge is the only lodging inside the park. The lodge and its surrounding motel buildings sit a short walk from Bryce Amphitheater, between Sunrise and Sunset Points.
Driving the Southern Scenic Drive to Rainbow Point
The Southern Scenic Drive is the 15-mile stretch of the main park road beyond the Bryce Amphitheater area, which sits within the first three miles of the 18-mile road from the park entrance.
