Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

Bryce Canyon was one of my favourite of the national parks we visited on our road trip. Grand Canyon is obviously the most famous and it is indeed spectacular, but there is something quite magical about Bryce Canyon because it just looks so unreal – a bit like something you’d find at Disney Land in fact. The park itself is easy to explore and very much worth a visit.

We stayed just outside the park at the entrance where there is a little village with two hotels, a restaurant, a couple of shops and some other useful amenities such as a petrol station and post office. There is also a hotel inside the park (Bryce Canyon Lodge) as well as lots of campsites so there is plenty of choice. We actually were slightly out of season when we visited in late October and although most things were open, there were clear signs of the place shutting down for the winter. Don’t be mistaken, the park is open all year round, as are the two hotels outside of the entrance, but many things close at the end of September and the public services are drastically reduced. This didn’t impede our visit at all though – I guess you can’t miss what you didn’t have – and we thoroughly enjoyed the fact that the park in general was much quieter, especially at the various viewpoints.

There is a driving loop through the park that has various viewpoints along the way to enjoy the rock formations that are almost unique to this park. During the peak season (May to September), a shuttle bus operates this route, stopping at all the key points along the route. The shuttle bus is included in the park entrance fee, which is $25 per car and is valid for a week. The bus wasn’t operating when we were there, but we found that it was easy enough to drive the loop because it was well signposted and quiet enough to park at each point. I would imagine that it makes much more sense to use the bus when it operates because the car parks are quite small and will fill up very quickly when it is busy. The main part of the loop is a few miles long and then there is a fairly hefty 15 mile drive out to the final Rainbow Point. If you want to see this one you’ll have to drive because the bus doesn’t go out there. We decided not to go that far because we wanted to spend the time really enjoying the earlier points.

The rock formations in the canyon are huge techni-colour hoodoos that really do look spectacular and it is impossible to take a bad picture of them. They are huge thin sticks of rock that are really nobbly and look like giant orange twiglets. The colours are quite something and when the sun is shining on them, they almost look like they are lit up from the inside by giant torches. I’m not claiming to be a geologist or meteorologist, but the vast changes in weather from day to night and have probably had an impact on the formations – it can get up to almost 100 degrees Fahrenheit during the day but can fall as low as minus thirty in winter. In fact when we were there in October it was lovely and warm during the day, but when we woke up in the morning there was a thick layer of frost on the ground.

At each of the points there are various walks and hikes that you can do and details can be found in the little newspaper that you get when you pay the entry fee. The newspaper is actually very handy indeed because it gives you lots of information and advice as well as maps and background information about the park.

The first point we visited was sunrise point, which was pretty cool although it was nothing compared to the others because there aren’t as many hoodoos visible at this point and they don’t seem to have the bright orange colour that the others further on do. Without a doubt my favourite was sunset point where we actually did a bit of a walk into the hoodoos. The loop here is just over a kilometre, but it is quite steep in parts because it takes you right down to the base of the hoodoos which is absolutely breath taking. Looking down on them from above is something, but being at the bottom of them really shows you just how big and spectacular they are. I really felt like Indiana Jones walking around the base of them because it does feel like you are exploring another planet. If you can manage the walk, I really can’t recommend it enough and I am so pleased that we did it.

The other point that we really enjoyed was Bryce point, which is the highest of them all and offers really amazing views across the whole amphitheatre area. For this point you actually need to stop and park at inspiration point and walk up to it. The path is steep as you would imagine, but it is smooth underfoot and there are benches on the way up so almost anyone can have a go at getting up to the highest point where there is a lookout point that reaches out over the canyon so you are literally looking right down into it.

The final point we visited was the fairytale point which is very aptly named and it was here that really made me think of the Big Thunder Mountain ride at Disney Land. It is really is very pretty and feels magical – I almost imagined that there were little creatures living amongst the little castle like spires that make up the canyon here. This is actually the first point inside the park and we left it to last because we knew it was going to be one of the best.

I can’t recommend Bryce Canyon enough because I really is like nothing else I’ve ever seen, it isn’t as vast as the Grand Canyon, but it is easily as awe inspiring as it’s big brother. We were there for just one afternoon and managed to explore a fair amount of the park, but if you are there for longer, you could easily find more than enough to fill your time – but just remember to take a big memory card for all the pictures!