Bryce Canyon National Park: All You Need to Know

It may not be the most popular park in Utah such as Arches and Zion which often claim fame to the number 1 and number 2 parks in the state; however, Bryce Canyon National Park surprised me a lot as I had no idea of the pure size and intensity of the canyon that makes up this park. You are able to get gorgeous views from all over the park and there are ample overlooks and trails to assist you with those views.

We drove out to Bryce Point which is the furthest point out. At Bryce Point the views are unbelievable! From here you get wide, sweeping views of the canyon from over 8,000 ft of elevation. We then made our way back down the main road and pulled off at Inspiration Point which allows for another opportunity of more sweeping views of the canyon. Both Bryce Point and Inspiration Point were by far my favorite overlooks at the park and would highly recommend both spots.

From Inspiration Point we then made our way to Sunrise Point, another spectacular overlook spot, where we trekked down the Queens Garden Trail all the way around to Sunset Point. This hike is another moderately challenging hike especially the last stretch before reaching Sunset Point as it has a series of multiple, steep switchbacks which were not the easiest to complete after having hiked the nearly 3 mile stretch prior and following our earlier hikes this morning over at Arches National Park. Although a bit exhausting, the Queens Garden Trail is by far worth the effort and the sweat. You gain massive views from deep down into the canyon of what's known as the amphitheater as well as Queen Victoria and Wall St. All told here, we probably spent between 5-6 hours at Bryce accomplishing everything detailed above.

No matter what you are looking for, Bryce has it all. From arches, natural windows, rock formations, canyons, hoodoos, and stunning overlooks and trails, there is surely something in this park for everyone. I just listed some of my favorite spots and adventures from our most recent trip this past week but there is more than what I have listed here in this post. I hope you too get to enjoy everything Bryce offers and next time you are able to stop by for the day just enjoy the views, you will not regret it!

Bryce Canyon was our second park of the day (we did Arches National Park earlier this morning; see our post on Arches here for more details.) We stuck to our itinerary pretty well for both of these two parks and were able to see everything we wanted to see and trek the few hikes at both and got it all done in one day! It's a great way to knock two National Parks off the list in the same day. If you want to take your time and may not be as experienced of a hiker or if you have additional hikes you hope to accomplish then you may need to split them each up into their own days depending on your goals and your schedule.

For more photos from our trip to Bryce Canyon, click here!