Hart of Travel

Bryce Canyon is located in south-central Utah, an easy drive from the other national parks in Utah. With that said, if you plan on visiting one of the other parks and have some extra time, I highly recommend adding Bryce Canyon to your trip!

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Where to stay

The little town of Bryce is located about 10 minutes from the rim of Bryce Canyon. There are a couple hotels and food options there. We stayed at the Best Western PLUS Bryce Canyon Grand Hotel (sounds fancy right?). It was very nice and they had a great breakfast we were able to grab on our way out of town. There are also a number of campgrounds in the area. The Lodge at Bryce Canyon is just steps from the rim – perfect for a sunrise hike!

Where to eat

Pizza Place – located south on Highway 12 – really good pizza, worth the wait!

There’s lots of other restaurants in that area or in Bryce itself.

What to do in Bryce Canyon in one day

Start your day by watching the sunrise over the amphitheater. Watching the spires change colors as the sun comes across the horizon is spectacular and you might just get the park mostly to yourself!

Walk along the Rim Trail

This trail sits along the edge of the amphitheater, giving you a beautiful overview of the canyon. We walked along the trail as we watched the sunrise. It’s a nice easy way to start the day.

Hike the Navajo Loop and Queen’s Garden Trail

The view from the rim of the amphitheater is vast and stunning, overlooking the whole canyon. BUT as you descend into the canyon on the trails, you experience something entirely different. You are standing next to towering spires, and gazing up from inside the canyon itself. You can see so much more when you’re in the canyon than just overlooking it. It’s like inside the canyon is a whole other world. We had the trail almost completely to ourselves for our morning hike. It was so peaceful and I remember being filled with awe at every turn.

The trail starts by slowly descending in to the canyon before coming to some steeper switchbacks with lovely clusters of tall trees marking the bottom. Once you get to the bottom, the trail is more flat and takes you through some trees and shrubbery, giving it a “garden” feel.

After awhile of hiking through and past some incredible formations, you start the trek back up to the rim. Overall, we loved this hike! We felt like we saw a lot from the trail and it was a great distance and skill level for us.

We had to drive to Moab right after visiting this park, so we didn’t get the chance to do much else besides this amazing hike, but there is lots more to do! I cover more options in my post about our trip to 4 of Utah’s national parks in 5 days.

Don’t forget to stop at the Bryce Canyon Visitor Center for any souvenirs or maps!

I can’t wait to come back to this amazing park someday. We definitely only got a little taste, but it made me want to see so much more and gave me hoodoo-filled dreams.

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