The Complete Bryce Canyon Trip

• Dark Skies of Bryce Canyon

You may be familiar with the iconic hoodoos of Bryce Canyon National Park, but the path to the park is full of unexpected sights that might have you pulling over every few miles to grab another panorama to add to your phone’s photo gallery. If you arrive from the southwest, passing through the lush Dixie National Forest shows off a greener side of Utah. Your first taste of hoodoo country will be during the climb up state Route 12 through Red Canyon, where you can stop for a morning hike to see these imposing formations up close.

As the mile markers count down to your arrival in Bryce Canyon you may look around and notice how ... flat it all feels. No, you didn’t make a wrong turn; Bryce Canyon is cut out of the Paunsaugunt Plateau, a verdant plain populated with loads of wildlife. Once you enter the  national park you quickly see what the fuss is all about. Just beyond the treeline at the edge of the parking lot the ground falls away, revealing thousands of hoodoo spires jutting from the canyon floor. You can wander the Outer Rim trail, or simply find a bench to sit and watch the shadows dance across the valley as the sun sets.

Where to Stay
Reserve a camping site in Bryce Canyon, or book a hotel just outside the park gate in Bryce Canyon City.

Tips for Prepared Travelers
- How to Stargaze in Utah

• Outer Rim Trail
• Mossy Cave Trail
• Kodachrome Basin State Park

Morning brings with it another opportunity to really take in the beautiful, bizarre sights of Bryce Canyon. You’ll find out just how different the park can appear, all depending on where you are viewing it from. The first hike is a family-friendly stroll along the Rim Trail which weaves its way around the perimeter of the canyon, giving you plenty of options to dip down into the canyon via various trailheads without committing to a day-long hike through the heart of the canyon. Each turn brings with it a new viewpoint which makes it feel like you’re in a whole new park as the hoodoos appear to morph and shift with the passing sun.

If you arrived from the east on your first day, you’ll be amazed at how quickly the plateau gives way to the classic red rock canyons on your way down to the short Mossy Cave trail on the northeast end of the park. Your new perspective  — looking up, instead of in — on Bryce Canyon lets you examine the details that make the hoodoos so unique.

Where to Stay
Camp at Kodachrome Basin State Park, or backtrack to Tropic for dinner and more a cozy place to rest your head.

Tips for Prepared Travelers
- Hiking Southern Utah with Younger Children: Tips for Family Friendly Adventure

• Escalante Petrified Forest State Park
• Zebra Slot Canyon
• Boulder

Welcome to the Grand Staircase, a layer cake of rock formations that stretches all the way from Bryce Canyon to the Grand Canyon. Take turns driving on the scenic route from Kodachrome Basin State Park to the town of Escalante this morning, so everyone can get a chance to see the rainbow of sediment stretch out along each step of the Staircase. Near Escalante you can stretch your legs at Escalante Petrified Forest State Park while you inspect the thousands of fossilized trees spread out over the area. With the uptick in visitors to the region, Escalante is also a great place to seek out a guide for one of the nearby slot canyons, giving you an expert perspective on canyoneering.

Stick around Escalante for lunch before jumping back in the car to descend further into Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument along the Hole-In-The-Rock-Road to and take your pick between the Devil’s Garden, a collection of otherworldly hoodoos formed by blowing sand and wind, or a more technical hike through the Zebra Slot Canyon.

From there, you’ll drive up “the hogsback” to Boulder, where you can have dinner at Hell’s Backbone Grill. You’ll have your back to the best views on the ride up to Boulder, so be sure to stop frequently at designated overlooks to see the ground you’ve covered.

Where to Stay
Spend the night at a guest ranch in Boulder for a taste of Utah’s friendly, rural hospitality.

• Anasazi State Park Museum
• Burr Trail
• Boulder Mountain

The last day of this Bryce Canyon region adventure starts at the Anasazi State Park Museum, a recreation of an Ancestral Puebloan dwelling situated next to the Coombs Site, showing pieces of the original unearthed village. The Anasazi were known for their multi-storied cliff houses. They remain an engineering marvel, considering these homes were made nearly 1,000 years ago. Though much of the region has entered the 21st century, these artifacts remind us that a life built around reverence for the land could sustain entire communities, long before we considered it hospitable

Spend the rest of your morning meandering down the Burr Trail, a scenic drive that begins in Boulder and weaves through a handful of canyons along the Grand Staircase towards Capitol Reef National Park.

After lunch back in Boulder, grab your fishing gear and toss a line into one of Boulder Mountain’s many alpine lakes. Take a load off and enjoy your final afternoon in the Bryce Canyon region while you wait for the brook trout to bite.

Where to Stay
Camping at Lower Bowns Reservoir on Boulder mountain.

Extend Your Stay
Don’t want your trip to end? Take the Burr Trail from Boulder all the way to the end, arriving in Capitol Reef National Park, and spend a few extra days exploring the Capitol Reef region.