Bryce Canyon National Park

Bryce Canyon was spectacular.

We left Zion very early so we could get in line to secure a campsite at the North Campground inside Bryce Canyon. However, the first come – first served set up wasn’t like what we’ve experienced at high demand campgrounds before – no one was on top of what sites would be empty the next night and the sign simply said campground full, turn around (when we drove by later that day there were campsites open...). So we left, a little discouraged, and ended up getting a campsite right outside the park gate at Ruby’s Inn and Campground (the original rancher who settled here owned this property and created the first traveller’s rest for the park). It was full of RVs and a few tent sites were occupied so we settled on a sloping site that was very private. Later that morning all the tent campers left so we were pretty much alone in that part of the campground.

After setting up camp we headed into the park to get our passport stamp and check things out. We started with the 18 mile long scenic drive – starting from the far south end of the park and working our way back up.

Starting at the southern terminus we did a short hike, and got our first taste of the largest collection of hoodoos in the world. Every viewpoint was more exciting and dynamic than the last, and there was hardly anyone in the park. Much less crowded than Zion, a very welcome change. We ate some lunch back at camp and then drove out to Mossy Cave, which was a short hike to a cave and a waterfall of the Tropic Ditch, which is a man-made irrigation canal dug by Mormons.

There was a family of four adults at the waterfall who literally spent 15 minutes taking various pictures of themselves with the falls. Every combination of family members and just when you thought they'd be done -- someone would switch places and start taking more! I was waiting to take some photos and when I thought they were finally done -- nope! – they decided to stand right next to the waterfall to evaluate their shots...

The next day (after a very cold night), we decided to do the Fairyland Loop.

This was also outside the Bryce Amphitheater (the most concentrated area of hoodoos in the park), which I realized was probably the best way to go about touring the park – saving the best for last. The Fairyland loop is north of the main area and was pretty spectacular. I would guess it's named that way because the hoodoos look like fairy castles?

This hike and all others in the park that descend below the rim are hallmarked by being extremely steep as you ascend/descend. There’s no way around it…

That evening we drove out to nearby Tropic and threw caution to the wind and ordered a GF pizza. I ate half for dinner and the other half for breakfast the next day, and didn’t get sick!

Our second full day there ended up having less than ideal weather – it looked like storms and wind in the early afternoon, so we decided to do some housekeeping and try to hike later in the day. It started to clear up though so we thought we might be able to squeeze the Hat Shop trail in... I had read all the messaging to be careful of lightning… ten people have been struck in the park and four were killed.

As we ran down the trail (1,000’ elevation loss in 2 miles), the clouds started to gather and the sky looked ominous. Find a low ditch away from trees or hoodoos and lay in it kept running through my head, listening for thunder.

The ‘hats’ at the bottom were harder rocks stuck on top of hoodoos, some of which were shaped like various hats. We came, saw, photographed, and then started the brutal ascent back up to the rim, hoping not to become another statistic. It was harder to speed up this part. Very fortunately, no thunder was heard and as we reached the trailhead snowflakes began to fall. Phew!

On our final full day we combined a few trails for what the visitor guide called ‘the ultimate hike!’.

We started on the Navajo Loop (not quite a loop as half of it was still closed for winter), and then crossed over to the Peekaboo Loop and then came back through the Queen’s Garden.

This was my favorite hike in the park -- the trail meandered through several different areas, each with unique hoodoo conglomerations. On the Peekaboo portion, there were a few points where you had to pass through a hole cut in the rock, and on the other side -- peekaboo! -- another amazing view.

We caught the sunrise just as we were starting and were awed with our first view of the Amphitheater proper. Thousands of hoodoos were warmly illuminated as the sun peaked out above the horizon. We quickly descended and then spent the new few hours wandering in between the hoodoos, marveling at every unique iteration of the limestone spires.

The landscapes here are unbelievable, and I think might dethrone Canyonlands as my favorite park so far. You’d think a park with one attraction (hoodoos) might get repetitive, but I found with every turn of the trail a new shape or color that delighted.

We didn’t know before arriving but Bryce is in the mountains, at about 8,500’, so it was colder than we were expecting. Very fortunately, the campground had hot, clean showers, which were a welcome respite from the freezing cold.

The day we were set to leave we woke up to a dusting of snow on the ground. We decided to shower before packing up, and by the time we got out it was snowing hard. Numa had half an inch accumulated on her and the ground was almost fully white. We scrambled to pack up and hit the road but decided at the last minute we should check out the Amphitheater with the snow – I had heard the hoodoos dusted with white was unparalleled. What I heard was correct – we watched as the clouds burned off and the snow gave way to lightly sugared rock formations. A great last look at an amazing park.