Bryce Canyon National Park Itinerary: 1, 3 & 5-Day Plans

Bryce Canyon is a rim 8,000 to 9,100 feet up on the edge of a Utah plateau, and the Bryce Amphitheater below it holds the densest field of hoodoos anywhere. Everything a first day needs sits along one short stretch of that rim. Pay the entrance fee ($35 per vehicle for seven days, $30 per motorcycle, $20 per person walking in) and be at Sunrise Point in the dark. The park is open 24 hours, and the color reaches the hoodoos before the sun clears the horizon; in June sunrise is about 6:00 am, in July about 6:10.

After sunrise, drop below the rim on the Queen's Garden and Navajo combination loop: 2.9 miles, 625 feet of elevation gain, 2 to 3 hours all in. Go down Queen's Garden from Sunrise Point (1.8 miles one way, 320 feet of descent), the park's most accessible descending trail, past the Queen Victoria formation, then climb out through Wall Street, the steep, narrow, Douglas-fir-lined switchbacks of the Navajo Loop (1.3 miles, 515 feet of gain) below Thor's Hammer. The descent is easier than the climb, so start while legs are fresh, and carry 2 to 3 liters of water; all of it is at altitude. Wall Street can close in winter for ice, and the visitor center (8 am to 8 pm May through September, 8 am to 6 pm in April and October) has current trail status.

Spend the afternoon on the rim. The paved Rim Trail between Sunset Point and Sunrise Point is half a mile one way with 85 feet of elevation change and fully accessible, and the light on the hoodoos changes by the hour. In July and August the afternoon thunderstorm chance is about 30 percent, so the big hike belongs to the morning and the rim to the afternoon. If clouds move in, the visitor center's Shadows of Time film runs 20 minutes and the ranger geology talks explain what you just walked through.

Finish at Sunset Point or Inspiration Point, in position 20 to 30 minutes before sunset; in June that is roughly 8:15 to 8:50 pm, and July sunsets run around 8:45. The hoodoos go amber, then coral, then catch fire as the sun drops. Photographers use this evening to scout angles for a second dawn; the photography guide's whole case is that two sunrises here beat one.

Day 2 leaves the amphitheater for the 18-mile Southern Scenic Drive, which runs south from the visitor center along the rim to Rainbow Point, at 9,115 feet the highest point in the park. Do what the old guides say: drive to the far end first, then work back north, stopping at the overlooks on the return. The free park shuttle serves the amphitheater viewpoints, so plan on your own car for the southern overlooks.

Rainbow Point and Yovimpa Point share the southern end of the road, and the Bristlecone Loop Trail starts from the same lot; check its listing for length and current conditions before committing. Working north, Black Birch Canyon, Ponderosa Canyon, Agua Canyon and Natural Bridge are the overlooks the old guides single out, with Natural Bridge and Agua Canyon the warm-up shots for photographers. Farview Point is the last stop before the road rejoins the amphitheater.

Afternoon storms in July and August are the reason this is the driving day: you can sit them out in the car and step back out when they pass. Save Bryce Point for the end. It looks across the whole amphitheater and is the sunset panorama the hiking guide builds its second day around. Bring a jacket, because it is high and windy at sunset, and watch the light and shadow move across the entire hoodoo field.

Tower Bridge is the hike the 2-day hiking guide uses to escape the crowds: 3.0 miles round trip with 760 feet of gain, out and back from the rim to an arched hoodoo formation. It is rated moderate like the Queen's Garden loop, with the same rule about altitude: start slowly, use trekking poles, carry water. Go mid-morning, after the sunrise crowd has spread out and before any afternoon storm builds.

Strong hikers can trade Tower Bridge for the Fairyland Loop from Fairyland Point, the long, quiet loop north of the amphitheater; it is the right choice for solitude and the wrong one on a thunderstorm afternoon. Either way, the rest of the daylight is for the visitor center: the park film, the hoodoo geology talk, and the ranger program schedule for tonight.

The third day's headline is the sky. Bryce Canyon is a Gold Tier International Dark Sky Park, and on a clear night 7,500 stars are visible to the naked eye. Ranger astronomy programs run Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from spring through fall, free with admission. Full Moon Hikes are ticketed on recreation.gov and go fast: tickets release 14 days ahead, and tripods and flash are prohibited on the walk, though handheld photography is allowed. Any rim viewpoint works after dark; Sunset and Sunrise Points are the easiest to reach.

By Day 4 the amphitheater's big-name trails are done, and the extra time buys the loops the two-day guides never reach. Peekaboo Loop drops in from Bryce Point; joined to Navajo it becomes the Navajo/Peekaboo combination, and add Queen's Garden and you have the Figure-8, the full tour of the amphitheater floor in one long morning. All of it sits between 8,000 and 9,000 feet with steep sections and switchbacks, so the rules from Day 1 hold: 2 to 3 liters of water each, poles, an early start, and off the floor before the afternoon storms of July and August.

The Wall of Windows is the formation the Peekaboo loop is built around. The Hat Shop, reached along the first stretch of the Under-the-Rim Trail from Bryce Point, is the quieter out-and-back if a loop feels like too much on tired legs.

The amphitheater also has a horse option. Canyon Trail Rides runs guided rides below the rim, with reservations opening in spring for the summer season, so book ahead. Plan a picnic instead of leaving the park for lunch; the picnic areas are inside the park and keep you close to the rim for the midday light.

Day 5 starts with the Mossy Cave Trail, reached from Highway 12 on the park's eastern edge near Tropic rather than from the rim drive. It is a low walk rather than a climb out of the amphitheater, which makes it the recovery hike after four days at altitude, and it is the only piece of the park you can reach without going back through the main entrance.

Highway 12 is the scenic byway that ties the gateway towns together. West of the park it passes through Red Canyon, where the visitor center and campground sit on the road, and the park's western boundary sign is the photo stop everyone makes. East, Tropic is the closest town below the rim, Cannonville has its own visitor center, and Kodachrome Basin State Park's visitor center is the side trip for a spare afternoon.

Panguitch is the larger town, 15 to 30 minutes from the park by the old guides' count, and the base for anyone who could not get an in-park site. Eat in town tonight: Stone Hearth Grille in Tropic and Cowboy's Smokehouse in Panguitch are the dinner listings on this site for the two towns.