As we passed through the southwest in the summer of 2024, we wanted to hit as many National Parks as we could. This continues the trend we started on our trip from Virginia to Quartzsite the previous fall and winter. Among the parks we visited was Bryce Canyon National Park.
Bryce Canyon may not have the vistas of Grand Canyon National Park or the prestige of Yellowstone. Bryce Canyon has a unique charm all its own. While it is called Bryce Canyon, it’s not actually a canyon. It’s a series of weathered natural amphitheaters along the southern rim of the Paunsaugunt Plateau. That’s not to mean the area is just a cliff. Due to the geology of the area, the winds and climate combined to carve out the largest collection of natural hoodoos in the world!
What is a Hoodoo?
A hoodoo is a spire of rock formed when softer layers of stone lie below harder layers and erode differentially. Some areas of the world have different names for the formations. In the US, they are named after the mythology of the Indigenous people. These tribes believe they are the petrified spirits of ancestors. The hoodoos at Bryce Canyon range in size from 6 feet to several stories tall. Many prominent spires are named after the figures they resemble, from Queen Elizabeth to Thor’s Hammer.
Things to do at Bryce Canyon National Park
Bryce Canyon National Park, in addition to a very informative visitor center, has several miles of hiking trails. These trails range from woodland hikes and scenic overlooks to several “out and back” loops down through the hoodoos! If you’re intimidated by doing a “Rim to Rim” hike at the Grand Canyon, you can always hike among the hoodoos and claim, truthfully, that you hiked “rim to rim” at Bryce Canyon National Park.
Our family is, at best, a “middling fit.” Between kids that were scarred when we accidentally hiked 10 miles looking for a ghost town, and Mom and I aging and not always doing the best with higher altitudes, we do best with easy to moderate hikes. We struggle even more with “reverse mountain” hikes. You know, those hikes at these canyons and amphitheaters that go down at the beginning of a hike and up at the end, when we’re all tired. We do a bit better with an actual mountain hike, going up and then down.
Our Hiking Strategy
When we hit a national park, we try to start off with an easier hike and work our way up to more difficult hikes, but we still don’t attempt the really difficult ones. We don’t want to be another (bad) statistic. Here at Bryce Canyon NP, we enjoyed Mossy Cave (the only proper ascent then descent trail here), some parts of the Rim Trail, and Bristlecone Loop Trail. Our most strenuous hike was Queen’s Garden to Navajo Loop. When we reached the bottom of Navajo Loop, a ranger was there and we asked him which side of the loop he recommended. He suggested we go up the Wall Street side; he said the views were better and it was a more gradual incline. As it was quite warm, we elected to follow his advice and were not disappointed.
While we very much enjoyed our hikes at Bryce Canyon NP, other visitors often detracted from the experience. Watching others go off-trail and know that they’re destroying habitat and views, but not being able to do anything about it, is very frustrating. Please help preserve our nation’s wild spaces by staying on the trails at all times.
Parting Thoughts
Whether you’re there for just a day trip or making several trips as part of your stay in the Dixie National Forest, Bryce Canyon National Park has a wide variety of things to do and see for trekkers of all skill levels and is definitely worth a peek while you’re out on the road.