Things to do in Bryce Canyon National Park

Bryce Canyon is one of the true gems of the National Park System. Nothing prepares you for your first step overlooking its vast openness. Colorful hoodoos point towards the bluest skies you have ever seen and fresh air fills your lungs.

Your eyes have a hard time focusing, your brain has a hard time comprehending what it is seeing with all its rich colors. The colors seem surreal and look more like a painting than real life.

Bryce Canyon Visitor Center

The Bryce Canyon Visitor Center is a great first stop before heading out into the park. Park Staff and volunteers will have brochures, updated weather information, Junior Ranger Booklets, and when Ranger-led programs will be available to attend.

Visitors can also watch the park film that is 24 minutes long and is played on the hour and half-hour, look through interpretative displays and wander through the gift store.

Did you know that you can adopt a prairie dog at the Bryce Canyon Visitor Center? Simply pick up a stuffed prairie dog at the display in the visitor center and take it to the cashier.

You will get to fill out the application and you will even get a birth certificate. There is a $30 fee and the money goes to the Bryce Canyon Resource Department to help protect our park's Utah Prairie Dogs.

Bryce Canyon National Park Hikes

A short walk from a parking lot can have you overlooking one incredible viewpoint to another. Visitors can also hike the Rim Trail leads hikers from one viewpoint to the next up to 11 miles one way.

Here you will get many perspectives of the hoodoos from above. Remember to pace yourself as most of the park over 8000' in elevation. It can quickly cause you to lose your breath from not only its beauty but from the lack of oxygen too.

To get a true feeling of Bryce Canyon and all its incredible beauty, you have to hike down one of its many hiking trails and descend into the canyon and walk within the hoodoos and rock formations. This will take some effort but is well worth it. Remember that the hike down is the easy part and if you go down you also have to come back up.

I personally love the Navajo Loop Trail. This hike will take you into Wall Street and amongst the colorful hoodoos and back around to perhaps the park's most popular hoodoo, Thor's Hammer.

Bryce Canyon Scenic Drive Viewpoints

The Bryce Canyon Scenic Drive is 18 miles one way to Yovimpa point and Rainbow Point. Plan at least 40 minutes each way for the drive plus time to stop, find parking, and actually get out and enjoy some of the 13 viewpoints.

Rainbow Point is also the highest point on the road at 9115 feet in elevation. One thing to know about Bryce Canyon is that it is an extremely high elevation park and snow is always an option. It snowed pretty heavy on my last trip to Bryce Canyon on Memorial Day Weekend! In fact, the Park Rangers had to close a portion of the Scenic Drive for visitor safety.

Natural Bridge, Bryce Canyon National Park

Park Ranger John Pro Tip:

The average park visitor spends only 3 hours in the park. If you fit this category, I would suggest you make the most of your time and focus your time at Sunrise Point, Sunset Point, Inspiration Point, and Bryce Point. All four viewpoints are spectacular, have great trails, close to the park visitor center and once you find a parking space, you can hike or take the park shuttle between these trailheads.

I personally enjoy each of the viewpoints and would encourage you to visit as many as possible during your visit. Some of the least visited Bryce Canyon Viewpoints definitely worth visiting include Natural Bridge and Farview Point.

Explore the Dark Sky

Bryce Canyon is certified as an International Dark Sky Park. This means that there is the exceptional quality of the park's night skies and provides added opportunities to enhance visitor experiences through astronomy-based interpretive programming.

Bryce Canyon frequently has ranger-led programs about the night sky and hosts an annual Astronomy Festival typically held at the end of June. Bryce Canyon's Astronomy Rangers, local Astronomical Societies, and attendees enjoy a variety of astronomy-themed activities and programs offered both day and night.

Watch Sunset

Sunrise and sunset is a special time in Bryce Canyon. This is when photographers like me go wild during the golden hour as the color of the hoodoos seems so rich! The dark blue skies add contrast but you are in luck when you get clouds overhead for contrast, or better yet, a fresh dusting of snow really makes the reds pop!

Horseback Rides and Mule Rides into the Bryce Amphitheater

Canyon Trail Rides are available from April through October and dependent upon the weather. It is your opportunity to go into the canyon without hiking! There is a short ride that lasts 1.5-2 hours and a longer ride that lasts 3 hours.

The longer ride will allow visitors to spend more time in the canyon and see some of the well-known rock formations. Make sure to check out Canyon Trail Rides for more information and how to book an upcoming ride.

Best Bryce Canyon National Park Tours & Activities

Scenic Tour of Bryce Canyon
⭐️ Rating: 4.9 out of 5 Stars (1,139+ reviews) | ⏳ Tour Length: 3 hours | 🚗 Check Rates and Availability

The most popular tour in the park and one of the highest-reviewed on all of Viator, this small-group scenic tour hits every major viewpoint in the park with a guide who brings the hoodoos, history, and local ecology to life. Water and snacks are included, and the air-conditioned coach means you can take in sweeping views without battling parking or crowds. Booked multiple times daily and consistently flagged as likely to sell out. Reserve well in advance, especially for summer and fall visits.

Bryce Canyon Stargazing Adventure
⭐️ Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Stars (47+ reviews) | ⏳ Tour Length: 1.5 hours | ⭐🌌 Check Rates and Availability

Bryce Canyon is one of the darkest night skies in the American Southwest and this guided evening experience makes the most of it. State-of-the-art telescopes and an expert guide cover the constellations, planets, and deep sky objects overhead while chairs, blankets, and hot chocolate are provided. Reviewers call it a perfect way to end a full day in the canyon. Free cancellation included.

Bryce Canyon National Park Self-Guided Driving Audio Tour
⭐️ Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Stars (75+ reviews) | ⏳ Tour Length: Self-paced | 🚗 Check Rates and Availability

A GPS-triggered audio tour covering 17 stops across Bryce Canyon's 18-mile scenic drive, from Fairyland Point and Sunrise Point to Bryce Amphitheater, Inspiration Point, and beyond. Priced per vehicle rather than per person, it is one of the best value options in the park for families and groups who prefer to explore on their own schedule. Reviewers appreciate the historical depth and the flexibility to stop and linger wherever the views demand it.

Make sure to click here for a complete list of tours available at Bryce Canyon National Park!

Bryce Canyon Lodge

The Bryce Canyon Lodge puts you in the central part of the park with easy access to everything. The Lodge has 114 rooms that include motel rooms, cabins, and suites. The dining room is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner right off of the main lobby.

Make sure to check out the Bryce Canyon Campgrounds in the park.

Additional Lodging Options if Bryce Canyon Lodge is Full

⭐️ 4.7 of 5 Stars - Clear Sky Resorts Bryce Canyon Stargazing Domes - Click here for Rates and Availability.

One of the most exciting new lodging concepts near any national park in America, a retro-futuristic astrotourism resort featuring 62 geodesic glass Sky Domes on 80 private acres just 15 minutes from Bryce Canyon, where you literally sleep under the stars through floor-to-ceiling panoramic glass!

Domes range from cozy Lil Dipper suites for two to the massive Andromeda sleeping up to 8, all featuring king beds with 5-star mattresses, rainfall showers, kitchenettes, private fire pits, complimentary s'mores kits, and climate control. Guided stargazing tours with heated telescopes are led by expert astronomers on site, and the one-of-a-kind Sky Nova Cafe Bar and Grill serves Asian-American fusion under a stunning 28-foot wall of panoramic glass. Additional amenities include sunrise yoga, mountain biking, horseback riding, glow-in-the-dark disc golf, a silent disco after 10 PM, free WiFi, and free parking. Open year-round!

⭐️ 4.3 of 5 Stars - Best Western Plus Ruby's Inn - Click here for Rates and Availability.
A legendary Bryce Canyon institution operating since 1916, sitting just 1 mile from the park entrance and offering one of the most complete resort experiences of any hotel near any national park in America!

Ruby's Inn is far more than a place to sleep, with horseback rides through the canyon, bicycle rentals, guided ATV tours, an on-site art gallery, general store, gift shops, laundromat, and an RV and tent camping area all on the property. Amenities include a free hot breakfast buffet, two on-site restaurants, indoor and seasonal outdoor pools, hot tub, fitness center, business center, EV charging stations, free WiFi, and free parking. Pet friendly and open year-round!

⭐️ 4.9 of 5 Stars - Bryce Canyon Inn - Click here for Rates and Availability.
A beautifully crafted log cabin inn just 3 miles from the Bryce Canyon entrance, rated Exceptional by guests and one of the highest-rated properties in all of Southern Utah!

Choose from rustic log cabin rooms, cottage suites with fireplaces and leather sofas, and family cabins, all featuring free WiFi, air conditioning, and charming Western decor. The peaceful grounds are surrounded by towering pines and red rock views, making it the perfect base for hiking the Navajo Loop, Queens Garden, and Fairyland trails. Free parking included!

Click on this link or the map below for additional hotels and vacation rentals near Bryce Canyon NP including the Bryce Canyon Lodge!

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Bryce Canyon National Park Entrance Fee

Park entrance fees are separate from camping and lodging fees.

Park Entrance Pass - $35.00 Per private vehicle (valid for 1-7 days from the date of purchase)

Park Entrance Pass - Motorcycle - $30.00 Per motorcycle (valid for 1-7 days from the date of purchase)

Per-Person Entrance Pass - $20.00 Visitors 16 years or older who enter on foot, bicycle, or as part of an organized group not involved in a commercial tour.

Annual Park Entrance Pass - $70.00, Admits pass holder and all passengers in a non-commercial vehicle. Valid for one year from the month of purchase.

Learn more about National Park Passes for parks that have an entrance fee.

$80.00 - For the America the Beautiful/National Park Pass. The pass covers entrance fees to all US National Park Sites and over 2,000 Federal Recreation Fee Sites for an entire year and covers everyone in the car for per-vehicle sites and up to 4 adults for per-person sites.

National Park Pass highlighting Collared lizard at Wupatki National Monument

Buy your pass at this link, and REI will donate 10% of pass proceeds to the National Forest Foundation, National Park Foundation, and the U.S. Endowment for Forestry & Communities.

National Park Free Entrance Days -Mark your calendars with the free entrance days the National Park Service offers for US citizens and residents.