Bryce Canyon

About this place

Bryce Canyon is a national park in southwestern Utah and, despite the name, not a true canyon but a series of giant natural amphitheaters along the east side of the Paunsaugunt Plateau. It is known for thousands of rock spires called hoodoos, in reds, oranges and whites, like a city of stone. Mormon pioneers settled the area in the 1850s, and it takes its name from Ebenezer Bryce, who homesteaded here in 1874. President Harding declared it a national monument in 1923, and it became a national park in February 1928. The hoodoos formed through frost weathering and erosion of old river and lake bed rock. You stand on the rim, at 2,400 to 2,700 m, with a sea of orange spires among pines below you. Viewpoints along the rim include Sunrise Point, Sunset Point, Inspiration Point and Bryce Point. Trails such as the Navajo Loop lead down among the hoodoos, so you can see their shapes up close. It is 88 km in a straight line from Zion, and much higher and colder, so bring a jacket even in summer, and snow can fall in winter. Going down into the amphitheater is easy, but the climb back is tiring in thin air, so take your time and bring water. The light is finest at sunrise, when the spires glow, and keep near the paths, as the rim is fragile.