Bryce National Park - A Journey Through Nature's Wonders across American Southwest

September 15th: Drive from Zion to Bryce Canyon

The drive from Zion National Park (ZNP) to Bryce National Park (BNP) is about 90miles (2 ½ hrs drive). Most part of this drive is through the ZNP. The drive is beautiful with open landscape and huge rocky mountains. After an hour or so into the drive, we start to see the rocky mountains which are grey/cement color on the top and shades of red in the lower layers. We thought we had reached Bryce. Little did we know what was waiting.

As we got closer to the BNP, we passed through the red rock landscapes – these are the Red Canyons. We arrived at Bryce Amphitheater just in time for a magical sunset over the hoodoos. Though we had seen plenty of pictures of BNP, the view we saw with our eyes was beyond imagination. It is hard to imagine the size and scale of the rock formations. Unlike the other national parks, the formations here are below the ground level. We were 8000 feet above sea level and instead of looking up we had to look down to see the formations. 

 

On one side we had the last rays of sun shining into the hoodoos and on the other side the super moon was raising. This is was completely mesmerising. We spent some time at the sunset point and drove to our hotel.

For this night, our stay was at Red Ledges Inn, a 15 min drive from the BNP. Most national parks honor the darksky and with no large towns around these parks it gets pretty dark once the sun sets. Red Ledges Inn was a simple hotel (more of a motel on the highway). By the time we checked-in and got our keys it was already 8PM. Most restaurants here close by 9PM, so we decided to grab dinner before we go to our room.

We had pasta for dinner at the nearby Charles Restaurant. Food was better than what we expected.  Post dinner we headed to our room. For some reason the keys didn’t work. By now the reception was closed. So we had to call the shift contact person to help us get in. After some wait we were finally in our room. Tired after a long day of hikes and travel, we were ready to crash. A lesson from this experience – always check if the room keys are functioning before reception closes.

September 16th: Hiking and Exploring Bryce Canyon

A simple breakfast of bagels, yogurt, muffins, and fruit was a great way to start before heading to our first stop Sunrise Point in BNP. The combo trail of Queens Garden & Navajo Loop is a 2.9 miles / 4.6 KMs trail and takes about 3 hours. This trail combines the open views and unique hoodoos of the Queen's Garden Trail with the iconic switchbacks and towering canyon walls of the Navajo Loop Trail.

 

 

Though the hike can be started either from sunrise or sunset point, we started ours at sunrise point. The combination of towering hoodoos and narrow canyons made the hike truly unforgettable. It’s unimaginable what wind and water can do to the rocks. The views and colors in the morning were very different from what we had seen the previous evening at sunset. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The descend on the Queens Garden trail is gradual. On this trail we see some beautiful color hoodoos and windows. We also cross a couple of naturally formed arches. At the end of Queens Garden trail, there are two paths on the Navajo trail. Though the Wall Street trail is a little strenuous, it is unquestionably the prettiest path.

The ascent here is through some narrow canyons. One gets to first-hand experience the height of the narrow canyons and also the cool wind gushing through them. It great that there are well documented trails and one can pick based on their interest and endurance. Otherwise, on hikes like these where the hike starts with the descent followed by ascent, it's very easy to keep walking down without realising that we need to climb that much up.😅

A short walk along the Rim Trail brought us back to our car at sunrise Point. We then headed to the visitor center for a 20-minute movie on Bryce’s seasons, followed by a brief exhibit tour. The movie was worth the time. This also gave us a good break after our hike. BNP is one of the prettiest of the national parks. Though many people visit BNP for half a day, it is good to spend a night here to soak into its beauty.

 

For lunch, we tried Valhalla Pizza in BNP, which offered some good vegetarian options. After a long hike, having yummy pizza and refreshing drink while sitting on a picnic bench under a huge tree was bliss. 

Post lunch we stopped at Mossy Cave. Nothing fancy about this trail. It's a short and easy trail leading to a serene waterfalls with super cold water and a cave. With this it was end of yet another amazing national park and time to move to our next destination Horseshoe Bend and Antelope Canyons.