On our whirlwind Utah road trip, we found ourselves with about 3-4 hours to spend in Bryce Canyon National Park. Some people might scoff and proclaim you need at least 1-2 days (which might be true, but we didn’t have that time). But I will say we got a great feel for the park and it might have been my favorite stop on our road trip. After much research we came up with the best itinerary for what to see in a few hours!
About Bryce Canyon National Park
Located in Southern Utah, Bryce Canyon is most well-known for its bright colored red hoodoos. Hoodoos are according to National Geographic are “a spire of rock that has an easily eroded column and a more resistant cap.” Seeing these in person, it’s hard to believe that they were created by nature! It looks like an artist took a chisel and carefully carved each rock.
- Entrance Fee: $35 per vehicle (included in the national parks pass)
- Location: ~1.5 hours from Zion National Park & ~1.5 hours from the Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park.
We combined our trip to the Bryce Canyon with a trip to the coral pink sand dunes on our way to Zion National Park. If you have time however, you can easily spend a day here.
Learn more about the park here.
3 Hours in Bryce Canyon Itinerary
Your itinerary includes a ~3 mile hike on the Navajo Loop. This loop allows you to see the major viewpoints in the park.
- Start at Sunset Point which is the start of the Navajo Trail.
- Head to Sunrise Point.
- End your hike through Wall Street
Note: there is debate over which direction to do the loop. After reading a few articles, we decided on the itinerary below (and I can 100% see why). While everything is impressive, Wall Street is arguably the most impressive. Ending the hike here is impressive after quite a bit of walking!
To Skip: Some people recommend combining the Queen’s Trail loop with the Navajo trail so that you can see Thor’s Hammer and Queen Victoria’s Garden. We all agreed at the end that we could have skipped it.
Tips for Visiting Bryce Canyon:
- Go early or go late. This is basically the mantra for visiting any Utah national park in the summer. By mid-morning the heat can be unbearable! We started our hike at ~8AM as we were coming from Escalante. The weather was comfortable until the very end. Ideally start around 7 AM to avoid the crowds and the heat!
- If you have less than 3 hours – choose this itinerary. If you’re on a serious time crunch, start at Sunrise Point, walk to Sunset Point, and then head to Wall Street. Get to the bottom to check out the view and then head back the way you came. This should take no more than 1 hour at most.
- Seriously – end at Wall Street. The middle of the hike (between Sunrise and Wall Street) is nice but no where near as impressive as the main stops. Ending at Wall Street will leave you with that “wow” effect.
- Buy the America the Beautiful Pass. Assuming you’re also visiting a few other parks, this $80 pass is totally worth it. Especially if you split the cost with your household.
