After exploring the dramatic landscapes of Zion National Park, we continued our Utah National Parks road trip to Bryce Canyon National Park. The scenery changed dramatically. While Zion is known for its towering cliffs and deep canyon walls, Bryce Canyon is famous for something quite different—a spectacular collection of tall, slender rock formations called hoodoos.

We had about a day to explore the park, which gave us enough time to experience many of its highlights without trying to cover every trail.

A Drive to Rainbow Point

We began our visit by driving along the park’s scenic road toward Rainbow Point, located at the southern end of the park. The 18-mile drive passes through a succession of viewpoints and gives a wonderful introduction to the varied landscape of Bryce Canyon.

The drive itself is an attraction, with several overlooks along the way offering opportunities to stop, stretch our legs, and take in the changing scenery.

Exploring the Bryce Amphitheater

We then headed toward the heart of the park—the Bryce Amphitheater, the most spectacular concentration of hoodoos in Bryce Canyon.

Since the viewpoints around the amphitheater are connected by the park’s shuttle bus service, we used the shuttle to visit the major overlooks. It was a convenient way to move between the viewpoints without having to worry about parking, allowing us to spend more time enjoying the scenery.

We visited the four major viewpoints around the amphitheater:

Bryce Point offered a sweeping view of the entire amphitheater and its seemingly endless collection of hoodoos.

Inspiration Point provided another impressive perspective, with the formations appearing especially dense and dramatic from above.

At Sunset Point, the hoodoos seemed to rise directly from the canyon floor. This is also the starting point for the famous Navajo Loop Trail.

And from Sunrise Point, we enjoyed another beautiful perspective of the amphitheater. The changing light on the orange, red and white rock formations makes this area particularly captivating.

A Short Attempt at the Navajo Trail

One of the trails we had hoped to experience was the Navajo Loop Trail, one of Bryce Canyon’s signature hikes. The trail descends from the rim into the amphitheater, allowing visitors to experience the hoodoos from a completely different perspective.

The trail is famous for its steep switchbacks and dramatic rock walls, including the section known as Wall Street, where towering cliffs rise on both sides of the narrow trail.

We started down the trail but decided not to complete it. The steep downhill sections were a little difficult for us to navigate comfortably, and we felt it was better to turn around rather than push ourselves.

Even our partial descent was worthwhile. Being among the hoodoos rather than simply viewing them from the rim gave us a very different appreciation of the scale and beauty of Bryce Canyon.

Walking the Rim Trail

We also walked a section of the Rim Trail, from Sunset Point to Sunrise Point and then back toward the Bryce Canyon Lodge.

This relatively easy walk offered constantly changing views of the amphitheater. Every few minutes, the perspective seemed different, with new hoodoos coming into view.

One of the pleasures of Bryce Canyon is that you don’t necessarily have to undertake a strenuous hike to appreciate the park. The rim provides spectacular views, while trails such as the Rim Trail allow visitors to enjoy the scenery at a comfortable pace.

A Different Kind of National Park

Our visit to Bryce Canyon lasted only about a day, but it was enough to leave a lasting impression.

The thousands of hoodoos, shaped by natural forces over countless years, create a landscape unlike anything we had seen elsewhere.

We stayed in Bryce Canyon City for the night before continuing our Utah National Parks journey to our next destination, Capitol Reef National Park.

Bryce Canyon was a relatively short stop on our itinerary, but it reminded us that sometimes a national park doesn’t need several days to make an impression. A scenic drive, a few viewpoints, a walk along the rim and even a short hike into the amphitheater were enough to give us a memorable glimpse of this remarkable landscape.