bugsy running on lone rock beach with the airstream and f-150 in the background

Bryce Canyon National Park

We visited Bryce Canyon in April 2016 on Big Trip #1, and again in November 2018 on Big Trip #2.

bryce canyon national park

Wow. Bryce Canyon National Park is incredible. Hoodoos (otherworldly red spires) rise from the canyon floor as far as the eye can see, with evergreens sprinkles around for contrast. We visited Bryce on our First Big Trip from our base in Dixie National Forest, and on our Second Big Trip, we stopped by for a hike on our way from Kanab to Escalante.

Hiking

Fairyland Trail

The aptly-named Fairyland Trail made for a fantastic 8-mile run first thing in the morning, followed by a brunch picnic in the truck bed with Bugsy at Bryce Overlook. Fairyland was a fun jaunt down through less-traveled parts of the canyon.

Queens Garden to Navajo Trail

Queens Garden to Navajo Trail is advertised in park literature as the “world’s best 3-mile hike.” We were more impressed with the views from Queens Garden/Navajo than Fairyland, despite the trail’s popularity (reminder: go early in the morning to beat the crowds!).

Peekaboo Trail

Peekaboo is a tough 5-mile hike, with many steep sections, but the payoff is worth it: there are fewer people on this trail that drops down low to wind through dense sections of hoodoos and pops out on high ridges for big views.

Rim Trail

Bryce has one dog-friendly trail, or rather portion of a trail: the Rim Trail from Sunset Point to Sunrise Point. It’s a 1-mile stretch, full of people but with incredible vistas. Bugsy wishes the park had more trails she could visit, but appreciated being thrown this little bone.

bryce canyon national park
bryce canyon national park
bryce canyon national park
bryce canyon national park
bryce canyon national park
bryce canyon national park
bryce canyon national park
bryce canyon national park
bryce canyon national park

Comments

7 responses to “Bryce Canyon National Park”

  1. elizabeth Avatar

    Boy, if one wants to feel insignificant, just do what you are doing…all one’s troubles would melt away in view of such splendor. I can hardly believe such sights exist. So beautiful and awe-inspiring.

  2. Jess Avatar
    Jess

    Hi, my partner and I traveling cross-country with our dog, and your blog is one of the few resources online with good info on the experience. Thanks for sharing–so inspirational and encouraging! We are actually headed to Bryce today, and I’m wondering what you did with Bugsy when you went on the Queens Garden/Navajo Trail hike? Thanks for any advice you can render.

    1. bugsy Avatar
      bugsy

      Hi Jess! Bryce is amazing, hope you love it! We had it easier dog-wise when we were there early in Spring as it was still pretty cool out, so we could leave Bugsy in the car and hike first thing in the morning, confident that she wouldn’t overheat. Looking at the hourly forecast for Bryce today and tomorrow, I’m not sure that’s a viable option for you, unless you can find some shade to park in, roll all the windows down, and do a sunrise hike, getting back to the car by 8am? Otherwise, you humans could hike one at a time, with the non-hiker staying with the dog, which isn’t ideal but at least you’d be able to do the hike. Alternatively, you could drop your dog at a kennel for a day; here’s one in Panguitch, not too far away. Good luck and I hope you have a wonderful visit!

  3. […] was far off the beaten path because it’s so quiet, but it’s just a short drive from Bryce. We loved it. It might be a zoo during high season, but in April it was all […]

  4. […] at the nearby parks. I’ve written separately about our visits to Red Canyon, Kodachrome, Bryce, and GSENM. Oh, and we visited Zion National Park, just over an hour from Scenic Byway 12, from our […]

  5. […] We loved it so much we’re trying to figure out where to stay so we can go again. Do you like Bryce Canyon National Park? Do you dislike crowds? Then Chiricahua is for you! It’s a hoodoo wonderland of gray rhyolite […]

  6. […] with views of the valley, Bow River, and a few hoodoos (rocks eroded into chimneys–see Bryce Canyon for the wildest examples) below. We got nice views for minimal effort and–bonus–could […]

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