Bryce Canyon National Park

Ebenezer Bryce was a Scottish-born shipwright who as an 18-year-old converted to Mormonism and then moved to Utah where he married Mary Ann Park. At the direction of church officials, the Bryces became serial homesteaders – moving from place to place helping to establish communities – in both Utah and Arizona. In total, they pioneered twelve new communities all while raising twelve children. While settling near Tropic, Utah in 1876, Bryce built a road into the amphitheater to harvest timber. Locals began calling it “Bryce’s Canyon” and the name stuck. Initially designated a national monument in 1923, the 35,830-acre Bryce Canyon National Park was established on September 15, 1928.

Long before Bryce Canyon had hoodoos, the region was covered with water. Between 55 and 40 million years ago, today’s Utah was a mountain-encircled basin where ancient rivers deposited sediment – mostly dissolved limestone – into a system of large lakes for millions of years. About 15 million-years-ago, the Colorado Plateau began to rise, the lakes dried up, and their mixtures of sediment became the muddy limestone called the Claron Formation. This sedimentary layer extends some 100 miles from Bryce Canyon in the north, through Zion, and ends in the south at the Grand Canyon. These layers, known as the Grand Staircase, are the world’s most complete uninterrupted sequence of sedimentary rock. The pink cliffs of Bryce Canyon represent the top step of this staircase.

Bryce Canyon is technically not a canyon because it was not formed by a flowing river through the sedimentary rock. Instead, Bryce Canyon is a large amphitheater that has been formed over millions of years as rock falls away from the cliffs. Over half the year, Bryce Canyon experiences temperature swings between freezing nights and warm afternoons. As snow and ice melt during the warm days, it flows into cracks in the rocks. As it refreezes during the cold nights, it expands and cracks the rock in a process known as frost-wedging. The first formations that form are rows of thin walls of rocks called fins. Additional frost-wedging enlarges cracks in the fins, creating holes or windows. As the windows grow, their tops eventually collapse leaving behind a column. Rain further dissolves and sculps these limestone pillars into bulbous spires called hoodoos. Eventually the famous hoodoos of Bryce Canyon are reduced to lumps of clay by further erosion.

Although Bryce Canyon is one of the smaller national parks, it has over 70 miles of hiking trails with some of the most spectacular views in the national park system. My favorite hike was the Rim Trail which runs the length of the Bryce amphitheater. I hiked the Rim Trail several times starting at Bryce Point and then proceeded to Inspiration Point, Sunset Point, Sunrise Point, and finally finishing at my campsite in North Campground. The trail is fairly flat following the rim of the amphitheater and has spectacular views around ever corner. It is definitely one of my favorite hikes so far on this road trip.

The most popular hike in the park is the Queen’s Garden combined with the Navajo Loop which takes you down to the floor of the amphitheater. I completed this hike by descending down into the amphitheater at Sunrise Point where I hiked amongst the hoodoos before climbing out of the amphitheater up to Sunset Point. One of the coolest hoodoos I saw is called Queen Victoria because it remarkably resembles a statue of the British monarch found in London. The trail has spectacular views and includes walking through tunnels carved out of the limestone and dense pine forests found at the amphitheater floor. The hike back up is a workout, but well worth the experience.

The most visited parts of Bryce Canyon National Park – the amphitheater, visitor center, campgrounds, and lodge – are all found within the first three miles of entering the park. The main road through the park is a total of 18 miles and if you continue down the road you reach the higher elevation parts of the park. At the road’s end are Rainbow and Yovimpa Points which are at 9,100-foot elevation. Here you will find the bristlecone pines which thrive at higher elevations. Rainbow Point overlooks northeastern Utah with Tropic in the nearfield and the amphitheater towards the east. On the southern tip of the park is Yovimpa Point which has spectacular views of Navajo Mountain, Zion to the south and, if you could see that far, the Grand Canyon. Also along the southward road is Natural Bridge which is an 85-foot-spanning arch that was carved by ancient flowing water. Additional stops at Agua Canyon and Farview Point offer spectacular views along the main road.

After a great week in Bryce Canyon National Park, I am heading east to Capitol Reef National Park which will be my second stop at Utah’s “Mighty Five” national parks.