What We Plan to do at Bryce Canyon National Park
The drive to Bryce Canyon will take a little over an hour, so we should get there by midday. While not mandatory at Bryce Canyon, we plan to see the park via shuttle buses that the park offers to visitors in order to reduce congestion within the park. After we arrive, we plan to do the following.
Visit the Visitor Center
The Visitor Center at Bryce Canyon is not far from the parking area for the shuttle buses. There is a video that runs every half hour that we will check out. We will also get our passports stamped (stamp cramp!), and explore the displays.
Take the Rainbow Point Shuttle Tour
Hopefully, we will be able to make reservations for the Rainbow Point Shuttle Tour. This 3.5 hour tour is separate from the normal shuttle bus route that runs continuously throughout the park as it has additional stops and narration beyond the normal circuit. It is narrated and includes stops at several of the scenic overlooks and points of interest.
The tour is offered for free but is only available for a limited number of passengers. According to the website, reservations can be made up to 7 days in advance. Please believe that I have a reminder set so that I don’t forget to reserve our spots! 😉
At this point, I’m not sure about all of the points that will be covered on the expanded tour, but I’m assuming that it will at least cover the most popular attractions outlined below:
- Bryce
- Inspiration
- Sunset Point
- Sunrise Point
I am so looking forward to seeing the beautiful colors of the rock formations!
Take an Easy Hike
If we are up for it after the shuttle tour, I would love to be able to fit in a short hike. The Mossy Cave Trail and Bristlecone Loop Trail both appeal to me because of their short length (round trip ~1 mile each) and their “easy” designation. I’m thinking that it will be difficult to fit in after the Rainbow Point Shuttle Tour (which will finish 5pm).
Depending on when we arrive (i.e. if we are able to actually drive into Cedar Breaks National Monument or now), we might be able to fit in an easy hike before our tour.
Leaving the Park
We will leave the park for a 2 hour drive to Zion after we wrap up our visit.
Additional Planning Resources
That’s how we plan to spend day 2 of our journey. Please do follow along as we release more planning updates and trip tips!
In addition to the links already in the article, there are a couple of additional resources that we would like to leave you with if you are interested in learning more.
Podcasts for Planning Your Own Bryce Canyon Trip
Gaze at the National Parks: Episodes 19 and 21 cover some great information about Bryce Canyon. In addition to some great comedy, the shows hosts, Dustin and Michael, share their experiences hiking in the park. One thing that I learned is that Bryce Canyon is not an actual canyon, but rather is a series of rock amphitheaters.
Travel Guide of Interest for Cedar Breaks and Bryce Canyon
Moon Zion & Bryce: Including Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Grand Staircase-Escalante & Moab (Travel Guide)(affiliate link) I am a fan of Moon travel guides when it comes to National Parks because they have great pictures and descriptions of places of interest.
Hiking Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks: A Guide To Southwestern Utah’s Greatest Hikes (Regional Hiking Series)(affiliate link) If you want to go deeper into the hikes available at these parks, check out this in-depth guide.
Our Pinterest Board for our Las Vegas Road Trip Ideas
Check out our curated list of resource and websites that we are consulting for our trip. Give us a follow on Pinterest to get other park and road trip ideas as well.
Let us know what you think! Follow us on our journey! Happy Exploring!
4 Comments
I didn’t even know Cedar Breaks existed until I happened to see it on the map this summer. We drove through on our way from Salt Lake City to St George. We loved it!!! I am definitely hoping to go back sometime and be able to hike the trail that goes along the edge between viewpoints. We stopped at every overlook and at the visitor’s center to get my stamp. It was super windy there that day. I’m not sure but I’m guessing there is usually wind up at that elevation. I hope you have a good visit too.
Thank you so much Sheila! We almost overlooked it too. There are so many parks out that way, and it is difficult to determine which ones are “close enough” to make it onto the itinerary. Yay for the stamp – I’m sure it’s a good one to add to the collection. Based on the visitor stats from 2017, Cedar Breaks receives only about 1/3 of the visitors as Bryce Canyon, so it’s one that most people miss out on.
Low visitation is always a plus for me. I don’t like crowds, especially when I’m at a park. It was definitely easy access from the highway
Enjoy your visit!
Awesome – thanks for the tip! I totally agree with you 🙂