USA Adventure Part 9: Bryce Canyon

USA Adventure Part 9: Bryce Canyon

We rented a cabin between Bryce and Zion for a couple of days, and on our first day there we decided to visit Bryce Canyon National Park. I hadn’t fully recovered yet from my cold, but thankfully this turned out to be a cloudy – and almost cool – day, which was perfect for me. It was quite busy in the national park, the car park near the visitor centre was so full we had to skip it. We decided to hike the Navajo / Queen’s Garden trail loop, which goes from Sunset Point to Sunrise Point. I was a bit worried the hiking up and down the canyon would be tough, but it was surprisingly gentle – partly because the trail is gentle and partly because it wasn’t very warm that day.

The view from Sunset Point, inviting you to explore the canyon below The zig-zag path down into the canyon, this is a (vertical) panorama of three images - it wouldn't fit otherwise!

I really loved Bryce Canyon, I think it was my favourite national park, even if it was busier than most other parks. The so-called “hoodoos” (the colourful rock spires that the park is famous for) are just fantastic!

Paul in the low tunnel A brave tree reaching for the sky

It was the cloudiest day of our trip, but we still saw some blue sky as well…

Some blue in the sky at times :) Beautiful trail

And even though the skies were threatening at times, we didn’t get rained on!

Another little tunnel Panorama of Bryce Canyon under threatening skies

The light kept changing, which made the rock appear different as well. Endlessly fascinating 🙂

The path winding between the hoodoos Another view of the hoodoods

After our hike, we drove further into the park. Along the road, we stopped at the viewpoint for Natural Bridge…

Natural Bridge, one of the viewpoints along the road

At the end of the road (Rainbow Point) we followed the short Bristlecone Loop Trail, less spectacular (no hoodoos here), but with fantastic views.

A very pretty cumulonimbus cloud - though it seems the anvil is all that's left here Paul took a panorama with the cloud and the view

And fantastic clouds, a paradise for a meteorologist 😀

Wide views and impressive clouds Viewpoint on the Brislecombe Loop Trail - another impressive cumulonimbus cloud in the distance!

On our way back, we stopped at Bryce Point around sunset. Bryce Point looks out over the whole amphitheater, a really impressive view! There were many showers in the distance, which made the sky look dramatic, and we took a few panorama shots…

The panoramic view from Bryce Point at sunset Even wider panorama from Bryce Point :)

We were very lucky that day, with all the showers surrounding us, we didn’t get a drop of rain. But as soon as we drove out of the National Park, we were hit by a strong thunderstorm 😀

We had a great day in Bryce Canyon, even though we didn’t venture far off the beaten track. There are some nice long distance paths under the rim, that would be great to explore if we ever visit again.

2 thoughts on “USA Adventure Part 9: Bryce Canyon

  1. Hello!

    We are both followers of Britt-Arnhild’s House in the Woods, where I followed your latest comment to your own amazing blog.

    I’ve just read your recent adventures from Bryce Canyon to Tromso wow-o-wow impressive!! These two really captured my imagination as I know Utah well, and I have a strong affinity for Norway and a special interest in visiting Tromso one day.

    I will be following along from now on.

    1. Hello!
      Thank you for your very kind comment 🙂 and welcome to my blog!
      We loved Utah, it’s about as different from Tromsø as you can get but we loved the desert and the solitude there. Some places are so incredibly beautiful it just feels unreal to walk around in those landscapes.
      I hope you’ll get the chance to visit Tromsø and northern Norway one day – it’s a very beautiful place, both summer and winter 🙂

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