Twice through Bryce Canyon

Few national parks feel the impact that time of day produces quite like Bryce Canyon. Depending on arrival time, a completely different experience can unfold. 

Smaller and higher than Zion, Bryce Canyon receives fewer visitors, but like all of the Utah Five, has a character that sets it apart from the rest. Bryce also has a related parks in Cedar Breaks National Monument, which provides a similar, smaller hoodoo amphitheater at higher elevation (11,000 feet) but closes to auto traffic in winter. 

The blinding golden-hour sun came at us as the car climbed toward Bryce, a third national park visit on an already-full Thanksgiving. Once in the park, the sun vanished behind Bryce's soaring pine forests. 

People swarmed at the Sunset Point overlook, not a shock given the name. After the solitude of Capitol Reef and many hours of the Grand Staircase, it overwhelmed the sense until we could find a spot on the rim not crowded with people. Below the rim sat Bryce Canyon, not a true canyon (its erosion does not derive from a central stream). Instead, Bryce is an amphitheater of carved rock towers called hoodoos. 

Of the Utah Five, Bryce might have the most otherworldly character due to hundreds and thousands of hoodoos standing sentinel across the amphitheater. The chatter of people on the rim did not steal anything from the massive quiet out among the hoodoos and rock walls. It made focusing on them more essential.

The red, white and orange pinnacles were somewhat muted as the golden hour passed and the sunset brightened distant mesas. Most the amphitheater already sat in shadow, including famous rock spires like Thor’s Hammer. 

Traffic on the rim slowed somewhat – people took in their sunset from Sunset Point, then split. There was a moment or two of quiet time surveying the hoodoos. But one twilight does not gift anyone the proper perspective on Bryce Canyon. 

The place demands more time, different time. For once, that was possible, since Panguitch was our home base for two nights. Trail time was not a fit on this trip, but another view of the rim would widen my impression of Bryce Canyon. 

The next afternoon, the park bustled anew around the prime rim overlooks.Instead of a marmot crossing sign, Bryce had signs warning of prairie dogs crossing. A quick drive on the park road out to the Swamp Canyon overlook provided a balance to what the main amphitheater offers, as Swamp Canyon had views for miles but only a handful of pink rock formations.

Bryce Point delivered the view I needed

The Bryce Point stop further south proved more revelatory. The amphitheater needs these broader views. Pull back then the amphitheater displays all its natural beauty in one swoop. The pinnacles pop out of the amphitheater wall. 

The angle reveals several places where they are joined in solid rows, not yet eroded into individual hoodoos. From Bryce Point, a series of window-like arches appeared just below the rim, almost like room of some ancient culture.

This was the view I needed the previous day, but we arrived too late to catch the proper light. 

Jays, Clark’s nutcrackers and swallows flitted through the empty air above the hoodoos. Dozens of bird species inhabit the pinnacles and cliffs. It was easier to see rock fins and other formations that I couldn’t name but dazzled nonetheless. 

Inspiration Point provides more views in the same vein as Bryce Point, but again, perspective is everything. Here the world brought alive by light and rock can steal your breath quite easily. All the rim viewpoints lie above 8,000 feet of elevation, so that isn’t surprising. 

People came and went, usually with a friendliness lacking at crowded parks. Others politely asked for group shots, which I obliged every time they asked. Perhaps the stunning nature of Bryce had a humbling effect. Like the hoodoos, the park leaves one with the veneers of day life stripped away, if only for a little while. 

Off the rim at high elevations, the park is heavily forested by several species of pines, even gnarled bristlecones at the highest spots. Much of the park fauna resides here in warm temperatures. A herd of 20-plus mule deer grazed in a pine grove several hundred yards off the park road. 

Visitors didn't seem to notice, and the deer didn’t seem to mind the hoodoos were the star attraction.

Inspiration Point even inspired a rare selfie