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Touring Bryce Canyon National Park
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| Bryce Canyon Visitors Center |
The Bryce Canyon Visitor Center should be one of your first stops when visiting Bryce Canyon National Park. Here you can obtain driving and hiking directions beyond those available on this website, weather forecasts, a current schedule of Park Ranger guided programs.
Trying to plan your visit? Questions? Comments? Stop at the Visitor Center where our park staff will be happy to accommodate you. The Bryce Canyon Visitor Center is open everyday except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. During the summer our hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. with reduced hours during the winter.
Bryce Canyon Auto Tours Start At Rainbow and Yovimpa Points
Visitors should start their auto tour of Bryce Canyon National Park by driving directly to the very southern end first. From here at Rainbow Point the entirety of Bryce Canyon National Park stretches out before you back to the north.
Here is one of the places you can get a good look at the sequence of rock layers called the Grand Staircase. The sections or steps in the Grand Staircase are named for the dominant color of rock. You are standing on the top step known as the Pink Cliffs. Directly below you are the Grey Cliffs. As you look into the distance you can see Molly's Nipple which is part of the White Cliffs.
Bryce Canyon's Vegetation Depends on the Rock Formations. At Ponderosa Canyon this is most evident.
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| Ponderosa Canyon at Bryce Canyon National Park |
From this vantage point in Bryce Canyon National Park, you can see how the type of rock that composes the different steps of the Grand Staircase determines what kinds of plants can grow on it. The varying densities of vegetation determine how erosion shapes the land.
In the slick rock sandstone of the White Cliffs the soil is thin or nonexistent and plants cannot easily take hold. The lack of plants causes this region to endure intense erosion with each rainstorm forming deep canyons, rounded domes and pointed nipples.
Agua Canyon
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| Agua Canyon |
At Agua Canyon two prominent hoodoos command attention. On the left and the taller of the two towers "The Hunter." To the right is a hoodoo commonly referred to as the "Rabbit" or alternative the "Backpacker." In the early years of Bryce Canyon National Park a great effort was made to name many of the more prominent hoodoos. Over the years many of these have fallen or partially fallen so that they look nothing like the things they were originally named for.
Natural Bridge: One of Seven Arches in Bryce Canyon
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| Natural Bridge at Bryce Canyon National Park |
Though the name tends to be misleading, Natural Bridge is one of several natural arches in Bryce Canyon and creates a beautiful scene at this viewpoint. This arch, sculpted from some of the reddest rock of the Claron Formation (rich in iron oxide minerals), poses a stark contrast to the dark green of the Ponderosa forest that peeks through the arch from the canyon below.
Bridges form through the erosion of rock by streams or rivers. This window or arch formed from a combination of processes. Frost wedging, the expanding of cracks in rock as water turns to ice, weakened the rock.
Farview Point
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| Farview Point at Bryce Caynon National Park |
Farview Point is appropriately named, with spectacular views of famous landmarks that make up the Grand Staircase. From north to south you can see: the Aquarius Plateau (Pink Cliffs), the Kaiparowits Plateau (Grey Cliffs), Molly's Nipple (White Cliffs), and even glimpses of the Kaibab Plateau on which lies the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. These magnificent views result from Bryce Canyon's extremely high air quality, with potential visibility as far away as the Black Mesas in Arizona — up to 160 miles! Navajo Mountain, 90 miles away on the border of Utah and Arizona, can be seen on all but the worst days. While many visitors are awed by the beautiful things they see here, it is what they don't see (the haze and smog produced by particulates in the air) that is one of Bryce Canyon's most valued assets.
Swamp Canyon
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| Swamp Canyon at Bryce Canyon National Park |
Swamp Canyon appears relatively small and sheltered from the overlook, bounded on both sides by fins and hoodoos. This size allows the viewer to develop a more intimate connection with the landscape than some of the grander viewpoints may provide.
Looking south, Mud and Noon Canyon Buttes can be seen. Buttes are half way along the erosional continuum between plateau and pinnacle. Plateaus are large regions of uplifted land. Mesas are isolated portions of plateaus that although much smaller than plateaus are still wider than they are tall. As mesas erode they give birth to buttes, which are square shaped being approximately the same width as they are tall. As buttes erode still further they spawn spires of rocks.
Paria View
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| Paria View at Bryce Caynon National Park |
Photographers seeking sunset pictures are often disappointed by that fact that most of cliffs and hoodoos of Bryce Canyon do not face the setting sun. Paria View is one exception. Here one prominent and photogenic castle-like hoodoo rises high above the canyon floor to absorb the last rays of the setting sun. Paria is a Paiute word meaning "water with Elk" or "water with mud" the translation varies depending on context and season of the year.
As you look down and to the southeast you are gazing into the Paria River watershed. This region is famous for its slot canyons. These slot canyons were carved by rapid rates of runoff during Spring thaws in the Ice Age. Even in today's drier climate some erosion continues to occur during flash floods. As a result hikers are urged to stay out of the Paria Canyons during thunderstorms. This river's watershed is so immense that even a moderate rain can create catastrophic flooding downstream.
Bryce Point
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| Bryce Point |
From Bryce Point, one of the most scenic vistas of the full amphitheater and all its wonders amaze the visitor. Bryce Point is famous for its extraordinary sunrises. From here you can watch the tops of hoodoos set alight as if by fire from the first rays of the rising sun. Like fire the orange light quickly spreads driving shadows from all but the deepest recesses of the amphitheater.
Inspiration Point
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| Inspiration Point |
The viewpoint at Inspiration Point consists of three levels that provide varied spectacular perspectives of the main amphitheater. From here, visitors look toward the Silent City (near Sunset Point) with its many rows of seemingly frozen hoodoos set against the backdrop of Boat Mesa. All who look out from this point are bound to be inspired, considering the intricacies of the hoodoos and their formation through the erosion of the Claron Formation.
Sunset Point
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| Sunset Point |
Sunset Point offers vistas of some of the most famous and breathtaking of Bryce Canyon's hoodoos. Directly below the point and to the south, the Silent City rises from the canyon floor, a maze of hoodoos and fins packed in tight formation. Just below the overlook on the northern edge, Thor's Hammer stands alone. Striking in form due to its isolation from other hoodoos, Thor's Hammer is a favorite among visitors.
Sunrise Point
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| The Limber Pine at Sunrise Point |
The view to the northeast from Sunrise Point captures Boat Mesa and the Sinking Ship, set against the stark Pink Cliffs of the Aquarius Plateau. Boat Mesa, capped by the resistant rock called "The Conglomerate at Boat Mesa," rises above the hoodoos of Fairyland Canyon to an elevation of 8073 feet.
The Limber Pine at Sunrise Point, roots exposed by erosion of the rim, serves as a reminder of the resilience and ability of life to adapt to adverse conditions, and also of the rapidity with which the scene before us is disappearing. Geologists have calculated that the rim of the canyon is eroding at a rate of two to four feet every century and that in approximately three million years, Bryce Canyon will be gone forever.
Fairyland Canyon
Fairyland Canyon, located one mile north of the National Park entrance station, offers an opportunity to hoodoos at an "eye-to-eye" level. These hoodoos have inspired imaginations for years, and visitors today are bound to be as enchanted as were the Paiute Indians, who saw the hoodoos as ancient peoples turned to stone.
Mossy Cave
Mossy Cave is truly a must see stop. Mossy Cave is in the northern section of Bryce Canyon National Park, located on highway 12, approximately 4 miles east of the intersection of highways 12 and 63. Look for a small parking area on the right-hand side immediately after crossing a little bridge. The Mossy Cave itself is at the end of short trail. Here to you can see hoodoos and windows without having to hike a steep trail.
Bryce Canyon National Park
The North Campground at Bryce Canyon National Park is open all year. Tent and trailer sites are available on a first come, first served basis. Some pull-through motorhome sites are available.
There is a limit of 6 people, 3 tents, and 2 vehicles per site. There are no hook-ups, but a fee-for-use sanitary dump station is available seasonally near North Campground.
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Bryce
Canyon Facts | |
Bryce Canyon is located in southwestern Utah.
Bryce Canyon became a national monument in 1924
Bryce Canyon became a national park in 1928
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