How to Spend Two Days in Bryce Canyon National Park with Kids
About the Bryce Canyon National Park
Bryce Canyon National Park in southern Utah is not actually a canyon - it’s bowls. It is most renowned for its geological formations known as hoodoos, which are tall, thin spires of rock. My friend described it as both futuristic and ancient!
This is one of my favorite parks, for sure. Three episodes of this podcast on Bryce from a former park ranger helped us get ready.
In addition to the awesome junior ranger program, we did the #IHikedTheHoodoos challenge. My kiddo found the plaques to complete the pencil rubbings as we made our way through the trails. We visited in June as part of our Fourth Grade Pass tour.
I changed into sneakers after the photo!
History
The region was once covered by a large freshwater lake that slowly receded, leaving behind a series of plateaus and cliffs. Erosion then took over, carving out the hoodoos and intricate rock formations that grace the park today. Native American tribes, including the Paiute, inhabited the area for thousands of years, leaving their mark through petroglyphs and artifacts. I loved learning about Paiute legends regarding the role of the coyote god in the formation of hoodoos. The park gained recognition in the late 19th century when Mormon settlers and other explorers ventured into the area.
It was officially designated as a national park in 1928. For the centennial celebration (happening this year in 2023), the lodge displayed historical photographs. Women walking the trails in heels, people standing on top of hoodoos, and digging some of the first trails in the 1910s showed how different visiting the park was then.
My fourth grader in Bryce Canyon National Park
Day 1
Navajo Loop + Queens Garden
One of the cool things about the trails in Bryce is that you can combine them. Navajo Loop + Queen’s Garden is a popular combo for good reason. Although a lot of what you read will tell you to go clockwise, we took a ranger’s advice to go counter-clockwise and were really glad we did. This allows you to complete the steep elevation change into the amphitheater downhill via switchbacks and gives you an amazing view of Wall Street. Wall Street is a magnificent slot canyon, named to attract eastern visitors to the park.
The trail impressed us the whole way through! Being half-British, I of course liked Queen’s Garden, which has a hoodoo that looks like Queen Victoria.
It was about 3 hours, so when my kiddo started flagging, we made a game of deciding what the hoodoos looked like (so many camels) and took pictures of each other acting like that (which is why our family photo album includes a picture of my husband clucking like a chicken).
Wall Street slot canyon
Lodge
I love historic NPS lodges and make it a point to stop in them if we’re not staying in them. We found that parking here was the least crowded and you can easily get to the rim. The coffee and pizza are good, too. I am also not ashamed to say that I took a 20-minute nap on the lobby sofa between sunset and stargazing time!
Queen’s Garden
Bristlecone Loop Trail
Loved this trail for a few reasons.
It’s at one of the highest points in the park, so the views are outstanding. Even the drive to get there is pretty with lots of overlooks to pull over in. Rainbow Point and Yovimpa Point are at both entrances to the trail.
Bristlecone pine trees are so old! The oldest in the park is nearly 2,000 years old. So you feel like you are interacting with ancient forests.
It’s a nice paved trail and it’s cool, so it’s a good thing to do in the heat of the day.
Bristlecone Pine Loop Trail
Day 2
Bryce Point to Inspiration Point
We took the shuttle up to Bryce Point. Each time I thought we couldn’t get a better view of the amphitheater, we found one! Hoodoos as far as the eye could see.
A ranger suggested we walk from Bryce to Inspiration - another great suggestion. The trail gave us up-close views of what we called the castle (hoodoos built into the wall of the amphitheater).
View from Bryce Point
Mossy Cave
To access Mossy Cave, you actually have to exit the park. This trail goes along a stream that was created in the 1800s by diverting some of the Sevier River to irrigate the nearby town of Tropic. You hike up to view the cave from a platform, or down to get to the waterfall. My kid seeks out water anywhere we go, so this was a big hit. She could stand behind the waterfall and feel the mist.
Mossy Cave waterfall
Bryce City
Ruby’s seems to pretty much own the town. We got ice cream in Old Bryce (which is sort of a fake old western town?), ate at Ruby’s Diner (fast food), and browsed Ruby’s General Store. There’s a daily rodeo in the summer and some other sort of funny things happening around town.
Bryce Canyon Centennial 1923-2023
Sunset and Stargazing
We headed back into the park to catch the sunset over the rim. We again parked at the lodge and found a bench between Sunset and Sunrise. Desert sunsets are my favorite and the air quality plus the hoodoos in the amphitheater was truly amazing.
About an hour after sunset, it was dark enough to really see the stars. It was also freezing, even in July! We parked at Fairyland Canyon, where there was only one other person. Between the three of us, we saw 5 shooting stars. The moon was rather hidden that night and Bryce is a dark skies park, so we really hit the jackpot for stargazing. My kiddo enjoyed being able to easily spot the constellations.
Sunset over the ampitheater (yes, that’s a real photo we took, with no filter!)
Hoodoo You Love?
There was no shortage of puns around the park, so I’ll leave you with my favorite:
“Have a Bryce day!”
