Bryce Canyon National Park
In 1919 a Utah Joint Memorial recommended to the U.S. Congress that they set aside the land “Bryce Canyon” for the use and enjoyment of the people and name it “Temple of the Gods National Monument.” Well, in 1923, Congress opted for Bryce Canyon National Monument. However only 5 years later, in 1928, it became a National Park.
Visitors should be prepared for a variety of temperatures. This is because Bryce Canyon sits at 8000 feet above sea level. So more than 200 days a year, the temperature dips below freezing at some point. A beautiful canyon that really isn’t a canyon. A typical canyon is cut but the force of water over time. Bryce is created by something called force-wedging which breaks the spires creating what is seen today.
After paying your entry fee into Bryce Canyon National Park (a whopping $30!), there is a visitor center on the right side. Take note that parking at the visitor center is only short term for visitor center business. If you want to take the shuttle, there is parking directly across the street for that. In the visitor center, there is a small gift area on the right and a Ranger information desk directly in front of you as you walk through the front door. This line can be very long and take some time. Once someone has the ear of a ranger, it seems they can’t walk away. Try and prepare as much as you can before your trip. If you can avoid speaking to a ranger, you will save a lot of time at Bryce.
Hours: Summer, May through September 8:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. Fall, October 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Winter, November through March 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Spring, April 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m
Transportation
Bryce Canyon now has a free shuttle bus that can take visitors from just outside the park boundary to a number of stops along route 63 in the park. Unlike Zion National Park, this shuttle is not mandatory. You can still drive to each view point but parking is limited. The park is still trying to find their way with this shuttle. For example, the shuttle stops along route 63 through the park at select locations while traveling south. But the trail heads can only be reached by taking a north bound shuttle. That means you either have to take a 45 minute bus ride to get to the first trail head only 5 minutes from the visitor center. They should eliminate the stops on route 63 and just pull into the parking areas like the north bound bus.
A very silly system. We wanted to go to Sunset point from the visitor center. The shuttle drops you off on route 63 near the road up to Sunset Point and the driver tells you to wait for the north bound bus to take you to the point. We waited and it turned out to be the same driver going north bound!
What a mess!
Convenience Store
The Bryce Canyon General Store is located at Sunrise Point and very close to the North Campground. At the general store there is plenty of food supplies and cold drinks so you do not have to travel outside the park to buy supplies. This is great especially if you are camping for a few days. They have grab and go food for you day out on the trail so day hikers will also find this convenient. They also have a gift shop as well. The store opens at 8:00am and closes at 9:00pm
Showers!
Bryce is the first national park where I’ve seen showers. They are located behind the General Store at Sunrise Point and very close to the North Campground. The shower is coin operated and only cost $2.00 for 15 minutes. If you do not have change, the general store is happy to provide that. I used the shower it was very hot and clean. I was surprised because I used it at 7:30pm. It opens at 7:00am and closes at 8:00pm. There is also laundry machines here but I did not take advantage of that. This is incredibly convenient and I will likely extend my stay at Bryce because of it!
