Bryce Canyon City: what to see, where to stay and how to get around
Bryce is not really a canyon but a row of huge bowls eaten into the edge of a plateau, filled with thousands of rock spires called hoodoos. The rim road links the four classic viewpoints over the largest bowl, the Bryce Amphitheater, and a trail drops between them into the hoodoos. The rim stands at about 2,400 metres, so the air is thin and nights are cold even in summer. Ruby's Inn is only a few minutes from the park gate.
A short history of Bryce Canyon City
Bryce Canyon City grew up entirely around a single hotel: in 1916 the rancher Ruben Syrett opened a lodge near the rim of the canyon, and years later it became Ruby's Inn. The canyon is named after Ebenezer Bryce, a Mormon settler who lived here from 1875, and in 1928 it was declared a national park. The settlement itself was only incorporated as a town in 2007, and most of its few residents are connected to the family business of Syrett's descendants.
The ten best sights in Bryce Canyon City
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1Ruby's Inn
The hotel that is most of the town: rooms, restaurants, a general store, horse rides and a rodeo in summer
2Bryce Canyon Visitor CenterStart here for maps, the short film and the ranger programme
3Bryce Canyon LodgeThe 1920s stone and timber lodge near the rim; worth a look even if you sleep elsewhere
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4Sunrise Point
Short walk from the car to the first big view; come at dawn
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5Sunset Point
The view of Thor's Hammer and the start of the Navajo Loop
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6Inspiration Point
The deepest look into the Silent City of hoodoos
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7Bryce Point
The whole amphitheatre from its southern end; best at sunrise
8Navajo Loop and Queen's GardenThe best walk among the hoodoos, about 5 km; the climb back up is at 2,400 m altitude
9Rainbow PointThe end of the 29 km scenic road and its highest point
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10Natural Bridge
A red arch right beside the scenic road
Scan with your phone camera to open the map there
What is an audio walk?
Tours in Bryce Canyon City →A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Bryce Canyon City:
Free walking tours in Bryce Canyon City
The rim of the amphitheatre
Bryce is not really a canyon but a row of huge bowls eaten into the edge of a plateau, filled with thousands of rock spires called hoodoos. The rim road links the four classic viewpoints over the largest bowl, the Bryce Amphitheater, and a trail drops between them into the hoodoos. The rim stands at about 2,400 metres, so the air is thin and nights are cold even in summer. Ruby's Inn is only a few minutes from the park gate.
- Bryce Canyon Visitor Center · The park is named after Ebenezer Bryce, a Mormon settler who grazed cattle below the cliffs in the 1870s. Asked about the place, he is remembered for saying it was a hell of a place to lose a cow.
- Sunrise Point · Bryce has the largest concentration of hoodoos on earth. They form because on around 200 nights a year water freezes in the cracks of the soft limestone and thaws again by day, prying the rock apart little by little.
- Queen's Garden · The trail is named after a hoodoo that looks like Queen Victoria seated on her throne, at the bottom of the descent. It is the easiest way down below the rim, and joins the Navajo Loop for a 5 km circuit.
- Thor's Hammer · The best-known hoodoo has a cap of harder, magnesium-rich limestone that protects the softer rock below it from the rain. When that cap finally falls, the column under it wears away quickly.
- Inspiration Point · From here you look down into the Silent City, a maze of hoodoos in rows like streets. The point has three levels, and the walk to the top one is short but steep at this altitude.
- Bryce Point · At the southern tip of the amphitheatre, the point looks north along the whole bowl, which catches the first sun. The rim here is about 2,530 metres high, and on clear days the view reaches more than 100 km.
The scenic road to Rainbow Point
South of the amphitheatre the park road climbs for 29 km along the plateau to its highest point. On the way it passes a dozen viewpoints, each looking east over the Grand Staircase towards the Kaiparowits Plateau. The road is a dead end, so drive to the top first and stop at the viewpoints on the way back, when they are on your right. It also passes through forest where elk and mule deer graze.
- Fairyland Point · The viewpoint lies north of the main gate, so many visitors miss it. Below it the Fairyland Loop winds 13 km among hoodoos, one of the quietest long trails in the park.
- Bryce Canyon Lodge · The lodge was built in 1925 by the Union Pacific Railroad, which brought tourists by train and bus, and was designed by Gilbert Stanley Underwood. It is the only one of the railway's original park lodges in the region that still stands in its first form.
- Natural Bridge · Despite its name it is an arch, not a bridge, since no stream ever ran beneath it. Rain, frost and gravity opened the hole in a fin of red rock, and in time it will collapse.
- Agua Canyon · Tall hoodoos stand alone in front of the cliff here, already cut off from the rim by erosion, showing how the plateau edge retreats. The name is Spanish for water, the force that, with frost, carved all of this.
- Paria View · This viewpoint, at the end of a short spur road, looks over the upper valley of the Paria River rather than into the amphitheatre. The Paria runs south through Utah into Arizona and joins the Colorado River at Lees Ferry.
- Rainbow Point · At 2,778 metres this is the highest point in the park. The Bristlecone Loop here passes bristlecone pines, among the oldest living things on earth, some of them about 1,600 years old in this park.
Beyond the park: red rock and pioneers
Highway 12 runs east and west from Bryce through some of the finest country in Utah. To the west it passes the red hoodoos of Red Canyon on the way to the brick pioneer town of Panguitch. To the east it drops below the cliffs to the farm villages of Tropic and Cannonville and the stone chimneys of Kodachrome Basin. Both ends are within an hour of Ruby's Inn.
- Panguitch · In the hard winter of 1864 the first settlers were starving, and a party walked over the mountains to Parowan for flour. They crossed the deep snow by laying quilts down and stepping across them, and the town still holds a Quilt Walk Festival every June.
- Red Canyon · Highway 12 runs through two arches blasted through red rock fins here, a famous welcome on the way to Bryce. The rock is the same Claron Formation as at Bryce, but richer in iron, which makes it redder.
- Ruby's Inn · Reuben Syrett, known as Ruby, began putting up tourists near the rim in 1916, before the area was even a park. His family still runs the inn, and the town around it, Bryce Canyon City, was incorporated only in 2007.
- Mossy Cave · The stream here is not natural: Mormon settlers dug the Tropic Ditch in the early 1890s to carry water over the plateau from the Sevier River to their new village. The little waterfall at the end of the path is made by the ditch's water.
- Tropic · The village was founded in 1891 and named for its climate, mild compared with the cold plateau above. It could only exist once the Tropic Ditch brought water down from the plateau to its fields.
- Kodachrome Basin State Park · A National Geographic expedition in 1949 named the basin after Kodak's colour film, and the company gave its permission. Its odd stone chimneys, called sand pipes, are thought to be old springs or geysers that filled with sediment and hardened.
Getting to Bryce Canyon City and getting around
- Bryce Canyon Airport · A small airfield a few kilometres north; private and charter planes only
- Bryce Canyon Shuttle · The free park shuttle runs in season from outside the park into the amphitheatre viewpoints; it saves hunting for parking
Cheap eats in Bryce Canyon City
Food at Bryce is road food: Ruby's Inn feeds most visitors, and the other choices are a handful of grills, pizza places and diners spread between the park gate, Highway 12 and the village of Tropic. Prices are a little higher than in a city because everything is trucked in. Many places close or cut their hours between November and March.
- Canyon Diner · Quick burgers, pizza and breakfast at Ruby's, about $8-15
- Ruby's General Store · Sandwiches, snacks and water for the trail, about $5-12
- Subway · Sandwiches on Highway 12 north of Ruby's, about $8-12
- Valhalla Pizzeria · Pizza and coffee beside Bryce Canyon Lodge, in season, about $12-20
- Route 12 Grill · Burgers and fries in Tropic, about $8-14
- The Pizza Place · Pizza in Tropic, below the cliffs, about $12-22
Museums in Bryce Canyon City
- Bryce Canyon Visitor Center · Geology and wildlife displays and a short film; 45 minutes
- Bryce Canyon Lodge · The historic lodge lobby and its rustic stonework
- Bryce Wildlife Adventure · A big hall of mounted animals from around the world, next to Ruby's
- Panguitch · Walk the main street of red-brick pioneer houses
Nature and day trips near Bryce Canyon City
- Navajo Loop · Down through the slot of Wall Street; steep switchbacks
- Rainbow Point · The Bristlecone Loop, 1.6 km on the top of the park
- Fairyland Point · Quiet viewpoint and the long Fairyland Loop
- Red Canyon · Paved bike path and short trails among red hoodoos
- Kodachrome Basin · Sand pipes and easy trails in a colourful basin
- Willis Creek · An easy slot canyon walk along a shallow stream, on a dirt road from Cannonville
Things to do in Bryce Canyon City with kids
- Mossy Cave · A 1.5 km walk to a little waterfall and an icy overhang
- Ruby's Inn rodeo · Summer evening rodeo across the road from the inn
- Bryce Wildlife Adventure · Mounted animals from around the world under one roof
- Natural Bridge · A big red arch a few steps from the car
- Bryce Canyon City Park · Grass and a play area by the hotels
Where to eat in Bryce Canyon City
- Ebenezer's Barn and Grill · Cowboy dinner with a live western music show; book ahead
- The Lodge at Bryce Canyon dining room · Dinner in the historic lodge, in season
- Bryce Canyon Pines · Home cooking and pie at a motel restaurant on Highway 12
- i.d.k. barbecue · Barbecue in Tropic
- Rustler's Restaurant · Family restaurant in Tropic
Frequently asked questions about Bryce Canyon City
What is there to see in Bryce Canyon City?
The top sights in Bryce Canyon City are Ruby's Inn, Bryce Canyon Visitor Center and Bryce Canyon Lodge. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.
How many days do you need in Bryce Canyon City?
Three to four days are enough to see the best of Bryce Canyon City without rushing, including at least one walking tour.
Is there a free walking tour in Bryce Canyon City?
Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Bryce Canyon City, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: The rim of the amphitheatre.
How do you get to Bryce Canyon City and get around?
The main ways are Bryce Canyon Airport and Bryce Canyon Shuttle. Full details are in the transport section on this page.
Where to stay in Bryce Canyon City, and for how much?
sleepntrip shows only rooms in Bryce Canyon City that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.
Looking for a hotel in Bryce Canyon City for your dates?
Only rooms that meet nine conditions, up to $80 a night.