Bryce Canyon National Park is really a maze-like series of canyons and amphitheaters, which run for almost twenty miles along the intricately eroded eastern edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau.  The plateau is composed of layers of sandstone, limestone, erosion-resistant shale and soft siltstone.  Each of these types of rock erodes at a different rate, with water and wind removing the softer layers below hard cap rock.  This produces a fairytale landscape of towering rock with tall, thin ridges called fins and pinnacles and spires called hoodoos.  Ebenezer Bryce, the Mormon settler for whom the canyon was named said it was “a hell of a place to lose a cow.”

     The rocks of this plateau were formed on the bed of an ancient sea, where they became mixed with a variety of colored minerals.  The colors and shades are almost infinite; red, orange, yellow, gold, magenta, lavender, purple, pink, green and white.  Iron is the most prevalent mineral.  Its presence in varying amounts creates the reds, oranges and yellows.  The lavenders and purples come from a mixture of iron and manganese and copper causes the greens.  The colors of the canyon are also constantly changing with the time of day and the weather; from pale, cool pinks, peaches and lavenders at dawn and twilight, to fiery reds, oranges and golds as the rocks are touched by the rising and setting sun.

     Bryce Canyon’s beauty can be appreciated from the 18-mile road that runs, north to south, along the edge of the plateau.  Park lookouts offer visitors stunning views.  On clear days the visibility from some of the overlooks is over 100 miles.  Sunrises are beautiful when viewed from anywhere along the rim between Fairyland and Paria Points.  The road gradually climbs about 1300 feet between the park entrance and Yovimpa and Rainbow Points, the two southernmost overlooks.  The climb would be almost imperceptible if not for the changes in the surrounding forest.  This makes it easy to view the wide range of climatic conditions and diversity of plant-life at different altitudes.

     More than 400 different plant species grow in the park.  Elevations range from 6,000 to 9,000 feet and the soil and moisture conditions are very diverse.  The lower areas of the park are rather arid and are inhabited by plants adapted to these conditions; sagebrush, bitterbrush, greasewood, pinyons, junipers and open stands of thick barked Ponderosa pines.  These yield to spruce, fir, mountain lilac and aspen as the elevation rises.  Hardy Bristlecone pines, the park’s oldest trees, grow on exposed, rocky slopes like the high, barren, wind-blasted cliffs at Rainbow Point.  This varied plant growth offers a striking contrast to the multicolored rock formations.  

     Bryce Canyon is also home to a variety of wildlife including chipmunks, ground squirrels, marmots, mule deer, bobcats, coyotes, the elusive cougar, the endangered peregrine falcon and Utah prairie dog, and the occasional elk and pronghorn antelope.  Some 164 other species of birds have also been seen in the park area.

     You can avoid the worst of the crowds at Bryce Canyon by walking.  Sixty-one miles of trails offer short and long hikes down into the canyon or along the rim.  Elevations along the trails range from 6,500 to 9,100 feet.  Most of the trails range from 1.5 to 8 miles round trip. Overnight backpacking is permitted only along the 22- mile long Under-the-Rim Trail.  The trail between Sunrise and Sunset Points (along the rim) is wheelchair accessible.  Just remember if you hike down into the canyon you will have to come back up again, and the uphill trip can be strenuous.  (In part due to the lower oxygen content of the air at 7,000 to 9,000 feet.)  Be sure to take plenty of water with you and wear sturdy footgear.  If you only have time to hike one trail, we recommend the Navajo Loop.

     The Navajo Loop Trail is one of the most impressive and popular short hikes in the park.  It is only 1.5 miles long but it drops more than 500 feet below the rim and offers some fantastic scenery.  The trail begins at Sunset Point and almost immediately enters a series of switchbacks descending rapidly into a deep and narrow cleft.  At the bottom of the switchbacks it passes into Wall Street, a passage whose sheer limestone sides tower more than 200 feet above the trail with only a small sliver of sky visible between them.  Somehow, in this narrow, shaded area two extremely tall Douglas firs managed to gain a foothold and stretch upward for the sun.  Shortly after this the trail opens up and levels off along a sunny hillside before starting up again through Red Wash, another deep and narrow defile.  Near the beginning of Red Wash is the viewpoint for Two Bridges.  Nearby are also several very interestingly shaped pine trees.  At the top of Red Wash the fairly steep trail continues back up to the rim with views of Thor’s Hammer, the Temple of Osiris and the Sentinel.

     The park is open all year.  It is most crowded in the summer months, anytime between Memorial Day and Labor Day, when hiking, sightseeing, horseback riding and photography are popular.  Rangers also conduct walks, talks and campfire programs during the summer.  Spring and fall months are a little less crowded, it’s quiet and temperatures are pleasant.  Cross-country skiing and snowshoeing are popular winter activities.  Snow adds contrast to the red rocks and blue sky and the crisp, clear air allows for unparalleled views.