Bryce Canyon Part 1

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The drive from Page Arizona to Bryce Canyon City Utah is a fairly straightforward one of 150 miles. We will gain around 3300 feet in elevation in that distance which should help with the high temperatures we’ve been having recently. The extended forecast for our 10 night stay has daily highs in the mid 70’s to mid 80’s but overnight lows mid 40’s to low 30’s. I promise we won’t complain about it being too cold after so many days in the 100’s. We were here for a week once before in May of 2017 and we even got a little bit of snow during that visit. Our destination is the same campground we stayed at then - Ruby’s Inn RV Park. I mentioned in the blog post from 2017, Ruby’s isn’t an inexpensive campground. Back then, we paid just over $49 per night. This time it will run us just over $83 per night! But the location cannot be beat. It is located just 2 miles from the entrance station for the National Park and even has a shuttle bus stop right at the campground so you park and not use your vehicle if you choose. We had picked a site in an older section of the park that actually has some trees instead of in the newer section that is mostly just a large gravel lot. We checked in and got setup without too much issue. Chris drives into the visitors center at Bryce to get recent trail information since we know there is at least one very popular trail (Wall Street Trail) that is closed for repairs.

There are lots of hikes we hope to get in during our stay, but the next day had a risk of storms by lunchtime. If we were only going to be here for a day or two, we likely would have forced ourselves to pick a hike and risk getting wet but since we have 9 full days in the area, we choose to do a safer activity. The main scenic drive through the park from the entrance station to the southern tip at Rainbow Point is 17 miles. I mentioned there is a free shuttle system within the park to move visitors around, but it only operates over the first 2 miles of the drive to Bryce Point. The majority of the hiking and overlooks are within this first section of the park so those people only visiting for a couple days may only explore this area. But there are many overlooks and some additional trailheads further south of Bryce Point. Spending the day driving the park will allow us to better time the weather in case it gets bad. We don’t get a super early start  but make it into the parking lot and drive straight to Rainbow Point with the plan to slowly work our way back north checking out the various overlooks. The drive there is generally all uphill climbing about 1200 feet to an elevation of 9115 at the point.

Welcome to Bryce Canyon NP

At Rainbow Point

Even though we have been here before, the views are so worth a return visit. We start out by heading to the actual point which is a fairly easy walk with paved path and decent railing along the rim of the canyon. It is clear there are some very dark clouds in the vicinity so the prediction for rain looks realistic.

Some Dark Clouds Nearby

There is a short hike out of Rainbow Point called the Bristlecone Loop and Yovimpa Point. It’s only 1.4 miles long and just 130 feet of elevation gain. From the looks of the clouds, we should be able to get this walk in. There are a couple of overlooks along the trail but as we are walking between them, we hear our first clap of thunder. That wasn’t a good sound given we are only halfway through the walk. The spur to Yovimpa Point is only a tenth of a mile and since we likely wouldn’t make the long drive just for this, we take a chance the the extra 5 minutes won’t get us wet.

At Yovimpa Point

We safely made it back to the parking lot and had stayed dry. We head back to the overlook here to check out the view. It was clear there were several strong but small storms off to the northeast. We head to the car and start the drive back north.

Raining Over the Canyon

The first pullout is for Black Birch Canyon. There is room for 5 cars and a short walk to the viewing platform. It was starting to cloud up in general so the colors of the canyon walls were much more muted but still pretty. We continue the drive to the next stop - Ponderosa Canyon - which has a larger parking area.

We could tell the rain was quickly approaching our location. The question was whether it would be a quick downpour or a continuous rain. We drove down to the Agua Canyon Overlook and it started to rain. It was lunchtime so we decided to wait it out while having lunch with a view. The rain lasted 15 minutes which worked out well with eating. It was still quite cloudy but dry for now. There is a trail out of this parking area that heads along the rim and then down into the canyon. We likely would have tried a short walk just to get a different perspective but this trail is closed.

We skip the Pink Cliffs pullout but continue to the pullout at Natural Bridge. The sign points out that the “bridge” we see in front of us is technically an arch. Either way it’s a neat stop.

Natural Bridge

The next pullout is at Farview Point. This area has a huge parking area and can even fit smaller RVs. We spend some time here watching the storm to the east. There was a fair amount of lightning that was interesting to watch even if I didn’t get a picture of it.

More Rain in the Canyon

We drive to Sheep Creek/Swamp Canyon parking area. We had done a nice hike out of here 9 years ago. But by now it was clear that the clouds and rain were sticking around so we decided to just head back to camp to ride it out there. We didn’t make it back to the RV before the skies opened up and we got very heavy rain showers. By 2 PM, we had a waterfront site and there was even water flowing across our campsite to the neighbors site and beyond. When it stopped raining later that night, I found that there was a lot of debris a few inches up the side of the RV tires. We would later find out that the rains were even worse inside Bryce Canyon and another popular trail (Peekaboo Loop) had to be closed because of washed out sections.

Pond By Our Front Door

Our plan was to alternate days between doing things within the national park with other places not in Bryce Canyon. With the rain long gone, our plan for today was to head to Kodachrome Basin State Park about a 22 mile drive to the southeast from camp. We actually have been here for hiking during our previous visit - in fact twice. Once near sunset to get good colors and another day for hiking. During that visit we had done a shorter portion of the Panorama Trail which was about 3 miles long. We had skipped the western portion of the loop simply because it was too hot that day. We hoped we could get in the longer 6.5 mile loop before it reached the expected high of around 85 degrees.

Kodachrome Basin State Park Entrance

There was only one other car in the large parking lot by the trailhead when we got there at 10 AM so at least the hike shouldn’t be too crowded. It’s definitely a pretty park with lots of cool rock formations.

Starting Panorama Trail

At Indian Cave there are dozens of hand prints worn into the sandstone wall. These are a unique form of petroglyph simply produced by the the historic Native people rubbing their hands on the stone. Some are several inches deep. The Ballerina Spire is a 30 foot tall rock just off the trail.

Historic Handprints

Ballerina Spire

It was about this time that we had a family of four catch up to us on their bicycles. While bicycling is permitted on much of the trail, it didn’t seem to be the type of riding that looked all that enjoyable and these people didn’t appear to be avid cyclists so it was clear they were struggling with the short, steep hills.

A little over a mile into our hike, we hit a split for something called Secret Passage. It sounded intriguing and would only add a quarter mile or so to the hike. There were some neat rocks as well as the narrow passageway to walk through. After coming back to the main trail we find another intersection. This trail was the one that creates the shorter version of the hike that we did the last time. So the next few miles will be all new to us.

Another split at the 2.5 mile point is a sign for a place named Cool Cave. The initial sign made me think it was nearby but it turns out to be about a half mile further on the trail. The entrance to the cave is in bit of a slot canyon with a small climb up into the cave. It was only 11:30, but we decide that this would work out as a decent place for lunch since it was in the shade and we likely won’t find a better spot.

This Way to Cool Cave

Looking In Cool Cave

Looking Out Cool Cave

Coming out of the cave back at the main trail, you can either retrace your path or take the longer portion of the trail that follows along the bottom portion of a cliff.

Lizard

As we continued around, there was this one large wash that appeared to emerge from a valley. The terrain looked easy enough so we diverted up into this canyon. It’s clear there is some significant water flow through here during storms with all the debris piled along the edge of the wash. It was a rather winding path that we followed for an 1/8 of a mile before deciding we still had a long hike back to the car.

Detour Up a Wash

Our Turnaround Point

It was getting warmer but was still tolerable. We saw a spit trail to something named Mammoth Spire Overlook. It was a short diversion worth the look.

Mammoth Spire

As we continue around the loop, at just under the 5 mile point in the hike is the spur trail that leads out to Panorama Point. This part of the hike will add 3/4 mile round trip and include a pretty hard uphill section but it seems like skipping the namesake of the trail would be wrong, so we headed on up. There definitely is a great view of the surrounding park from up here.

Sign for Panorama Point

View from Panorama Point

Once back to the main trail, it’s exactly a mile back to the parking lot. It’s predominantly downhill with one short climb along the way. We make it to the car after about 3.5 hours, 6.7 miles and 1120 feet of elevation gain on an 85 degree day. It was a good workout and a beautiful hike.

Heading Back

We knew we didn’t have much energy left but we drove to the far northern end of the park just beyond the campground. On the way back out, we stopped at the group campsite parking area which also has restrooms and a nature trail. We guessed we could walk the 0.4 mile nature loop knowing that there was ice cream back at the main visitor center on our way out.

View Along Nature Trail

Two-Tone Spire

They have been doing some serious trail maintenance to deal with damage from a flash flood event. The trail was open but probably only recently so and not as smooth as it previously was. There are some cool spires and other formations and the colors of the rocks are so intense. It’s easy to see how the Kodachrome name was used to describe this park.

Chris Dwarfed by Spire

We stop by the visitor center to see if they have a shirt or hat we need but end up only getting some well deserved ice cream. On the drive back to Ruby’s, we stopped for several geocaches and find one field that has many whirligigs spinning in the breeze.

Spinning in the Breeze

The following day will take us back into Bryce Canyon NP for another hike. We debated about hiking some of the main canyon trails we did last time but I convince Chris to try a new one for us. The Under the Rim Trail leads all the way from Bryce Point to Rainbow Point dropping down into the canyon “under the rim”. That’s a 23 mile point to point trail that backpackers use to really experience the park. We obviously aren’t that serious of hikers but we can follow a section of that trail from Bryce Point to a spot dubbed the Hat Shop. This is a more reasonable 4.4 mile out and back hike with just under 1000 feet of elevation gain - although that climbing will occur all on the return trip since the hike starts at the rim and heads into the canyon. The parking lot at Bryce Point is fairly large with room for roughly 30 cars but the shuttle bus has a stop there as well. Instead of adding the extra time for using the bus, we hoped that if we got there early enough, we would find a spot for the Jeep. We pulled in around 9:30 and parking was plentiful.

From the parking area, most visitors will walk along the concrete path to the point but the trail we want splits off to the east and then heads south. We were just behind another couple out for a hike, but when they reached the split for the Peekaboo Loop, they see that the trail has been closed from the rain a couple days ago. We continue down in elevation several hundred feet and about a half mile, we start to get a great view of the canyons to the south.

Canyon View to the South

This trail was definitely less busy than most of the main ones in the heart of the park. Most of the hike has been in the open with little shade but about an hour into the hike, we have a small section of woods to walk through before opening up again. Most visitors see the canyon from the rim but having dropped around 700 feet from the start of the hike, we get some great views looking back up and definitely feel like we are in the canyon.

View of Rim Above

It’s about 2 miles and an hour after we started that we reach the area known as the Hat Shop. The trail follows a ridge that’s about a quarter mile long. To the east is a gradual slope with a fair amount of vegetation down one side of the ridge. The interesting features are on the western side of the trail that drops off about 400 feet very steeply. There are lots of small hoodoos formed in the sandstone that have some sort of harder rock sitting on top. This harder rock has protected the ground below from erosion leaving what looks like a bunch of hats.

Hat Shop

Over time, if the erosion of the ground below “the hat” is too great the hat falls to the ground below. There are a fair number of large hats on small hoodoos that look like they won’t survive much longer. Who knows how much longer the hat shop name will be relevant. We take advantage of some shade to have a snack and while we were enjoying the hike and there is likely more to see if we just go a little bit further, we know that any additional mileage will resort in just that much more climbing we need to do on the return trip.

Lots of Hats

Closeup of Hats

We turn around and head back up. We came upon a few other hikers along the way including a group of guys with full packs likely doing a 2 day hike to Rainbow point.

It was roughly 2.5 hours when we made it back to the parking lot. Since it was early afternoon, the parking lot was packed and tons of people were milling about. We decide to walk out to the point and deal with the crowds after having a very quiet and peaceful hike. I will admit the views from the point are astounding and it is well worth dealing with the crowds to get a good look.

View at Bryce Point

Having gotten an early start, we had left our lunch in the car. But it turns out there really aren’t any decent spots in the shade at Bryce Point to eat lunch. Plus I knew that one of the cars circling the parking lot would appreciate our spot. We didn’t just want onto head back to camp to eat so we stopped by Sunset Point to see how busy the parking area was. It was crowded but we timed our arrival perfectly as someone else was just leaving as we pulled in. There are lots of places to eat in the shade. After lunch we headed out for a short walk between Sunset Point and Sunrise Point.

View at Sunset Point

Heading Along the Rim

It’s about a half mile between the two points and there is a view all along the walkway. I never did fully understand where the sunrise and sunset names came from since both points have more or less the same orientation looking to the east into the canyon. While at Sunrise Point, we see a group of people on a guided horseback tour which looked like a fun way to see the park.

Sunrise Point View

On the way back to the car, we take a short detour to see The Lodge at Bryce Canyon. It’s a 100 year old building that has some striking architectural elements. My favorite feature may be the roof itself. From a distance the roof appears to have a wave or ripple in the wooden shingles as if the roof is failing. But upon closer inspection, the roof is flat but the shingles are installed in a way to fool the eye into seeing a wavy pattern. We go inside to checkout the interior architecture and also peruse the gift shop for a possible souvenir shirt. We then head back to the car after a wonderful day in Bryce.

Wavy Roof

Inside Bryce Lodge

The next day we switch back to a hike outside the national park and drive about 12 miles to Red Canyon in Dixie National Forest. We plan to repeat one of our favorite hikes we took back in 2017. The Golden Wall Trail is a 4.7 mile loop with just over 1000 feet of elevation gain. We remember that it was possibly our favorite hike in the area - topping the trails within the national park. Red Canyon isn’t on the same scale as Bryce Canyon however the beauty is comparable and the crowds on the hiking trails is probably around 1% of those at Bryce. The last time we did this hike we traveled in a counterclockwise direction starting at the visitor center. This time we will park at the campground trailhead and go clockwise just for something different. To avoid the expected heat, we are on the trail at 8:15. The first half mile of the hike is up a series of switchbacks and climbs over 250 feet but we are lucky enough to be in the shadow of the hill so it is a shady climb and the sun was glowing on the other side of the canyon to our west.

Trail Up Hill at Start of Hike

Morning Light Over Red Canyon

Shortly after reaching the top of the hill, we come to the intersection with the Buckhorn Trail. This spur trail follows a ridge to a viewpoint. It’s about a quarter mile each way and climbs 130 feet. When we had done this part of the hike last time, it was very windy and I was surprised that Chris managed to walk along the extremely exposed ridge. She apparently remembered that feeling and told me I’m on my own if I want to repeat the hike.

Buckhorn Trail Along the Ridge

With practically no wind this morning, it was a rather straightforward walk up. The views are great and I even checked in the geocache hidden at the top. About 30 other geocachers have signed in during the intervening 9 years. As I headed back down, another couple out for a run with their dog was coming up. I found a spot to get out of the way as they passed me. These would be the only people we would see on the trail today. That would be impossible hiking any trail within Bryce Canyon.

View from End of Buckhorn Trail

Chris Watches from Below

View to the West

A lot of the trail seemed familiar even doing it in the opposite direction. One section still has a couple dozen wooden stairs on a steep climb and just beyond that was the boulder sitting atop a spire on the edge of a cliff. I remember seeing last time and thinking that’s not going to stay there much longer. Well it’s still there today. Geological time is on a completely different pace than we are used to.

Chris Follows Trail

Stair Up

Rock is Still Balanced

It takes us nearly 2 hours to get to the high point of the hike along the southern side of the loop. We use that as a nice spot to sit and have a snack before heading down the trail. There are numerous rock walls that the trail passes but we are not certain which one of them is the “Golden Wall” the trail is named for.

View from the Highpoint of Hike

Golden Wall?

A little over 3 miles from the start, we hit a split in the trail. We had previously been told that the split to the right (east) was much more scenic than the one we had followed the last time. We discussed following the other loop since they both come together again in a half mile or so. But we stuck with the one we knew.

After the trails come together again, it follows along a wash for about half a miles before reaching the paved bike path along the road. This section of the hike isn’t great since there is a fair amount of traffic driving the main road 100 feet away. When we see the far end of the campground, we walk across a large dry wash and follow the campground road since it is much more quiet. There aren’t a lot of campers and some of the sites would easily accommodate a rig our size. Camping here would be less convenient than Ruby’s but significantly less expensive. We arrive back at the car clocking in 5.3 miles, over 1300 feet of elevation gain and 3:15 hours later this is definitely one of our favorite hikes in the area.

We felt obligated to do a hike into the canyon at Bryce and since there are now 2 popular trails closed, we have only a couple of options. We pick a combination starting out of Sunset Point. The Navajo Loop will drop us down into the canyon, Queen’s Garden Trail will take us north through some of the canyon and then back up to Sunrise Point where the Rim Trail will return us to the car. It should be about a 3 mile hike and 650 feet of elevation gain. We were looking for something less strenuous than yesterday’s hike so this should work. We hoped by getting up early, we could beat the heat and the crowds. We pull into Sunset Point at 8 AM and find parking easy but that didn’t mean there weren’t a lot of people at the overlook and on the trails already. The initial section of the Navajo Loop Trail felt like cattle being driven down a narrow path. Many of the visitors are only planning on going a short distance and then trying to take a family photo. It is definitely a much more frustrating hike than the one at Red Canyon.

Crowded Navajo Loop

As the trail proceeds down, it gets to a section where there are a series of switchbacks dropping down between a 100 foot wide gap in the cliffs. It is definitely a pretty section and while it still has a fair number of people, many of the casual visitors have looked at the descent and given up to head back to the point.

At Start of Switchbacks

There were a lot of people at the bottom of this trail at the intersection with Queen’s Garden Trail. My impression is these were the visitors that wanted to say they hiked into Bryce Canyon and were simply resting before the long climb back up. Once past the Queen’s Garden, the crowds really thinned out and it was almost peaceful. The moon was still out and provided a nice backdrop for some of the rock formations. We took the short spur to see Queen Victoria before proceeding on.

The Bottom End of the Closed Wall Street Trail

Moon

Just before the 2 mile mark, the trail goes through a short tunnel in the side of the sandstone. Of course, everyone wanted a picture of themselves at the tunnel, so it is a bit of a bottleneck.

Tunnel

Another Moon Shot

After getting through there, the trail starts a steady climb out of the canyon. It isn’t super steep but is a bit of a workout for the legs tired from the last hike. There seems to be a beautiful view at every turn.

Trail Snakes Up Canyon

Moon Gobbled Up by Rock

About a half mile from Sunrise Point, we spot some groups on horseback coming up through the canyon. We stop to watch as they go by.

Horseback Tour Comes Up ...

... And Heads Into Other Side of Canyon

It starts to get crowded again as we head up the last section of the trail. It seems like there is a group of visitors here behaving just like the ones coming down from Sunset Point. We manage to make it past all the people and get up to the point and then follow the Rim Trail back to the car. It was just over 3 miles in 2 hours. Not a real fast pace but a pretty hike if you can deal with the crowds.

View from Sunrise Point

We had asked a ranger at the visitor center earlier in our stay if there were any spots inside the park that might be good for night sky photography. The recommendation we got was another overlook about a mile from Brice Point called Paria View. Since it was just mid morning, we drive there to check it out and find the place completely deserted which seemed like a good sign. We walked the path to see where a good spot might be and concluded this could work one of these nights when the sky looks clear.

Back at camp, we rested up and planned to head out near sunset to Paria View with all my camera gear to try some night sky photography. It’s been a long time since I’ve had the opportunity to do this but was looking forward to extremely dark skies at Bryce. We arrived to find a handful of cars and several groups of people already enjoying the colors just before sunset. I was hoping they would all head out once it got dark, but instead it seemed like even more cars and people kept showing up.

Golden Hour at Paria View

I had scoped out a place along the path that had a bit of a large section of flat ground before dropping into the canyon. I setup my tripod and got ready to spend an hour or so taking pictures as it got dark. It was impressive how well we could see the Milky Way. There were also lights down in the canyon. Probably some backpackers hiking along the Under the Rim Trail or setting up camp for the night. We ended up spending nearly an hour after it became pitch black before we gave up and headed out. I suspect the same ranger gives the same answer to  anybody asking where is a good spot for night sky views. Paria View worked but I think we could have found a much more secluded place.

Milky Way Over Bryce Canyon