2-Day Summer Itinerary in Bryce Canyon

We spent 2-days in Bryce Canyon. Here is everything we did and the things we wish we had time for.

In this guide (jump to section):

• Bryce Canyon City, UT Quick Stats
• 2-Day Itinerary in Bryce Canyon
• Is visiting Bryce Canyon worth it?
• Things we wish we had time for
• Things we decided to skip
• Practical Information for your trip

Bryce Canyon City Quick Stats

Location	Bryce Canyon City, UT (opens in google maps)
Population	~332 (2022)
Popular Things to do	Bryce Canyon National Park, biking, hiking, star gazing, horseback riding
Official Website	Bryce Canyon City
Rating	4.0 Mooses

2-Day Itinerary for Bryce Canyon, UT

Day 1: Arrival, Bryce Canyon driving tour and local Rodeo

The closest airport to Bryce Canyon can be found in Cedar City, Utah, a mere 1.5-hour drive from the famous park. Though you’re likely better served to fly into Salt Lake City, UT or Las Vegas, NV (which is where we came from) to get a cheaper plane ticket. Plus, you’re going to need a car regardless (unless you want to book a tour).

We left Las Vegas around 8:30 a.m. and with the time zone change arrived in Bryce around 4 hours later at 1:30 p.m. After a quick stop at the local Subway (basically one of a handful of restaurants in the entire area), we decided to make the 18-mile drive through Bryce Canyon, all the way to Rainbow Point.

Bryce Canyon National Park – Driving Tour

The driving tour in Bryce Canyon National Park has multiple vantage points. Stops include breathtaking views of the surrounding areas, potential wildlife sightings and several hikes to explore. We ended up spending around 3 hours total, stopping at almost all of the vantages and hiking the short Bristlecone Loop trail.

Stops we made:

• Rainbow Point & Yovimpa Points – This was our first stop at the very end of route 63, near mile marker 18. There is no shuttle service out to this location, your only option is to drive. The recommended route is to drive to the end of the road and stop at all the vantages on your way back (as they are all on the right-hand side of the road). The parking areas fill up quickly here, but we were so late in the afternoon, we didn’t have any issues. We also took the time to walk the quick Bristlecone Loop trail at this stop. We recommend this as a good first stop for your journey.
• Black Birch Canyon – This is a quick stop and one with only 4 parking spots. If there are no spots, you can safely skip this vantage. It wasn’t all that impressive and we stayed for mere minutes.
• Ponderosa Canyon – Next up is Ponderosa Canyon. Not as impressive as Rainbow Point, but a nice vantage. There is more parking here and if you’re up for it, there is a trail that connects to the next lookout, Agua Canyon Overlook.
• Agua Canyon – Next up is Agua Canyon. Similar views to what are seen from further up the canyon, but we did enjoy this stop more than Black Birch Canyon.
• Natural Bridge Viewpoint – This is one stop that was unique to the others along this trek. A large natural arch is carved in the stone and easily viewable just steps from the parking area. Don’t skip this one!

• Fairview Point and Piracy Point – Not knowing all these viewpoints would start to look almost identical, we pulled into Fairview Point to soak in the views. At this location, you’ll see a path leading away from the viewpoint and towards Piracy Point. Most visitors opt out of this extremely short hike and we’re glad we ventured off the “beaten” path for a quick moment of solitude in an otherwise busy park. Piracy Point can only be reached by hiking from Fairview Point.
• Swamp Canyon Overlook – This lookout was fairly underwhelming compared to what we had already seen. There were only a couple other cars that had stopped, and they were in and out in no time. If you’re short on time, we recommend skipping this one.

After Swamp Canyon, you’ll enter an area referred to as the Amphitheater. This is by far the most popular part of the park and is serviced by a shuttle bus in high season. Since we were there so late in the afternoon, we chanced finding parking and proceeded to our next stop, Bryce Point.

• Bryce Point – This is one of the four stops widely considered to be the most magnificent in the park. We can see why! This was one of our favorite stops and if you are only in town for a few hours, we recommend skipping everything up until now and spending all your time in this area. Bryce Point overlooks the broader amphitheater area and is connected via the Rim Trail to Inspiration, Sunrise and Sunset Points. It is possible to take a shuttle out to Bryce Point and walk back along the entire ridge. We didn’t have time for this, but we enjoyed the amazing views.
• Inspiration Point – As we had decided to do a larger hike the next morning starting at Sunset Point, Inspiration Point would be our last stop that evening. Another spectacular viewpoint. We did take around 30 minutes and hike a small piece of the Rim Trail and were extremely pleased with the views.

After a fun filled-day, we headed back to check into our hotel and get ready for the rodeo!

Evening at the Bryce Canyon Country Rodeo

Day 2: Bryce Canyon Hike, Visitor center, Self-Guided ATV Tour, Wildlife Museum and Mossy Cave Trail

After our action packed first day in Bryce, we did what we do best: cram too many activities into the next day of adventures.

First up, was our early morning hike within the hoodoos within Bryce Canyon National Park.

Loop Hike: Sunset Point –> Wall Street –> Navajo Trail –>Queens Garden –> Sunrise Point –> Sunset Point

After completing our morning hike, we stopped by the visitor center and gift shop, before heading off to our next activity.

Unguided all-terrain vehicle tour with Bryce Wildlife Outfitters

After our off-road experience, we wanted to hand-feed the exotic deer at the museum across the parking lot and walked over to check out it. What we didn’t expect was an unconventional museum filled to the brim with a collection of perfectly preserved animals by a curator (and hunter) who spent his life dedicated to the task.

Bryce Wildlife Conservation Museum

Having finished our museum tour, we headed out back to hand feed the “exotic deer.” They seemed like normal deer to us, but apparently, they were not native to the area. There were also a few hungry chickens that enjoyed the corn snack.

We had certainly worked up an appetite after our adventures and headed back in town to choose from the extremely limited number of restaurants. We picked one called the Canyon Diner which seemed like a run of the mill family style restaurant. We clearly missed the giant print on the sign that said “Great Western Fast Food.”

Lunch at Canyon Diner

Despite the long day already, we somehow managed enough energy for one more activity to close out the day. A trip to the nearby Mossy Cave and waterfall.

Mossy Cave Trail and Waterfall

That was a wrap for us in Bryce Canyon. The next day we would drive to Telluride and continue our adventures.

Is visiting Bryce Canyon worth it?

Rating: 4.0 Mooses

What we liked:

• Bryce Canyon National Park is nothing short of breathtaking, especially in the amphitheater area of the park.
• The loop hike we went on was a particular highlight of the trip.
• We enjoyed our self-guided all-terrain vehicle tour.
• Hand-feeding the exotic deer was a new and interesting experience.

What we didn’t like:

• Everything in Bryce Canyon City shuts down early. All the stores and restaurants were closed at 9 p.m. We didn’t plan well the first night we visited and went to the rodeo without having dinner first. As we didn’t feel like having hot dogs, when we finally left the rodeo, we found everything was closed.
• The city is extremely small and has limited lodging choices along with local shops/restaurants. Unless you want to spend a lot of time in the national park, we don’t recommend more than a few days in the area.
• The Bryce Canyon Wildlife Museum, while unique, was a little over-the-top.

Verdict: Bryce Canyon National Park has been on our bucket list for a long time and we’re glad we made the trek!

Things we wish we had time for

• Red Canyon – Located not far from Bryce Canyon, Red Canyon is a lesser visited park than its larger counterpart. It offers many of the same activities you can find in Bryce including a visitor center, hiking among hoodoos, biking, camping and horseback riding. We drove past Red Canyon on our way into town and would have stopped to check it out if we had more time.
• Rim Trail – While we walked a very small piece of the Rim Trail, it would have been nice to walk the entire 5.5-mile trek from Bryce Point all the way to Fairyland Point. It provides spectacular views of the most famous amphitheater area of Bryce Canyon National Park.
• Stargazing – Bryce Canyon is considered a Gold Tier International Sky Park. The park is open 24 hours a day and offers amazing stargazing opportunities. We actually have no excuse why we didn’t do this.
• Additional Hiking – There are many hikes to choose from in the park. We missed out on the famous Peekaboo and Fairyland Loop Trails.

Things we decided to skip

• Renting Bikes – There is a nice bike trail that runs parallel to US 12 on the way into Bryce. Many park goers rent bikes to make entering and exploring Bryce Canyon National Park easier, as well as taking the bike path all the way to Red Canyon. We didn’t have a lot of time in the area and noticed once we were in the park there wasn’t a dedicated bike path throughout the entire area (much of it is shared with cars).
• Horseback Riding – With our limited time in the park, we choose to go hiking over horseback riding, but there are several rides you can take through the famous amphitheater section of the park.

Practical information for your trip

Where to stay when visiting Bryce Canyon National Park?

There are two main places to stay when visiting Bryce Canyon National Park. You can stay in Tropic, UT (about 10 miles from the park) or Bryce Canyon City, UT (about 1.3 miles away). We opted to stay in Bryce Canyon City to minimize the amount of travel back and forth. Lodging is extremely limited within the city.

We choose the Best Western Plus Bryce Canyon Grand hotel. They offered free breakfast (which turned out to be a really good idea since restaurants are so limited in the city), free parking and have a pool onsite. Air BNBs are extremely limited in the surrounding areas. If lodging is completely sold out, you’ll likely have to stay in Panguitch, UT, a town about 25 minutes away.

How to get to Bryce Canyon National Park?

Bryce Canyon is located about 4 hours south of Salt Lake City and 4 hours east of Las Vegas. You’ll need a rental car to visit where ever you decide to travel in from. There is a regional airport you can fly into in Cedar City, UT or St. George, UT, but its most likely cheaper and easier to fly into the larger airports. Plus, you can spend time in either Las Vegas or Salt Lake. We do recommend a quick stop in Kolob Canyon if you’re passing through the area. It’s a great way to break up the trip and not too far off the beaten path depending on your exact route of travel.

When is the best time to visit Bryce Canyon?

This is subjective depending on whether you prefer summer or winter activities, but the most popular time of year to visit is June through September. In the summer you can enjoy hiking, biking, horseback riding and generally pleasant temperatures. In the winter, you can enjoy snowshoeing, cross country skiing, winter hiking, less crowds, and unique photography opportunities. We visited in late June and enjoyed temperatures in the low to mid 70s. The temperatures were cooler in the morning but perfect conditions for hiking and not too hot in the late afternoons.

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