Bryce Canyon National Park

Why this park

Bryce Canyon is not a canyon but a series of natural amphitheatres on the edge of a high plateau, filled with thousands of hoodoos: jagged orange, pink and white rock spires that seem to glow at sunrise. The park is compact — one 29-kilometre road along the rim with viewpoints — and sits less than two hours from Zion, on the classic Highway 12 towards Capitol Reef. The altitude is the surprise: the rim lies between 2,400 and 2,700 metres.

For an RV trip, Bryce is a compact, rewarding stop: one night is enough for a sunset on the rim, a night sky among the darkest in the country and a morning walk among the hoodoos before you drive on. The two campgrounds are within walking distance of the rim and the visitor centre, and the free shuttle serves the amphitheatre viewpoints, so the RV stays put. It is the kind of park where kids give the rocks names — a fairy-tale city, they usually say.

With kids

The Rim Trail between Sunset Point and Sunrise Point is flat, partly paved and about a kilometre long: the best view for the least effort, stroller included. If you want to walk among the hoodoos, the Queen's Garden Trail from Sunrise Point is the gentlest descent into the amphitheatre; combine it with the Navajo Loop from Sunset Point for a circuit of around five kilometres with the famous switchbacks of Wall Street — steep uphill at the end, so allow time and breaks with small children. Pick up the Junior Ranger booklet at the visitor centre; in summer there are ranger walks and evening programmes. Bryce is an International Dark Sky Park: the rangers' astronomy programmes are a highlight, and with no moon you see the Milky Way from your campsite.

Think about altitude and cold. At 2,500 metres the sun is fierce, everyone breathes harder and nights can drop below zero even in June and September; in May and October there is sometimes snow on the trails. Pack hats, warm sleeping bags and layers, get kids drinking extra and keep the first hike short. Among the hoodoos there are hardly any railings and the edge is steep: small children by the hand at the viewpoints. Afternoon thunderstorms are normal in July and August — start early and be back on the rim when the clouds build.

Camping and reservations

The park has two campgrounds, North Campground by the visitor centre and Sunset Campground by Sunset Point, both without hookups but with a dump station and drinking water in season. In high season a large share of the sites can be reserved via Recreation.gov and a share stays first-come, first-served; out of season North Campground usually works entirely without reservations. The maximum vehicle length is listed per site and sites for long RVs are limited — filter on that when searching.

Check on Recreation.gov how far ahead the reservable sites for your dates are released and book on that day; summer weekends and the autumn school holidays fill fast. If you come without a reservation, be there early in the morning as departing campers free up sites. Right outside the entrance, Bryce Canyon City has large RV parks with full hookups on the shuttle route — a fine alternative, also if you are driving a big vehicle. Further away are Red Canyon in Dixie National Forest along Highway 12 and Kodachrome Basin State Park, half an hour to the east.

Driving an RV

The main road through the park is paved with no tunnels or height restrictions; what counts is parking space. The amphitheatre viewpoints have tight car parks that are full in the middle of the day, and a few of the southern viewpoints have restrictions for trailers and long vehicles — check the current rules on nps.gov. In season (roughly April through October) the free Bryce Canyon Shuttle runs from Bryce Canyon City and the visitor centre to the main points; leave the RV at the campground and hop on. On Highway 12 towards Bryce you drive through the two rock arches of Red Canyon; they are fine for normal RVs, but look at the posted clearance if you have an exceptionally tall vehicle.

Frequently asked questions