![]() Lonely Planet contributors do not accept freebies in exchange for positive coverage. Jay Gentile traveled to Zion and Bryce Canyon national parks with assistance from Visit Utah. Zion National Park for surrounding towns, Bryce Canyon National Park for surrounding parks. Must-do nearby excursions include exploring the deep red sandstone arches of Red Canyon in Utah’s massive Dixie National Forest and navigating the highly photogenic multicolored mountains of Kodachrome Basin State Park. Still, the sheer variety of nature surrounding the more remote Bryce Canyon certainly makes up for it. The tiny hamlet of Bryce Canyon City is little more than a collection of a few shops and restaurants that, while pleasant, runs its course rather quickly. Bryce Canyon's gateway towns and nearby state parks The Zion area also features an abundance of lesser-known state parks located within an hour’s drive, including the criminally overlooked mini-Zion that is Snow Canyon State Park and the windswept desert landscapes of Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park. The town of Springdale just outside Zion is a classic national park town offering the full suite of amenities for travelers, with a wide range of accommodations and lively small-town restaurants brimming with local character. Our pick for Round 1īryce Canyon National Park for getting around, Zion National Park for landscape diversity.Ī road in Snow Canyon State Park in Utah © Jay Gentile / Lonely Planet Zion's gateway towns and nearby state parks Because of limited parking and to ease congestion, the park encourages visitors to take the optional shuttle bus service from April to mid-October, but travelers are allowed to drive through the park year round. Visitors enjoy panoramic cliffside vistas from 13 scenic overlooks along the 18-mile Bryce Canyon Scenic Drive. One of the country's most unique geologic landscapes is a rugged 56-sq-mile otherworldly universe marked by vibrant forested canyons and the world’s highest concentration of colorful rock spires known as hoodoos. The 8 best road trips in Utah Getting around Bryce Canyon National Park To stay at the in-park lodge, I recommend booking as far out as possible as reservations open 13 months in advance. As a popular park, lodging at Bryce Canyon can book up quickly. Most of the sights can be reached along the 6-mile Zion Canyon Scenic Drive, which is accessible only via a park-run shuttle bus from March to November. Bryce Canyon offers several lodging options inside the park as well as plenty of nearby hotels and campgrounds outside the park. One of the USA's most diverse parks, Zion National Park is a 229-sq-mile natural wonderland packed with gorgeous sandstone canyons and forested mountains in a landscape that varies from rivers to desert. During winter, hotel rooms are available in the park at the Sunset Hotel.Įxplore the park map to begin familiarizing yourself with the layout of this special place.Scout new ways to explore the planet's wildest places with our weekly newsletter delivered to your inbox. There are activities for everyone!īryce Canyon offers two campground sites (one in winter) and lodging is available at the Bryce Canyon Lodge during the summer season. Concessioner-provided horseback rides are another way to experience Bryce Canyon during the summer season. ![]() Ranger Program at the visitor information desk. Hiking trails explore the forests of the plateau, connect between viewpoints along the rim of the Bryce Amphitheater, and wander through the hoodoos below.ĭeepen your understanding of the park by attending a ranger program, whether it be a daily geology talk, rim walk, evening program, astronomy program, or full moon hike. Other viewpoints are found all along the park's 18-mile main road which travels from the park's only entrance in the north along the plateau rim to its highest elevations in the south (over 9,000 ft / 2,743 m). Between April and October a shuttle service is operated in this area of the park to reduce congestion. Perhaps every visitor to the park will spend at least some time marvelling at its four main viewpoints, all found within the first few miles of the park: Bryce Point, Inspiration Point, Sunset Point, and Sunrise Point. ![]() The most famous of these is the Bryce Amphitheater, which is filled with irregularly eroded spires of rocks called hoodoos. Bryce Canyon is not a single canyon, but a series of natural amphitheaters or bowls, carved into the edge of a high plateau.
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