5 Active Adventures In Bryce Canyon National Park
Did you know that Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah is actually not a canyon? Rather, it is a spectacular series of more than a dozen amphitheaters, each of which is carved at least 1,000 feet into the chromatic limestone.
Exploring its incomparable beauty can only be surpassed if you did it while on an adventure. Erosion has shaped colorful sandstones and mudstones into thousands of spires, fins, pinnacles and mazes.
The park is open 24/7 with minor exceptions depending on weather conditions in the winter.
Camping
Imagine waking up and the first thing you see are the hoodoos, tall rocky spires. It's a stunning view. But this is not all Bryce Canyon National Park offers. The park reaches 2,000 feet. At some point you may feel you are in a completely different park – there are separate ranges with spruce, Ponderosa and Pinyon pines. Some hiking trails can be easily handled by beginners. All sites in the two campgrounds are limited to 10 people.
Hiking
The Fairyland Loop is absolutely gorgeous, especially in the winter. Fairyland Point is where you will begin your hike on the Fairyland Loop Trail, which is quite strenuous. Bring your camera to capture the amazing views. Pass through gardens of spires and sculptures and hike along the rim of the canyon. Hike takes about 3 ½ hours to complete.
Bryce Canyon offers several day-hiking trails – the famous Rim Trail, Mossy Cave, Bristlecone Loop, Navajo Trail and Swamp Canyon. A few more difficult ones are Peek-A-Boo Loop and Riggs Spring Loop.
ATV and wildlife
Bryce ATV Rental offer all-terrain vehicle rental (ATV) to all riders who want to have fun and witness the superb beauty of the Paunsaugunt Plateau. The trails wind around the southern portion of the Plateau. You will ride through meadows, canyons, and forests of pine, fir, and spruce. The trails expand along Bryce Canyon National Park, where you have the opportunity to view antelope, deer, elk and turkey.
Rodeo
Bryce Canyon Country Rodeo is iconic. Ruby's Inn hosts the event Wednesday through Saturday, starting Memorial Day through mid- August. This is not a professional rodeo. They had bull riders, barrel racing, and cattle roping.
"We spent the night at the Best Western Grand right outside Bryce and they have a great little rodeo most nights," one reviewer wrote on TripAdvisor.
Biking
There is arguably no better way of experiencing the unique beauty and fresh air of the Bryce Canyon National Park than on a bike. There are so many different trails of dirt and paved roads you can follow, cyclists of all levels will be satisfied. You may even go up 9,000 feet in elevation.
Be sure to test your limits riding along the Cassidy Trail, which is almost 9 miles, the Tropic Reservoir dirt road system, which goes up and down every canyon on both sides of the west side of Tropic Reservoir, and Thunder Mountain Trail, the upper half of which is mainly through a thick forest of ponderosa pines, according to BryceCanyon.com.
More readings:
Things You Didn't Know About Bryce Canyon National Park But Should