Bryce Canyon National Park

Day 8 of our road trip was a 2 hour drive from Zion National Park in Springdale, Utah to Bryce Canyon. We took the Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway and eventually we were on Scenic Byway 12 where we passed through Red Canyon. Red Canyon is part of Dixie National Forest and is gorgeous.

We got to our hotel, Best Western Plus, Historic Ruby’s Inn which is located just outside the entrance of Bryce Canyon National Park.

We checked into the hotel and because it was raining heavily, we just hung out in our room for a couple of hours. We stayed in the Elk Lodge at Ruby’s and were way across the parking lot from the main building.

Ruby’s Inn (the main building) is huge and has everything you can imagine. There’s Ruby’s Inn General Store, Cowboy’s Buffet and Steak Room, Western Gallery, Beauty Salon, 1 Hour Photo (you can get old time, western pictures done here), and a huge indoor pool. We had dinner and breakfast at the Cowboy’s Buffet and Steak Room and it was very good.

The rain finally stopped so we headed to Bryce Canyon National park which is about a 2 minute drive from Ruby’s Inn. We entered the park by using my America the Beautiful Pass. To read about the America the Beautiful Pass, click here.

We stopped at the Bryce Canyon Visitor Center where we checked out some maps of the park and I got my ink stamp for my National Park Passport Book. To read about the National Park Passport Book, click here.

There is a Bryce Canyon shuttle inside the park, but you can also drive private vehicles within the park and there’s plenty of parking. Our first stop was at Sunset Point and we got our first look at the amazing hoodoos.

We walked over to Sunrise Point for another amazing view.

2 popular trails start here at Sunrise Point; Queens Garden Trail and Navajo Loop Trail.

The Bryce Canyon Scenic Drive is 18 miles. It’s a nice drive and easy to get to all the viewpoints.

From Sunrise Point, we got back on the Bryce Canyon Scenic Drive and drove a couple of miles to Inspiration Point. At Inspiration Point, you have a great view of the Bryce Amphitheater.

The best view at Inspiration Point requires a steep, uphill 5 minute walk. It was definitely worth the walk.

After a brief stop at Fairyland Point, we headed back to the hotel. The next morning Tom and I drove back to the park to see some of the sights again before we had to get on the road for our next destination.

Leaving Bryce Canyon, we went back through Red Canyon on our way to Salt Lake City. The scenery in this part of Utah is just gorgeous. Our time exploring Bryce Canyon was cut short due to the heavy rain when we first arrived, but it was well worth visiting.