Bryce Canyon National Park + Tropic, Utah
- Catherine Cantu
- May 23
- 8 min read
Updated: May 27
For the second leg of our honeymoon, we drove over to Tropic, UT — the gateway town for Bryce Canyon National Park. We checked into our Airbnb at The Cottages at Bryce Canyon, which was super conveniently located and perfect for the 2 nights we stayed.
Bryce Canyon is one of the most unique parks I have ever visited — it’s famous for orange rock stacks and unique formations that fill a big basin. There's only one entrance/exit with an 18-mile north-to-south road, and the park is located on the eastern edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau. Believe it or not, frost-wedging and rainwater are two of the factors that largely contribute to Bryce Canyon’s unique formations — think slot canyons, hoodoos, and horseshoe shaped amphitheaters. The views from Upper Inspiration Point, Fairyland Point, and Bryce Point are sure to take your breath away. One of my photos from Bryce Point (below) is now the home screen on my laptop, and every time I login, I still can’t believe I took this picture myself. It's places like this that are so beautiful, they don't quite seem real to me.
After we unloaded the rental car, we drove into the park to do the Southern Scenic Drive. If you drive all the way to Rainbow Point, you can hit all the viewpoints on your way back towards the entrance because they’ll all be on your right. This is what we did, and we got out at as many as we could to snap a few pics and to take in some incredibly breathtaking views. We were racing the sunset, so I think we skipped a few, but I really loved Natural Bridge Viewpoint, so don't skip that one! The main park road is 18 miles long, but what is considered the Southern Scenic Drive is the 15 miles between Bryce Amphitheater to the end of the road, and there are 9 scenic viewpoints you can stop at (Rainbow + Yovimpa Points; Black Birch Canyon; Ponderosa Canyon; Agua Canyon; Natural Bridge; Farview + Piracy Points; & Swamp Canyon). Rainbow and Yovimpa Points are the highest viewpoints in the park.
It takes approximately 40 minutes to drive the Southern Scenic Drive, and fun fact - as you drive South, you are actually gaining elevation! It, of course, takes longer if you're stopping at all of the viewpoints to get out, walk around, etc. 2 hours would be a good amount of time to account for this activity. It looks like it took us about an hour and 15 minutes, but we were definitely rushing.
When we got back into town, we went in search of a place to eat dinner. We stumbled upon Showdowns Restaurant because it was very close to our Airbnb. The food was delicious, and there was live music on the night we visited. We really enjoyed this dinner spot. I got a strawberry smash to drink, and Alex and I split mozzarella sticks, a side salad, and chicen bacon alfredo penne pasta.
Showdowns is located at 80 S Main St., Tropic, UT 84776.
The next morning, we woke up extremely early to see if we could catch a sunrise. Ironically, we chose Sunset Point for our sunrise watching experience. You'll want to look up the time the sunrise is expected and arrive 30-60 minutes before that time to get the full experience. The sunrise was at 6:15 am on May 20, 2024 in Bryce Canyon, and my first photo from that morning is timestamped at 5:45 am. It was so chilly that morning, so make sure you look up the weather and dress appropriately. My husband definitely aborted at one point and waited in the car for me to finish taking my photos because he was cold. He's a trooper though for waking up so early with me and hanging out as long as I wanted to.
Once the sun was up, we decided to hit a spot we'd missed the day before - Inspiration Point. There are 3 levels here - lower, mid, and upper. To see all three, it's a short but steep walk to Upper Inspiration Point (0.6 mile out-and-back trail), and it is totally worth it. My husband skipped Upper Inspiration Point, but there was a lovely couple up there who offered to take my photo. They'd just watched the sunrise themselves and had posted up on a bench at this viewpoint to do so. They said it was stunning, so this is another location you could choose for sunrise.
I recently read that a couple climbed over the railing at Upper Inspiration Point and fell to their deaths. A tragic story but a reminder that railings and warning signs in national parks are there for a reason - please respect them - they are there for your safety.
After we went to Inspiration Point, we headed back into town for my morning coffee fix (necessary, I promise). I got a deliciously hot Irish Cream latte and a bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit from Bryce Canyon Coffee Co., located at 21 N Main St., Tropic, UT 84776. This was an excellent stop after such an early morning. This coffee shop is at Bryce Canyon Inn which looks like another lovely, charming lodging choice in Tropic.
After breakfast, we once again headed into the park for one of the main events of our day - our Bryce Canyon hike. We didn't spend too much time in Bryce Canyon, so we only did one real hike there - Queen's Garden Trail and Najavo Loop Combination Trail (Two Bridges side). When I tell you this might be one of my favorite hikes I've ever done in my life, I am not exaggerating, so if you've only got time for one hike there like us, choose this one. Every part of it was stunning. You'll descend into the Bryce Canyon Amphitheater, walk among hoodoos, encounter switchbacks, and spend your entire hike completely awestruck.
You can find the trailhead at either Sunrise or Sunset Point, and you can hike the trail from either direction. The NPS recommends you start at Sunrise Point at the Queen's Garden trailhead and hike in a clockwise direction for two reasons - less injuries occur when hiking the trail this way, and you don't lose the view below when you're descending into the canyon. We hiked the recommended route.
Along the trail, you'll see an option to walk an additional 0.1 mi section of trail that will lead to the Queen Victoria hoodoo. I recommend you do this!
You'll also come to a choice to hike either the Two Bridges side of Navajo Loop or the Wall Street side. Wall Street was closed due to rockfall during our visit and often closes for Winter. Last I saw, the Wall Street side is now open!
Check https://www.nps.gov/brca/planyourvisit/conditions.htm for current conditions and trail closures.
You will also have an excellent view of Thor's Hammer after you ascend the switchbacks on the Navajo Loop Trail.
Once you've finished the trail, you can walk an easy 0.5 mi of the Rim Trail back to where you started.
According to All Trails, this a 3 mile loop trail with 652 feet of elevation gain that's ranked as moderate in terms of difficulty. The estimated time it takes to hike the trail is 1 and a half hours. For reference, we started this hike around 10 in the morning and finished around 11:30 am, give or take a few minutes in either direction. I would hike this trail again tomorrow if I could - ugh, so dreamy.
We were famished after our hike, so we headed back into town for lunch and stopped at i.d.k. Barbecue. If you need a place to eat and love barbecue, make a point to stop in here and eat. We loved it. I recommend pork nachos + jalapeños, the meat plate with brisket and baked beans, and potato salad.
i.d.k. Barbecue is located at 161 N Main St., Tropic, UT 84776. On November 12, 2024, they posted on their Facebook that they were closing for the season. I am unsure if they re-opened, but they were open on May 20, 2024.
Our second big Bryce Canyon activity was horseback riding with Canyon Trail Rides. We booked their 1.5 - 2 hour trail ride at 2 pm. They request you arrive 30-minutes prior to the start time of your tour to get checked in and situated. The check-in point is at the horse corral in between the Lodge and Sunrise Point.
You will ride to the floor of Bryce Canyon, make a loop, and travel back up to the rim of the canyon. This is a seasonal activity, usually available from April - October. There was a mix of horses and mules to ride. I was put on a horse, and Alex was put on a mule. We didn't realize this until later when Alex had a pretty intense allergy attack. It was extremely windy, so I might suggest wearing something to cover your nose and mouth if you are prone to allergies. I faired fine, but my husband did not.
Our tour guide's name was Abby. We were at the back of the line, so we did have some difficulty hearing her because we had a decent sized group. Some of the fun facts I did catch were:
You won't find petroglyphs in Bryce Canyon because ancient Indians thought the park was haunted.
No wildfires have ever happened down in the canyon, but a lot of trees get struck by lightning because of the iron in the sediment. The area does flood a lot during storms, and you can see watermarks on some of the trees in the canyon.
The types of trees you'll find in the canyon are bristlecone trees and fir trees.
Some of the trail is narrow, and going up and down can be a little sketchy, but remember to trust your guides! Horses and mules are very sure-footed, and they do these tours often, so they're familiar with the routes. I do recommend wearing long pants, closed toe shoes, and sunglasses for this activity.
After our horseback riding adventure, we just went to two viewpoints we'd missed along the way - Bryce Point and Fairyland Point.
Our very last stop in Tropic was dinner at The Pizza Place, which was so delightful. The food was wonderful. I had a glass of Riesling, and Alex and I split buffalo boneless wings, a half and half supreme and margarita pizza, and a side salad. If you love pizza, I highly recommend a visit here.
The Pizza Place is located at 21 N Main St., Tropic, UT 84776.
There is an entrance fee for Bryce Canyon, and it is a cashless park. Visit the below link to discover what admission fee would best to suit your needs.
If you’re planning to visit more than two national parks in one year, you absolutely should buy an America the Beautiful Parks Pass. It’s $80 and gets you into so many different places for one year. You’ll need to order it ahead of time because a physical card will be shipped to you. You can purchase the pass at the link below. You can also find information about which sites it grants you access to and more on how it works. It’s totally the move if you’re roadtripping Utah’s Mighty Five as we were!
Bryce Canyon does offer a free (provided you've paid your park admission fee) shuttle service during their busy season. In 2025, the shuttle season is running through October 19th. We didn't utilize it, but if the park had been even a little busier than it was during our visit, we would have. Parking in popular areas can fill up quickly, so the park recommends checking out their shuttle! Shuttles are supposed to arrive at each stop every 15 minutes, so you shouldn't have to wait too long. They now have a live shuttle tracker that you can access here: https://brycecanyonshuttle.com/routes
A snippet of the shuttle route is below, and I've linked the NPS' Park Shuttle information page for Bryce Canyon which outlines the best places to park and hop on the shuttle!
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