Introduction to Bryce Canyon National Park - Utah

This was the first day of our first visit to Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah. We spent a couple of hours getting acclimated and checking out the many viewpoints on the canyon rim. It is a beautiful place.

Bryce Point - Bryce Canyon National Park - Utah

After we got set up at our campground, we made our first drive into Bryce Canyon National Park. The entrance was only about a mile down the road, and the visitors center was a little less than three miles.  We stopped at the visitors center and watched the orientation movie as we usually do.

The main park road is 18 miles long with numerous overlooks down into Bryce Canyon.  With it getting late in the day, we didn't go very far and just started checking out some of the viewpoints.

Now, we have several friends that have told us they like Bryce Canyon better than Zion.  After personally seeing Zion and having wonderful experiences there, I was finding it a little hard to believe that Bryce could be better.

Well, our first stop was at Bryce Point ...

 

 

and Linda was immediately in love.

 

 

She's a huge fan of rock formations carved by nature, and Bryce certainly has its share of those.

 

 

It is magnificent.

 

 

Even with aching toes, Linda can't wait to get down in the canyon on the trails.

 

 

 

We made a quick stop at the Paria View ....

 

 

before moving on to Inspiration Point which has three viewpoints.

 

 

 

 

I huffed and puffed my way up the hill to "Upper" Inspiration Point for these photos.

 

 

 

And I took a little video while I was up there.

 

 

Next, we went to the very popular Sunset Point.  Shadows were already creeping over the hoodoos, but I got a couple of interesting shots.

 

 

In the next photo, you can see Upper Inspiraton Point in the top center.

 

 

Driving back toward the park entrance we saw prairie dogs, mule deer, and pronghorns.

We've only visited Bryce for a couple of hours, but it's already exceeding expectations.  It doesn't have the diversity of terrain or hiking opportunities of Zion, but it sure does have visual appeal.

This is our fourth of the five national parks in Utah, and they are all amazing. We're looking forward to exploring this one over the next few days.