If you love red rock in thousands of different formations then Bryce National Park is the place for you. You can find Bryce National Park in southwestern Utah. Bryce Canyon is a collection of giant natural amphitheaters. The geological structures in Bryce are called Hoodoos which are formed by frost weathering and erosion from the stream of the river and lake bed. Bryce National Park is several established and marked trails that are fun to hike. Of course some of the hikes are longer and more difficult than others, but all of the trails have beautiful views.
You can see beautiful panoramic views from the road if you don’t like to or can’t hike but if you want to see Bryce Canyon up close you are going to have to take at least one hike. There are many look out points along the road. You can drive around the Park in a day easy. I enjoy the gorgeous scenery in the winter when there is snow in the Park. Bryce does get some snow, but not a ton and Bryce is open year round 24/7. The visitors center and fee booths are closed on Christmas Day but the roads are open should you want to visit then.
Zion National Park is another park that is not too far away from Bryce Canyon. Zion doesn’t have a lot of red rock like Bryce does but it has more water with lovely rivers and pools you can hike to, streams and more hiking trails. You can’t drive around Zions National Park like you used to be able to. You have to take a shuttle around inside the park, which in my opinion is kind of nice because I don’t have to worry about watching the road and I can see the scenery because I’m not driving.
The shuttle runs March through October, other times of the year you can drive inside the park. My favorite hike in Zion’s is The Narrows Trails. The hike is relatively short and has a paved trail so that you could even take a wheelchair on the trail if you wanted to. The trail is very flat and goes along the river the whole way and the end of the trail is where The Narrows begins. You can see The Narrows best if you get in the water and walk on the very shallows rocks but you don’t have to. Have fun in Utah
If you like this list, you may also like these:
Bryce National Park, Utah
1. Pine Trees at Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
Click here to find more information and reviews about Bryce National Park
2. Tunnel on Queen’s Garden Trail – Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
Click here to find more information and reviews about Queen’s Garden Trail
3. The Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah
Click here to find more information and reviews about Bryce National Park
4. Hoodoos at Sunset – From Amphitheater Point in Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
Click here to find more information and reviews about Bryce National Park
5. Hoodoos on Mossy Creek Trail in Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
Click here to find more information and reviews about Mossy Cave Trail
6. Thor’s Hammer – Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
Click here to find more information and reviews about Thor’s Hammer
7. Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
Click here to find more information and reviews about Bryce National Park
8. Tree Firmly Rooted on Canyon’s Edge – Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
Click here to find more information and reviews about Bryce National Park
9. Navajo Trail, Sunset Point – Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
Click here to find more information and reviews about Navajo Trail
10. Thor’s Hammer Covered in Snow – Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
Click here to find more information and reviews about Thor’s Hammer
11. Natural Bridge Point in Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
Click here to find more information and reviews about Natural Bridge
12. Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
Click here to find more information and reviews about Bryce National Park
13. Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
Click here to find more information and reviews about Bryce National Park
14. Vista of Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah
Click here to find more information and reviews about Bryce National Park
Zion National Park, Utah
15 . North Fork Virgin River as seen from Emerald Pool trail – Zion National Park, Utah
Click here to find more information and reviews about Emerald Pool
16. Waterfall at Weeping Rock – Zion National Park, Utah
Click here to find more information and reviews about Weeping Rock Trail
17. Slot Canyon in Zion National Park, Utah
Click here to find more information and reviews about Zion National Park
18. Jumping Tree or Jerky tree – Zion National Park, Utah
Click here to find more information and reviews about Zion National Park
19. Wall Street in The Narrows – Zion National Park, Utah
Click here to find more information and reviews about The Narrows
20. The Narrows – Zion National Park
Click here to find more information and reviews about The Narrows
21. Slot canyon called The Subway in Zion National Park, Utah
Click here to find more information and reviews about The Subway
22. Kolob Canyon – Northwestern Part of Zion National Park
Click here to find more information and reviews about Kolob Canyon
23. Virgin River Narrows – The Narrows in Zion National Park
Click here to find more information and reviews about The Narrows
24. Desert Big Horn Ram Sheep – Zion National Park
Click here to find more information and reviews about Zion National Park
25. The Watchman – Zion National Park, Utah
Click here to find more information and reviews about Watchman Trail
The photography is truly breathtaking, it’s an honor and pleasure to stare at it on the screen.
Thanks for the nice comment!
Hello Rebecca,
I really enjoyed looking at these photos and comments.
My husband and I plan to visit Zion and Bryce Canyons next year. As we are both well into our 70s hiking the trails is not an option and we will use the shuttle buses within the park. However, I have looked at countless pages and photos which all state that the only way to see the best views is by hiking. I am therefore wondering if this much anticipated trip is going to be a disappointing let down for us and we will not get to see any of the stunning views at the viewing platforms.
I would welcome your comments about this.
Kind regards
Sandra (Melbourne, Australia)
You can see quite a bit driving around. I always think the tunnel in Zions is pretty cool (it’s about a mile long) and the shuttle drives you around and you can see quite a bit from the road. Since we’ve always hiked, I don’t feel as useful to you, so I found some other people’s opinions here – https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g143057-i1449-k7446225-Can_non_hikers_see_much_in_Zion-Zion_National_Park_Utah.html and https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g143057-i1449-k10369920-Zion_without_hiking-Zion_National_Park_Utah.html and https://www.annualadventure.com/utah-national-parks-guide-non-hikers/
Hi. My husband and I visited Bryce, Zion, Arches, Canyonlands, Grand Canyon, Albuquerque Balloon Festival etc, etc. on a 21 day tour, which I planned, of the Southwest. We just turned 70 and I have foot problems so could do very little ‘”hiking”. You definitely will not be disappointed. The scenery is stunning …so different from the East (We were born in DE, lived in RI and PA most of our life, retired now to NC). I did not check Rebecca’s references, but I researched a lot of info on Pinterest and the Internet. We drove the main road in both Zion and Bryce and stopped at various viewpoints … the same with Grand Canyon (but we also did an all day Venture tour there which was wonderful). There are so many things to do in the Southwest … I am grateful to have just scratched the surface. I am sure you will enjoy your trip.
Thank you for posting these photos. It is nice to see the parks from another angle! After three weeks visiting just about a many sites, I only wish we could have spent a week or more in each location. The area is stunning!
So true! I just love the area. So much to see and do. My husband and son recently went to Goblin Valley and loved that too. I’ll have to gets pictures of that up soon. Have you been there?
You pictures are stunning! Thank you for sharing. Have been to Zion and Bryce last October 2017. It was really an awesome experience. Continue to take great pictures. God bless! 🙂
It’s such a beautiful place and I bet that was a good time of the year to visit. Thanks for commenting!