We love getting to visit the national parks in Utah. No matter how many times we visit, it’s always an awe inspiring experience! We find ourselves just looking around, taking in the views, mesmerized by the beauty of it all. When we visit Bryce and Zion National Parks, we tend to follow a similar itinerary each time, always taking the back way between the two parks. This time, Melody came along on the trip, we’re sharing some photos as well as our favorite spots and itinerary for Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks.
Drive Into Bryce Canyon National Park
Because we come in from the north, we start in Bryce. We’ll break off from I-15 at SR-20 then head towards SR-12 for a scenic drive through Red Canyon. At some point you get to drive through two small red rock arches, we always stop here for photos. Along SR-12 there is a also a nice bike path which we haven’t been on but hope to when the kiddos are a bit older.
Bryce Canyon National Park
Bryce is probably my favorite national park in Utah. (But shhh keep it a secret! Let the tourists keep going to Arches and Zion.) It’s at such a high elevation, it’s still cool(ish) in the summer. When we get in to Bryce our first stop is the picnic area in the North Campground for lunch. Our tradition is to eat spicy chip sandwiches (but I need a word with Doritos for discontinuing their Chile Verde chip flavor 😠). For some reason sandwiches always taste better in a national park!
After lunch we make our way up the canyon and stop at the overlooks along the way. We often have multiple generations and abilities with us and Bryce Canyon has a lot to offer even if you’re not big into hiking or able to walk far distances. Each overlook has something unique, even though you are looking into the same canyon. The overlooks are great all abilities areas! (Even little Melody handled them well!)
The Amphitheater at Bryce Canyon National Park
It’s name is deceiving, the Amphitheater is not a place where you are going to listen to music, it’s a place to see beautiful red rock formations called hoodoos. It’s a choose your own adventure type of place, if you will. You can choose a moderate hike into the Amphitheater, difficult hikes including tight switchbacks, or just stroll along the paved pathway at the top. No matter your choice, the Amphitheater is a must see. On this trip we decided the kids were ready to take on the switchbacks, Melody wasn’t quite ready, so she stayed behind. 😉 Our kiddos, ages 9 and 6, handled the hike so well!
We took the Navajo Loop Trail from Sunset Point going down the tightest switchbacks then up past Thor’s Hammer. In total it took us about 1.5 hours moving at a 6 year old’s pace. I promised him at the beginning of our day we’d find Thor’s Hammer and he did not let me forget!
Where to Stay Near Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks
We love staying in between Bryce and Zion on the east side of Zion. It’s very quiet and peaceful on the east side and the drive through the east entrance of Zion is so lovely. We’ve stayed at a couple of no frills cabins/campgrounds and they are just the right type of atmosphere for our National Parks trip. We’ve stayed at the Bryce Zion Campground (our fave) and Bryce Gateway Inn Cabins and both have been great experiences for us. Cabin type stays are perfect for us because we don’t have to load up all the camping gear, but it still has an outdoorsy feel. There are more fancy resorts and glamping type places popping up, if that’s more your thing. We’re all about doing it on the cheap though!
Visiting Zion National Park
We love driving in through the east entrance of Zion (or out depending on our direction). There is a huge tunnel through the red rocks that takes about 2 minutes to completely get through. We stop at the viewpoint at the bottom to admire what we just drove through. It is really quite impressive!
I love Zion, honestly I’m happy just to take the shuttle around and wonder at the high red rock canyon walls. But be prepared if you visit, it has gotten so popular, parking fills up fast and congestion can get bad. They can even turn away visitors on the busiest days. Arriving early is important! It is also so hot in the summer months (105 on the day we were there!). The heat was too much by noon. We didn’t have much time to visit on this trip. We were in by 8 AM and out by lunch.
After our drive in, we took the shuttle into the canyon (you cannot drive into this area of the park), stopped at the river to let the kids play, then headed back out. There are some amazing hikes, like the Narrows and Angel’s Landing but they are above our family’s abilities right now. One of our favorite family friendly spots, Weeping Rock has been closed due to a rock fall. We still love visiting Zion though and can’t wait until the littles are tall enough to take on the Narrows.
Sunshine and Hairbows 