One Day in Bryce Canyon National Park

Don’t let this simple itinerary for one day in Bryce Canyon fool you–this park packs a punch! Bryce Canyon was the fourth park out of Utah’s “Mighty 5” that we visited, so we had done a fair amount by this point. However, we were blown away by how unique each park was (especially how unique Bryce Canyon was), offering different landscapes to explore despite their relatively close proximity to each other. Definitely try to do all five if your time allows: Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Bryce, and Zion!

Getting There

Bryce Canyon is only a 2 hour drive from Torrey, Utah (where you most likely stayed as a base to hike in Canyonlands National Park). Or, if you’re coming from Zion, you’ll have about a 2 hour drive as well. Not bad!

Where To Stay

We stayed in the lodge at Bryce Canyon Pines which we were very happy with. It was about 10 minutes from the park and from where we went for dinner. I loved the decor and thought the bed was super comfortable–all you can ask for after a satisfying day on the trails!

I also have to recommend the spot we went to dinner 2 nights in a row. If you are a carnivore you have to try the food at IDK BBQ. Soooooo good! It looks like they are only open seasonly, so if your trip is in the wintertime you might be out of luck with this recommendation 🙁

Link: Bryce Canyon Pines

Link: IDK BBQ

One Day in Bryce Canyon: Our Itinerary

Like I mentioned before this was quite a simple day logistically. We did sunrise at a spot right next to where we started our big hike of the day. Then we did a bit of a scenic drive in the afternoon… and that was it. But we were super impressed by the beauty of this park and found ourselves stopping every 2 seconds to take a million photos. Absolutely stunning views all day long!

sunrise at either Sunrise Point or Sunset Point. Get there 30 minutes before sunrise. These 2 points are not super far from each other and offer similar views. We meant to do Sunrise Point but noticed we were actually at Sunset Point, and it was totally fine.
Navajo Trail: this will be your big hike for the day. Start at Sunset Point. Take a right towards Wall Street when the time comes. Then connect to Peek-a-Boo Loop. You will later connect to Queen Gardens to get back up to Sunrise Point, not far from where you started. This hike took us 3 hours and 45 minutes, but included the many times we stopped for photos along the way.
End your day doing the scenic drive (19 miles) at least 2 hours before sunset.
Early dinner at IDK BBQ then home to your comfy bed to relax!

The hike was challenging since you are going up and down in a canyon– you essentially have 3-4 hours of incline (tough in a doable way). We were very happy we brought so many layers because at some points we needed our sweaters and packable downs, but at other times, we were sweating in a t-shirt.