Tips for Grand Canyon, Zion Canyon and Bryce Canyon

I have been to Grand Canyon, Zion Canyon and Bryce Canyon many times, and there are some sights that most tourists miss. If you are going to these three canyons, which are all close enough to make that worthwhile, here are some tips for you.

The Grand Canyon sunset is a must see, but don’t leave your viewpoint too early. Once the sun descends over the west rim, it takes about 10 minutes before the afterglow begins. Then the canyon lights back up with fantastic colors even more vivid than when viewed during the day. I prefer to be at Mather Point to watch this phenomenon, but any of the viewing points will do. The afterglow will last from 10 to 15 minutes, and is light enough to take great pictures or videos.

Traveling from Zion to Bryce Canyon is usually accomplished by going out the east exit of Zion on Route 9 to Mount Carmel Junction and then turning north on Route 89 up to Route 12 and into Bryce Canyon. Because of that, many people miss the “other part of Zion,” the Kolob Canyon part.

Don’t miss the eastern exit and Checkerboard Mesa, but leave Zion Canyon by the west exit to Springdale and head over to I-15 turning north. Kolob Canyon is several miles up I-15, but well worth the detour. Allow at least two hours there, and then head back up I-15 to Cedar City and Route 14. Take 14 over to Route 148 and go up to Cedar Breaks, a bowl-shaped miniature of Bryce Canyon. Allow at least an hour to see it. Then you can go back to Route 14 over to Route 89 and go the rest of the way up to Bryce Canyon.

The best way to see Bryce Canyon if you are not up to hiking down into it is to drive all the way south to Rainbow Point and then all stops coming back are right-hand turns with no crossing of traffic lanes. Even for the hikers it is a good way to familiarize yourself with the trail opportunities.

Take these three tips and you will truly enjoy everything the canyons have to offer.

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Then you can go back to Route 14 over to Route 89 and go the rest of the way up to Bryce Canyon.

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Or you can take 143 to Panguitch.

How long would you take to see Bryce and Zion, with small hikes (not long ones)? We want to see them fairly well, but as part of a much longer road trip. Are there any skinny roads with big drop offs that we flatlanders might want to avoid? Thank you.

Hi Toni,

You can see all of Zion and Bryce Canyons within a long day, but you won't do any hiking except to overlooks and back to the parking lot. There are no "skinny roads" in these canyons, so don't worry about that. You might want to start out of Kanab, Utah and finish your day at Tropic, Utah, right below Bryce Canyon. Try to include the upper part of Zion, called the Kolob Canyons, too. They are up I-15 from Zion, but you can get there and then on to Bryce from there without any difficulty.

You could do the short hikes and all if you spend one day at each park. Trails in Bryce are especially neat.

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Originally Posted by Toni

How long would you take to see Bryce and Zion, with small hikes (not long ones)? We want to see them fairly well, but as part of a much longer road trip.

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Road Hawk has mentioned how quickly you could visit the parks but as for how long I would take to see them is another matter. I personally would spend at least 2 nights and a day and a half around Zion before heading to Bryce for the night and spending the best part [if not all] of the next day in the Canyon, but of course it all comes down to how much time you have and then how to make the best of it.

Springdale is a lovely town right on the doorstep of Zion and would make a good base if you are not staying in the park. Riverside walk is an easy paved walk to take a stroll along the Virgin river and Emerald pools and Weeping rock are a couple of the other popular walks. "Ruby's Inn" is the closest lodging to Bryce canyon and has plenty going on there and you can use the free and regular shuttle bus from there into the Canyon, as you can from Springdale into Zion.

If you head through the Mount Carmel tunnel towards Bryce be sure to spend a little time on Checkerboard Mesa and Red canyon on scenic 12 a short way from Bryce.

Any tips about The Canyon in December? Are any roads closed?

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

Roads to the North Rim are closed in December. The South Rim is open year round.

Don't see it mentioned elsewhere in the Forum, so I'll post it in here. Mt Carmel Junction Rd, AKA the road to the East entrance of Zion will be closed from 9 am - 4 pm every Monday through Friday from June 6th to October 28th. Which means the area east of the tunnel will be closed at those times, which means a couple of things.

1. If anyone wants to see Checkerboard Mesa, etc. the timing has to be planned out to avoid it.

2. Travelling from Zion to Bryce during that time will all but necessitate the trip up I-15 to Cedar City as Road Hawk mentioned. But I side with GLC about taking UT-143 to Panguitch from Cedar Breaks, now called the Patchwork Parkway, the newest scenic Byway in the US, just officially dedicated 3 days ago.

3. Anybody doing a Biking Road Trip will have to adjust their route entirely, as no Bikes will be allowed during the construction.

Details here

If you go to Zion, be sure to take time to walk "the Narrows"...

Twilight, Thanks for the news about the road closures in the park.

Mark

Thank you for the tips on the canyons. My wife and I are planning a trip in late September, early October this year and we will use your advice. We have about 4 days to do these two and would like to camp in one of them and travel to the other. We like to do day hikes of 1 to 4 hours. Which park and campground would you recommend that we stay in? We have a pop up camper.
Thanks,
Dick

Hello and welcome to the RTA forum !

Personally I would split your nights between the parks, perhaps spending 2.5 days at Zion and 1.5 at Bryce. The drive from one park to another and back again will be in the region of 6 hours, which to have quality time at both parks would mean travelling this route twice. Watchman campground at Zion is in a good location and you can catch the free shuttle bus into the canyon or town of Springdale, with just a short walk. Bryce has the "Sunset" and "North" campgrounds which you can check out on the respective nps sites. At the top of Bryce canyon, near to the entrance is Ruby's Inn, which has a campground, shops and restaurant. There is construction work going on along the Mt Carmel highway of which you can find details of in this thread.

Hi Dave,
Thank you for the info. We are taking your advice and staying in each park. Two other questions: 1) We are staying at Mathers Campground at the Grand Canyon. Is there a preferred loop to be on? and 2) We are traveling from northern Michigan. Is it worth it to take our bikes? We have comfort bikes, not mountain bikes.
Thanks,
Dick

Mather campground is set in woodland, and from memory I can't think of a particular loop that was any different to the others, but we were in a 30ft RV and was restricted to a smaller number of sites that we could fit into. It is only a short walk to the village area and rim.

I am not sure about the bikes, but the one thing I can say is that the parks have free shuttle bus services that run frequently to the main trailheads etc. Look on the nps.gov Website where you can find info on all the parks and campground info.