90 Minutes East of Zion: Bryce Canyon National Park Day Trip (Navajo Loop & Inspiration Point)

Look at a map of Southern Utah's 'Mighty 5' National Parks and you will see why Zion and Bryce Canyon are the ideal twin-park pairing: when you drive through the 1930 Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel and exit Zion's East Gate, Bryce Canyon National Park sits just 115 kilometres (72 miles / 1 hour 25 minutes) northeast along US-89 North and Scenic Byway 12. While Zion sits in a warm canyon at 1,200m, Bryce Canyon sits on a cool high rim at 2,400 to 2,778 metres, holding the largest concentration of irregular rock spires (hoodoos) on Earth.

How to See the Best of Bryce Canyon in One Day (4 to 6 Hours)

Unlike Zion, you can drive your own car to every viewpoint in Bryce Canyon all year (and from April to October, a free optional Bryce Canyon Shuttle also loops around the main amphitheatre viewpoints). Focus on the first 5 kilometres of the park road, the Bryce Amphitheatre, connecting four overlooks (easily paired with Day 3 of our Zion itinerary):

1. Stop 1, Sunrise Point & Sunset Point (800m Apart on the Flat Rim Trail): look down into a natural horseshoe bowl packed with thousands of 60-million-year-old pink, orange and white Claron limestone spires sculpted by 200 nights a year of freeze-thaw ice wedging.
2. Stop 2, The 'Navajo Loop + Queen's Garden Figure-8 Trail' (4.6 km / 2.9 Miles Total, 180m Climb, 2 to 2.5 Hours): walk down among the hoodoos clockwise from Sunset Point (past 45-metre Thor's Hammer), descending the tight switchbacks of the Navajo Loop through narrow 'Wall Street' (where 800-year-old Douglas firs grow out of a 60-metre slot chasm). Follow the canyon floor into the open spires and rock tunnels of the Queen's Garden Trail and climb the gentler grade back up to Sunrise Point.
3. Stop 3, Inspiration Point & Bryce Point (5 Mins South): drive to three-level Inspiration Point and 2,528-metre Bryce Point for the grandest wide-angle amphitheatre views in the park.