Bryce Canyon- Strange Scenery In The Grand Staircase
On a chilly Saturday morning in November, we set out to explore Bryce Canyon National Park. Bryce sits on the highest plateau in the area known as the Grand Staircase and is known for its countless hoodoos- irregular rock formations created by weathering to the sandstone over time. It is by far the strangest landscape we’ve seen so far.
As we drove into the park, it was nearly deserted. Most of the roads we intended to go down were closed due to winter weather. We hit a few dead ends before parking in the Sunset Point lot, planning to hike the 8-mile Fairyland Loop.
While most people went right to the famous viewpoint from the parking lot, we headed left toward the trailhead. We chose to do the Fairland Loop counterclockwise, more by chance than by choice, and we were glad we did. Immediately we started descending under the rim and amongst the hoodoos. The path became icy quickly, but thankfully, Andrew had ordered crampons just days earlier for this purpose. We quickly put them on our shoes and walked across the ice with no problem.
Bryce Canyon Winter Hike Tip: Throw some of these crampons in your pack. They don’t weigh much and are easy to slip on and off your shoes when encountering icy patches of trail. They were a life and time saver!
The trail continued to descend, and we began to worry about the trek back, knowing it must all be uphill. About a mile in, we came to a short spur that took us to a view of Tower Bridge. As we continued on, the trail started to creep back up in elevation. The views were non stop outstanding. It felt like we were on another planet!
We enjoyed the next section of the trail as it frequently changed in elevation, going uphill, then down. Keeping our heart rate up but giving us downhill breaks as soon as we felt like we needed one. It started to really feel like we were in a fairy tale.
Around five miles into the trail, we came to Fairyland Point, an excellent overview of the canyon and all the beautiful hoodoos we had just traversed. We had our lunch and quickly moved on as our bodies got cold from lack of movement.
The rest of the trail was along the rim of the canyon and was mostly uphill. It offered good views, but nothing like being within the hoodoos. As we came closer to the parking lot and lookout, we began to see more and more people. We were reminded that we were glad we chose this trail. Not only was it gorgeous, but the best part was that we barely saw anyone!
We took a few shots at the overlook and did the scenic drive before leaving the park, but nothing compared to our beautifully peaceful morning hike.
Don’t make our mistake: Check the weather before coming to Bryce Canyon. Because of the high elevation, it was much colder in Bryce than it was in Kanab. Luckily we packed a bunch of layers, but we were surprised by the chill in the air. We were expecting the day to start in the 30s and climb into the 50s. Instead, it hung in the low 30s all day!