Bryce Canyon National Park

Above, one of the ampitheaters of Bryce Canyon.  Can you spot Thor's Hammer and Queen Victoria?

Text and photos by Armand Vaquer

Summertime is here and if you are wondering what to do for rest and recreation, here's an idea for you to consider.

One of my favorite national parks to visit is Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah.

What is Bryce Canyon?

From the National Park Service's website on Bryce:

Bryce Canyon, famous for its worldly unique geology, consists of a series of horseshoe-shaped amphitheaters carved from the eastern edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau. The erosional force of frost-wedging and the dissolving power of rainwater have shaped the colorful limestone rock of the Claron Formation into bizarre shapes, including slot canyons, windows, fins, and spires called "hoodoos".

Bryce Canyon is not a canyon in the true sense of the word. As the above stated, Bryce is carved on the edges of a plateau.

If you are fond of rock formations and pine trees, Bryce Canyon is the place to visit. Occasionally, a summer thunderstorm will roll in and offer spectacular electrical shows over the park.

Bryce Canyon National Park is a long all-day drive from Los Angeles (the route from Los Angeles will take you through Las Vegas, Nevada). We generally would stay a few days in Zion National Park (another favorite) first and then move on for a few days to Bryce.

We've camped at Bryce Canyon and we've also stayed in a cabin at the Bryce Canyon Lodge (below). Speaking of the Bryce Canyon Lodge, they serve excellent meals there (if you don't feel like cooking). Organized tours of Bryce can be obtained at the Lodge as well as hiking on the canyon rim or inside the Bryce Canyon Ampitheater.

The Lodge has a bookstore as well as a gift shop to serve your souvenir needs.

Bryce Canyon offers horseback and mule rides during the spring, summer and fall seasons. The rides to choose from are 2-hour or 4-hour rides into Bryce Canyon Ampitheater and the Peek-A-Boo Loop trail. For reservations or information on trail rides, go to their website at www.canyonrides.com. For reservations, write or call Canyon Trail Rides, P.O. Box 128, Tropic, UT 84776, 435/679-8665.

The Bryce Canyon Visitor Center offers great programs and exibits on the park. At night, the park rangers will also put on a program at the campgrounds ampitheaters.

The website for Bryce Canyon National Park is at http://www.nps.gov/brca/.

Consider visiting Bryce Canyon National Park. You'll love it!