A Great National Park for Everyone
Written: Oct 24 '03
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Pros: The Beauty of the rock formations against the pines and the old fashioned 1930's facilities
Cons: Cold at night and TERRIBLE FIRE PITS!! Expensive resturaunts and hotels outside the park
The Bottom Line: It's a great place to see fun rock formations that are very unique to this region. The facilities and Ruby's make you feel like your back in another time too.
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| elise8414's Full Review: Bryce Canyon National Park |
My wife really wanted to see Utah's National Parks, so after 3 days at Zion we travelled north to Bryce. It took approximately 3 hours to travel to Bryce (and the views on the way were great). Utah is a very beautiful state.
We entered the Park and noticed right away that the temperature was cooler than Zion (much cooler!!!). Also Bryce is a pine forest with much more vegitation than Zion or Capital Reef. The elevation there at Bryce was very high and the evenings were very cold (especially in late Sept.)
We checked out both campgrounds (there being only 2 campgrounds there).
We ultimately chose the "North Campground" because it was close to the showers, general store and had more amenities. The Sunset Campground wasn't as close to the stores, lodge, etc.
My wife and I felt it would be better to be close to the bathrooms and not close to some steep hills that some of the campsite were on. We were in the back part of the campsite and near the road that goes to the store and showers. Every night was so beautiful with many stars and fragrant campfires.
Almost every other camper was from Germany or England. Apparently they love our Parks (especially Bryce).
Once you get past the main area for the "Hoodoos" (rock formation names) which is also called the Bryce Amphitheater, the main park road travels upward to some of the points to look over central Utah (which are beautiful)
However the main attraction and what you should spend most of your time on... is the Bryce Amphitheater. This is where you can touch and really get into (litterally) the rocks and feel like a big kid. If you do nothing else, hike the Navaho Trail. It is about a hour or so hike and incredible. The only problem is hiking back up (at the end of the hike). It is VERY steep and some young children won't be able to do this. One morning I got up before day break and took my video camera and my Nikon $3000 camera and did the hike alone (because my daughters wouldn't be able to hike it). I took alot of photos and talked to many friendly people. We all seemed to be having a blast... experiencing this incredible place.
My parents don't camp any more, and stayed in town at Ruby's. It was a big tourist trap, but for most who have never seen cowboys and covered wagons, it's alot of fun. It is also very expensive (lodging and especially food), so if you can bring food, you'll save some money. They even have a generic fast food restaurant for those who can't escape the city.
Ruby's also has indian teepees you can rent and sleep in. (among the pines). One night just before the sun went down and after visiting my parents in their hotel, we passed the teepees and there was people dressed up in indian costumes and riding through the camps. They had just come from the covered wagon dinner that Ruby's puts on. I wish we could have experienced that dinner, because I hear it is great.
We slept in a tent and had to make sure we had our thermals and down clothing on.
The one thing I hated was the fire pits. Most fire pits at the campgrounds were 4 foot tall BBQ's that we all used for fires. They were so small that I was tending fire and not sitting and enjoying the warmth that comes from a nice fire on cold nights. At most campgrounds they have round pits in the ground, but this is not how Bryce has many of their campgrounds.
The lodge, cabins and general stores were great! All of them looked like you were transported back to the 1930's and the style was alot of fun to see.
The bathrooms were some of the nicest I have ever seen at a campsite. They included outdoor large basins (to wash dishes in), water valves at almost every campsite, and heaters in the bathrooms. VERY NICE! All with a 1930's old fashioned charming style.
My wife and father went on a 2 hour horse ride and that was alot of fun.
I would advise anyone that is in the area or want to see interesting geology, visit Bryce. All of the Rangers at Zion and Bryce were very very nice and very helpful.
Bryce was not as grand as Zion or Yosemite but it was a great place to visit and get a real feel for the past!
Check out Bryce's website which is one of the best site of any National Park.
Recommended:
Yes
Best time to go: September-November
Recommended for: Anybody
Review Topic: Overview
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Epinions.com ID:
elise8414
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Reviews written: 4
Trusted by: 0 members
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