Bryce National Park is spectacular at any time of year. Visiting however, during the winter is a truly unique experience!
During our visit, at times, the 18 mile scenic drive in Bryce Canyon felt abandoned! February in Bryce Canyon is a truly special time to visit. Absent are the hordes of visitors you’ll encounter in the warmer months. We both truly enjoyed this aspect of our visit! “We”, by the way, includes me and my winter 2025 travel bud and fellow explorer, Isaac. Overall, we were blessed to spend a total of three days exploring this amazing region.
Visiting Bryce at a quiet time of year gave us a chance to explore and truly commune with nature. While there were certainly other visitors present, it was nothing like my summer Yellowstone visits!
The 18 mile scenic drive itself has numerous overlooks you’ll want to check out as the views are BREATHTAKING. Temperatures were chilly and there was some snow present from prior storms. The weather and conditions did not hinder our explorations.
Bryce National Park – getting there
Geographically, Bryce National Park is situated in Southern Utah near Zion National Park. Driving through the east gate at Zion, you can reach Bryce Canyon in less than an hour. Parowan is also relatively nearby. Parowan and Painted Hills RV Resort served as my “home base” last winter. All my explorations, linked from this central post started out from there.
Spectacular Images Captured at the pullouts along the 18 Mile Scenic Drive
These photos are from both Isaac and myself. Farther into this post, I have separated his work and mine. I’d love your take on his photos as I believe he has a great perspective! *Take note: there is a pause button in the upper right corner of each image if you wish to spend some time on any individual image!
Agua Point 8900 ft.
Geology of Bryce Canyon
From the USGS, “Bryce Canyon is known for distinctive hoodoos, spires and towers that appear as forests of rock.” The USGS goes on to explain that this region reveals a history of deposition in an ancient inland sea. This was followed by lithification into solid rock, regional uplift and then erosion. What we see today in Bryce Canyon’s features is a spectacular example of nature at work. Of course, this work proceeded gradually over hundreds of millions of years!
Bryce National Park Hikes – and plenty of inspiring photos and videos to share
Queens Garden – Navajo Loop Trail
You can enjoy Bryce National Park via the Scenic Drive and stopping at the numerous pullouts. OR you can dive deep (as Isaac and I did) by doing several hikes over the course of our visit. Perhaps one of the most memorable was a 3+ mile/3 hour or so hike called the Queens Garden/Navajo Loop Trail. To start the hike, you descend into the Canyon. You’ll descend about 600 ft and eventually have to climb out! The trail allows you to explore the spires, hoodoos and towers “up close and personal.” Much of this hike is around 7000 ft. elevation – be ready for this if you’re a “flat-lander!”
As you view each of these slide shows, know that you can pause images. Our photos attempt to capture the grandeur of the area along with the natural features you’re immersed in as you hike along this large loop.
As I mentioned in my second Zion post, Isaac (in my opinion) has a very good “eye” when it comes to capturing great photos! YOU be the judge as here are Isaac’s photos taken along this hike…
Mossy Cave Trail
The Mossy Cave Trail is a “not to be missed” hike. It is relatively easy with little elevation change. You can limit this hike to less than a mile or extend it a bit as we did. It is actually a region to explore, rather than a strict trail that you must stick to.
As you review our photos and videos, you’ll gain a sense of what’s there, and what caught our attention. The Mossy Cave Trail is actually outside of Bryce National Park’s gated entrance. It is also situated about 500 – 1000 ft. below most of the other hikes.
As you view the images below, take note of how little snow is present and how we’re dressed. Its still late-February and we are close to 7000 ft elevation! The riverbed is nearly snow-free and the waterfall is almost dry. Our panoramas and videos show this as well. Even the “mossy cave” itself (recognized by the large “icicles”) is quite dry!
Isaac was busy taking photos as well! Here’s some of his best… (Oh and the first photo is actually sunset as captured at Ruby’s Inn – we were on our way to the hot tub and then dinner!
Other notable hikes included the Canyon Rim trail and the Bristlecone Loop Trail.
Note: Full resolution images are available for a small fee. Contact me to inquire. The full res images are about 4-5mb each; these images presented via my website are about 100kb. If I used the full res images here, the site would slow to a crawl!
Bryce Canyon National Park Panoramas – video clips that provide insight into our experiences within Bryce…
RV Lifestyle – and RV Ownership…
I’ve been on the road nearly 14 years now. I can’t imagine spending these years any other way – and I don’t see it ending anytime soon! If you have yet to get a camper – or – if you have one and are thinking of replacing it, please know that I offer a Concierge RV Buying and Selling Service. Think of me as a realtor who does this for RV’s (towables and motorhomes.) My goal is to assist you in obtaining the RIGHT camper at the BEST possible price. Essentially, I serve as a “guide by your side who also has your back.” This page details my service.
Bryce Canyon’s 18 Mile Scenic Drive
RV Travel and RV Camping Options Throughout the region
The roads leading to Bryce Canyon and the Scenic Drive are all quite RV friendly. I’d be hesitant to bring any camper over 35 ft. to the end of the scenic trail. This is especially true in the summer as traffic may make navigation difficult. As one would expect, there are numerous camping opportunities both within and outside the park. This includes the stretch between Zion and Bryce. Much of this stretch is along US 89, a road easily traveled by all, including big rigs.
As always, I use Allstays to seek out all the camping options. The image below depicts camping options within this region. A membership with Allstays will enable you to click on each campgrounds icon to access much more information. Allstays provides you with seasonal operating dates, relative costs, contact information, size of campers it can accomodate and more. Note: Allstays is best viewed via a laptop or iPad, but is also accessible on a cell phone.
EATS – a vital part of any RV travel and excursion – ESPECIALLY with Isaac!
In Mount Carmel, the Thunderbird restaurant is a solid choice. Be sure to check their schedule as I believe they’re closed on Wednesdays and Thursdays. In Glendale, Brinks Grill and Country Store is an all you can eat Mongolian BBQ. It’s EXCELLENT and reasonably priced. Isaac, who is built like an animal – and can eat like one had 5 (FIVE) servings of their outstanding food before he was finally satiated!
Another option in Bryce Canyon City is Rubys Inn. Rubys has a fast-food style diner, a dining room with a full dinner menu, and an all you can eat buffet breakfast. Isaac truly appreciated the “all you can eat” part! Rubys is only about 1 mile from the entrance to Bryce National Park. They also have motel rooms and an RV park. When Isaac and I visited, we stayed two nights in a motel room rather than move the trailer from Parowan. This gave us a “home base” right next to the National Park. Our (very affordable) winter rate also included the breakfast buffet, along with an indoor pool and hot tub. I believe RV guests are also allowed access to the pool and hot tub. Rates however as we approach summer are double or triple what we paid in February!
Recap of Bryce Canyon and Zion Canyon
To set a fairly comfortable pace, we spent the better part of 3 days hiking and exploring Zion. Each was a day trip from Parowan. We did not overnight for any of those excursions. For Bryce, we did stay over 2 nights (at Rubys Historic Inn.) This allowed us the afternoon on the first day to do some hiking and touring along the 18 mile scenic drive. We then a full day and another morning the day of departure exploring. On our departure day, we also explored outside of the National Park further. There are numerous spots worth exploring outside of the National Park boundaries. I will bring these to you in future posts!
Where I am now and what’s coming on RV Across America soon…
Short answer: I’m back on the road and traveling. I detail this a bit in my recent post titled “RV Life: On The Road (Again)“. At this very moment, I am in Emmett, Idaho having left Parowan just about one month ago. I’m chronicling everything I’m doing along the way as my travelogue here on RVAcrossAmerica.net continues to grow.
Many of the destinations I’ve overnighted at were my first time to visit. These included Echo Canyon State Park (including Cathedral Gorge and Piochet, Nv.), Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge (near Alamo, Nv.), Austin and Eureka, Nevada. Overviews about each coming soon!
A couple of spots, Goldfield and Elko (Nevada) are re-visits BUT in the case of Goldfield, I explored in MUCH greater depth than during my first visit in December 2020. I arrived in Elko on May 1st and stayed 4 nights primarily to do some shopping and get the camper checked for possible axle and wheel bearing issues. On my departure day, May 5th, I had the camper checked. Turns out the “whine” I was hearing was just brake dust! Thanks to Les Schwab, they did a full check and refused to charge me a dime!
I’m currently in Burley, Idaho, having left Emmett after a 10 day stay just north of the Boise metro region.
Need RV Accessories? I’ve “time tested” each one in my list here…
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