• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

By Root 3069 0

amphitheaters. Topics vary but may include such subjects as the animals and plants of the park, geology, and man's role in the park's early days. Rangers also give half-hour talks on similar subjects several times daily at various locations in the park. They also lead hikes and walks, including a moonlight hike (reservations required) and a wheelchair-accessible 1-hour canyon rim walk. Schedules are posted on bulletin boards at the visitor center, general store, campgrounds, and Bryce Canyon Lodge.

Once or twice a week, spring through fall, usually in the evening, a free talk is given on the patio of Bryce Canyon Lodge. Topics include lodge history, the geology of the area, and discussion of some trails. Check at the lodge for the current schedule.

Bryce Canyon Area Tours & Adventures (☎ 800/432-5383 or 435/834-5200; www.brycetours.com) offers 1½- to 2-hour tours year-round. They leave from Bryce Canyon Resort next to the shuttle parking area outside the park entrance, at the intersection of the park entrance road and Utah 12. A general tour, stopping at several viewpoints, costs $26 for adults, $12 for children 5 to 15, free for children under 5. Sunset and other specialized tours are also available.

For a bird's-eye view of the canyon and its numerous formations, contact Bryce Canyon Airlines & Helicopters (ask for the flight desk at Ruby's Inn, ☎ 866/866-6616 or 435/834-5341; www.rubysinn.com). Tours last from about 35 minutes to more than an hour; longer trips include surrounding attractions. Prices are about $70 per person, with discounts for families and groups.

Several national adventure tour operators offer guided biking, hiking, and backpacking trips near the park, and other companies offer more traditional tour packages. Operators offering a variety of classic or multisport tours of the area include Backroads (☎ 800/462-2848; www.backroads.com), Timberline Adventures (☎ 800/417-2453; www.timbertours.com), and The World Outdoors (☎ 800/488-8483; www.theworld outdoors.com).

Historic & Man-Made Attractions

Although American Indians and 19th-century pioneers spent some time in what is now Bryce Canyon National Park, they left little evidence. The park's main historic site is the handsome sandstone and ponderosa pine Bryce Canyon Lodge, built by the Union Pacific Railroad and opened in 1924. Much of it has been faithfully restored to its 1920s appearance.

Day Hikes

One of the wonderful things about Bryce Canyon is that you don't have to be an advanced backpacker to really get to know the park. But those looking for a challenge won't be disappointed either.

All trails below the rim have at least some steep grades, so you should wear hiking boots with a traction tread and good ankle support to avoid ankle injuries, the most common accidents in the park. During the hot summer months, you'll want to hike either early or late in the day, always keeping in mind that it gets hotter the deeper you go into the canyon. Bryce's rangers do not rate hiking trails by difficulty, saying that what is easy for one person may be difficult for another. Ratings here are provided by the authors and other experienced hikers, and are entirely subjective.

SHORTER TRAILS

Bristlecone Loop

1 mile RT. Easy. Access: Rainbow Point parking area at end of scenic drive.

An easy walk entirely above the canyon rim, this trail traverses a subalpine fir forest. Here you'll find more bristlecone pines than along the other park trails. It takes just 45 to 60 minutes to complete the loop, which has an elevation change of 100 feet.

Hat Shop Trail

3.8 miles RT. Strenuous. Access: Bryce Point Overlook.

This is a strenuous hike with a 900-foot elevation change. Leaving the rim, you'll drop quickly to the Hat Shop, so named because it consists of hard gray "hats" perched on narrow reddish-brown pedestals. The trail offers close-up views of gnarled ponderosa pine and Douglas fir, as well as distant panoramas across the Aquarius Plateau toward the Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument.