Frommer’s EasyGuide to Bryce Canyon National Park

By Mary Brown Malouf

For more than 60 years, Frommer’s’ guides have cut through the noise and hyperbole to deliver what no other books can: Honest talk, frank advice, concisely written with affectionate insider’s secrets to appreciating and affording vacations around the world. The insider in this case is Mary Brown Malouf, a longtime resident of Utah and a noted travel journalist (she’s the Editor In Chief of Salt Lake City magazine). So don’t travel like a mere tourist―get off the beaten path and discover the full experiences of Utah and the wonders of the American Southwest. Whether your budget is large or tight, Frommer’s shows you Utah like a local.

This book includes:
• Detailed maps
• Insider advice on how to best experience the natural wonders (trails, scenic viewpoints and more) of Bryce Canyon, Kodachrome Basin and Grand Escalante National Monument
• Exact pricing, so there’s never any guessing
• Star ratings to make it easy to see what’s worth your time and what can be skipped
• In depth discussions of Utah's first inhabitants, Native Americans, and its unique pioneer history
• Accurate, up-to-date info on transportation, useful websites, costs, telephone numbers, and more

• Language: English
• Publisher: FrommerMedia
• Release date: Jun 16, 2020
• ISBN: 9781628875393

Book preview

Frommer’s Star Ratings System

Every hotel, restaurant, and attraction listed in this guide has been ranked for quality and value. Here’s what the stars mean:

AN IMPORTANT NOTE

The world is a dynamic place. Hotels change ownership, restaurants hike their prices, museums alter their opening hours, and buses and trains change their routings. And all of this can occur in the several months after our authors have visited, inspected, and written about these hotels, restaurants, museums, and transportation services. Though we have made valiant efforts to keep all our information fresh and up-to-date, some few changes can inevitably occur in the periods before a revised edition of this guidebook is published. So please bear with us if a tiny number of the details in this book have changed. Please also note that we have no responsibility or liability for any inaccuracy or errors or omissions, or for inconvenience, loss, damage, or expenses suffered by anyone as a result of assertions in this guide.

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Salt Lake Temple, Salt Lake City.

CONTENTS

About the Author

1bryce canyon national Park

Kodachrome Basin

Grand Staircase-Escalante

2utah in Depth

3Planning Your Trip to utah

4the active vacation planner

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Slot canyon in Grand Staircase- Escalante National Park.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A degree in Latin and a teenage summer in Greece and Turkey gave Mary Brown Malouf a love of language and a taste for culinary travel—she’s been to India, Nepal, Britain, Botswana, Mexico, and all over the United States. Currently Executive Editor of Salt Lake magazine, she is excited to be writing about the culture and incredible scenery of Utah.

Dedication

Dedicated to the memory of Glen Warchol, who showed me everything.

ABOUT THE FROMMER TRAVEL GUIDES

For most of the past 50 years, Frommer’s has been the leading series of travel guides in North America, accounting for as many as 24% of all guidebooks sold. I think I know why.

Though we hope our books are entertaining, we nevertheless deal with travel in a serious fashion. Our guidebooks have never looked on such journeys as a mere recreation, but as a far more important human function, a time of learning and introspection, an essential part of a civilized life. We stress the culture, lifestyle, history, and beliefs of the destinations we cover, and urge our readers to seek out people and new ideas as the chief rewards of travel.

We have never shied from controversy. We have, from the beginning, encouraged our authors to be intensely judgmental, critical—both pro and con—in their comments, and wholly independent. Our only clients are our readers, and we have triggered the ire of countless prominent sorts, from a tourist newspaper we called practically worthless (it unsuccessfully sued us) to the many rip-offs we’ve condemned.

And because we believe that travel should be available to everyone regardless of their incomes, we have always been cost-conscious at every level of expenditure. Though we have broadened our recommendations beyond the budget category, we insist that every lodging we include be sensibly priced. We use every form of media to assist our readers, and are particularly proud of our feisty daily website, the award-winning Frommers.com.

I have high hopes for the future of Frommer’s. May these guidebooks, in all the years ahead, continue to reflect the joy of travel and the freedom that travel represents. May they always pursue a cost-conscious path, so that people of all incomes can enjoy the rewards of travel. And may they create, for both the traveler and the persons among whom we travel, a community of friends, where all human beings live in harmony and peace.

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Arthur Frommer

1

Bryce Canyon National Park

‘H oodoo’ means voodoo unless you’re in Bryce Canyon—‘fairy chimney’ or ‘earth pyramid’ are other names for the otherworldly rock spires rising from the canyon floor. And the names don’t lie. There is something bewitching about these geological wonders. Bryce Canyon Black-Star3_bstar3.jpg is a place full of magic, inspiration, and spectacular beauty. These silent rock sentinels invite your imagination to run wild.

Geologically speaking, hoodoos are simply pinnacles of rock, often oddly shaped, left standing after millions of years of water and wind have eroded the surrounding rock. But how much more fun to believe the Paiute legend. These American Indians, who lived in the area for several hundred years before being forced out by Anglo pioneers, told of Legend People who once lived here; because of their evil ways, they were turned to stone by the powerful Coyote and even today remain frozen in time.

Whatever the cause, mythical or scientific, Bryce Canyon is certainly unique. Its intricate and often whimsical formations are on a more human scale than the impressive rocks seen at Zion, Capitol Reef, and Canyonlands national parks. Bryce is inviting in its beauty; by gazing over the rim, or spending even just one morning on the trail, you will feel you’re on intimate terms with the park.

Besides the attention-grabbing hoodoos, you’ll notice deep amphitheaters, with cliffs, windows, and arches, all colored in Utah’s signature shades of red. Bryce holds three separate life zones at the various elevations in the park, each with its own unique vegetation, and a kingdom of animals, from the busy chipmunks and ground squirrels to the stately mule deer and its archenemy, the mountain lion.

Human exploration of the Bryce area likely began with the Paiute. It’s possible that trappers, prospectors, and early Mormon scouts visited here in the early to mid-1800s before Major John Wesley Powell conducted the first thorough survey of the region in the early 1870s. Shortly after Powell’s exploration, Mormon pioneer Ebenezer Bryce and his wife, Mary, moved to the area and tried raising cattle. Although they stayed only a few years before moving on to Arizona, Bryce left behind his name and his oft-quoted description of the canyon as a helluva place to lose a cow.

Essentials

Getting There

By Plane   Bryce Canyon Airport (Airport Code BCE; www.brycecanyonairport.com; Black-Phone_bphone.jpg

 

435/834-5239

), at 7,586 feet of elevation, is located several miles from the park entrance on Utah 12, and has a 7,400-foot lighted runway. There is no regularly scheduled airline service, but charter service is available from Bryce Canyon Airlines (www.rubysinn.com/scenic-flights; Black-Phone_bphone.jpg

 

435/834-8060

). The airport offers free shuttle service to local motels and car rentals are available from Hertz (www.hertz.com; Black-Phone_bphone.jpg

 

800/654-3131

), which is located at the Chevron service station in the Ruby’s Inn complex.

You can also fly into St. George (130 miles southwest of the park on I-15) or Cedar City (also on I-15, about 80 miles west of the park), and rent a car (see chapter 9).

From St. George, travel north on I-15 10 miles to exit 16, then head east on Utah 9 for 63 miles to U.S. 89, north 44 miles to Utah 12, and east 13 miles to the park entrance road. The entrance station and visitor center are just 3 miles south of Utah 12. From Cedar City (I-15 exits 57, 59, and 62), take Utah 14 west 41 miles to its intersection with U.S. 89, and follow U.S. 89 north 21 miles to Utah 12, then east 17 miles to the park entrance road.

Situated in the mountains of southern Utah, the park is traversed east to west by Utah 12, with the bulk of the park, including the visitor center, accessible via Utah 63, which branches off from Utah 12 and goes south into the heart of the park. Utah 89 runs north-south west of the park, and Utah 12 heads east to Tropic and Escalante.

From Salt Lake City, it’s approximately 240 miles to the park. Take I-15 south about 200 miles to exit 95, head east 13 miles on Utah 20, south on U.S. 89 for 17 miles to Utah 12, and east on Utah 12 for 13 miles to the park entrance road.

From Capitol Reef National Park, take Utah 24 west 10 miles to Torrey, and turn southwest onto Scenic Highway Utah 12 (through Boulder and Escalante) for about 110 miles, until you reach the park entrance road.

Bryce is 83 miles east of Zion National Park and 250 miles northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada.

Bryce Canyon National Park

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Getting Around   To alleviate congestion along the park’s only road, please take the optional free shuttle. The $35 car entrance fee (or $20 individual entrance) to Bryce Canyon entitles you to unlimited use of the Bryce Canyon Shuttle buses. Service is in effect from early May to early October, daily from 8am until 6pm Visitors can park their