Bryce Canyon & Zion National Parks

Bryce Canyon & Zion National Parks

I’m back from Utah! I had a great few days with my family hiking around a bunch of parks.

Day 1: Dixie National Forest, Cedar Breaks National Monument, and Bryce Canyon National Park

We were able to catch some brilliant foliage (lots of fiery yellows and oranges) driving through Dixie National Forest on the way to Cedar Breaks Monument. We got out to see the viewpoint at Cedar Breaks, but it was a brief stop because it was 40s and we were shivering!

We spent the bulk of the day at Bryce Canyon and did the Queens/Navajo Combo Loop, Bristlecone Loop, and the Mossy Cave Trail (but somehow we could not find the cave). I saw and learned about hoodoos, which are those spire-looking rock formations. The reddish rocks are limestone with iron oxide deposits, and they’re capped with harder, gray dolomitic limestone. Over time, the softer rock below gets eroded away, but the harder rock layer above protects it, resulting in interesting column shapes all over the park.

Days 2 & 3: Zion National Park

We did a few hikes in Zion, but the most exciting was Angel’s Landing. It was pretty crowded at the top despite starting at the trailhead before 9am, but the view lived up to the hype. I definitely was sore for a few days after that one.

We also did the Watchman trail, Riverside Walk to the entrance of The Narrows, and part of the Sand Bench Trail that led up to the Patriarchs, which were all very chill and easy.

Day 4: Valley of Fire State Park (Nevada)

After staying in St George on our last evening, then we headed to Las Vegas to catch our flight home, but not before a short trek in the Mojave Desert! Most of the trails were closed because it’s too hot, but we did get to see some cool petroglyphs, and we even saw a bighorn sheep. I thought it was the same kind of bighorn sheep I saw in Glacier, but those were mountain bighorn sheep, and the ones in the Valley of Fire are the desert variety.