Welcome to Bryce Canyon National Park; we hope you enjoy your stay. Bryce Canyon is a wonderful and unique place that can take years to explore, yet you can gain a glimpse of the park's special wonders in a short time.

You can explore the park in a variety of ways. Over 60 miles of trail offer many opportunities to seek solitude, photographic spots, or just to breathe in the clean air. Hike, backpack, take a horseback ride, drive to the viewpoints, or visit the historic Bryce Canyon Lodge.

We invite you to join the rangers on guided activities. These activities vary from the Rim Walk, which is wheelchair accessible, to the more strenuous Navajo Loop, which descends 521 feet to the floor of the canyon. Rangers discuss plants, animals, geology and history during the various walks and talks offered each day.

Have you gone out on a clear night and gazed up at the sky? Bryce Canyon's night skies are magnificent. The Milky Way stands out like a road across the sky. The clean air and lack of light pollution allow you to see millions of stars.

Moonlight, sunrise, sunset and even rain and snow storms each create different moods over the amphitheaters at Bryce Canyon, whose hoodoos are the result of millions of years of erosion. Differences in light can change their appearance in a matter of minutes. No time of day is the same.

Take time to ponder the wonders at Bryce Canyon National Park and enjoy the precious moments you spend here.

Fred J. Fagergren, Superintendent

Bryce Canyon Historical Information

Ebenezer and Mary Bryce

Ebenezer Bryce and his family came to the Paria Valley in 1875. An immigrant from Scottland, he was sent by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints because his skill as a carpenter would be useful in settling the area. Bryce built a road to the plateau top to retrieve firewood and timber. He also helped build an irrigation canal to raise crops and animals. Local people called the canyon with strange rock formations near Ebenezer's home "Bryce's Canyon." The Bryces moved to Arizona in 1880; to this day people continue to call this area Bryce Canyon.