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Utah, USA · North America · northern hemisphere
Bryce Canyon is at its best for hiking in May to June and September to October. Good but not prime in April, July, August and November. Crowds peak in June and bottom out in January.
| J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hiking | 13 | 16 | 42 | 61 | 89 | 92 | 74 | 74 | 92 | 88 | 60 | 16 |
| Crowds |
Swipe the table sideways for the rest of the year.
The rim is at 2,400m — 1,200m higher than Zion, ninety minutes away — which makes it pleasant in July when Zion is unbearable, and snowbound in a month when Zion is fine
Rim walking and steep switchback descents at altitude. No guide needed.
Underestimating the altitude. The climb back out of the amphitheatre is at 2,400m and people who walked down happily find the return much harder than expected.
May and June, then a second peak in September, and it never fills the way Zion does
The rim walk is flat and the views are immediate. The Queens Garden descent is the gentlest way into the hoodoos and is manageable for most children.
The lodge is the only hotel inside the park and books far ahead; North and Sunset campgrounds are the other way to stay inside. Tropic is fifteen minutes away and much cheaper; Panguitch is cheaper again and has the old main street.
At 2,400m the descents ice up and hold snow into April; microspikes are worth carrying in shoulder season.Jan · Feb · Mar · Dec
Kept out of the score on purpose. Averaging a rare catastrophe into a monthly number would tell you something false; the warning is the honest form.
Everything here starts on the rim and goes down, so the effort is at the end. Snow lingers on the descents into April and the trails ice up; microspikes are worth carrying in shoulder season.
0 is this destination’s own quietest month and 100 its busiest. The scale never compares one destination to another. Source: NPS BRCA