At 9,000 feet elevation, there’s a good chance a January visit to Bryce National Park will provide snow. We were lucky that roads were open as well as most trails, and a sunny day made hiking comfortable.
Rim Trail view, Bryce National Park, Utah
One of the best trails anywhere is a loop along the edge of the cliff, and then down into the hoodoos on Queens Garden trail, and after a walk along the pines on the floor, back up on Navajo Trail.
Hoodoos on Queens Garden Trail
Another advantage of winter hiking, is that even when it is close to noon, the sun stays low in the southern sky, and you get nice light. On the hike, I said even when I look at the images later, I’ll say the colors couldn’t have been that intense. They were.
Sunburst on a hoodoo
Bryce has the largest concentration of hoodoos in the world. It is visiting a fairy tale world.
Bryce panorama view
Leaving the park required another stop to look park at the winter scene. Bryce is on the final level of the Colorado Plateau’s Grand Staircase. Climbing up from the Grand Canyon are the giant stairsteps of the Chocolate Cliffs, Vermilion Cliffs, White, Gray, and finally the Pink Cliffs in which Bryce sits.
Sevier River and the Pink Cliffs of Grand Staircase