Bryce Canyon is an amazing place to go visit and, with it being open 365 days a year.  It seems like a perfect place to go see for most people.  However, it’s not a place for everyone to visit any day of the year.  There is a definite season to visit this national park.  Since I live nearby and have a decent idea of the weather and locale, I feel like this is a good question for me to answer.  So, today, we discuss when is a good time to visit Bryce Canyon National Park.

I’m going to start off this article by saying that when you visit Bryce Canyon is entirely up to you.  No one’s going to be forcing you to visit at a certain time (or even at all).  However, there are better and worse windows of time for everyone based on where they are in their lives.  I’ll be breaking things down and giving you a general picture so that YOU can choose when the best time is for you to visit the park yourself.

Bryce Canyon on the Map

First, let’s set the scene of Bryce Canyon’s location on the map.  Its location and its elevation have a lot of bearing on when a good time for you to visit the area is.  A good traditional paper or internet map will help out in the area.

Bryce Canyon National Park is situated in the southern Utah desert right in the middle of the geologic formation known as the “Grand Staircase” and the park is off the beaten path of any local interstate highways.  The closest interstate is I-15 which is a good 1.5 hours away.  The park itself is reached from several different directions, 2 of which connect into interstate highways:

• I-15 to Highway 20 off exit 95, then Highway 89, then Scenic Byway 12 to Bryce Canyon (approximately 64 miles and 1.5 hours).
• 1-70 to Main Street off exit 40, then Highway 118, which becomes Highway 119, then State Route 24, then John’s Valley Road which becomes Highway 62, then Highway 22 to Bryce Canyon (approximately 92 miles and 1.75 hours).

There are other routes into the park but those don’t connect into interstate highways anywhere close.  Those routes are are over minor state highways or even city level roads.  These routes can even pass over state lines.

The reason I discuss how to get to Bryce Canyon is because of the terrain you must pass through in order to reach the park.  Highway 20 has a steep mountain pass which can be dangerous during the winter.  The longer route from I-70 through the town of Antimony is much less dangerous, but it’s also a much longer route to follow.

Another point is that Bryce Canyon is anywhere from approximately 8,000 feet above sea level to pushing 10,000 feet above sea level at Rainbow Point.  This is high elevation and can add to your difficulties in visiting the park if unfamiliar with handling snow (bring tire chains if you don’t know what you are doing).

Visiting by Seasons

I’ll be breaking general conditions down by season as best as I can as Bryce Canyon is open year round but much of the surrounding area is not.  Please keep in mind that deer on the road are a hazard no matter what time of year you visit and cell phone reception is spotty at best in the area due to terrain.

Springtime

Accommodations/Food/Entertainment

• Many hotels and restaurants are closed for the early spring (March) and start opening back up somewhere between mid-March and April.
• Hotels (once open for the season) are usually available for booking at reasonably cheap rates.
• Restaurants, namely American diner and barbecue fare (with rare exceptions), usually have available seating.
• Live evening shows aren’t really available yet for most of the season but may start up in April or May depending upon scheduling.
• Daytime and evening events for extra entertainment start picking up in May.

Weather and Park Conditions

• Temperatures are warming up but weather is still unpredictable as it can snow or rain anytime.
• The national park isn’t usually packed but the rangers may block off icy or wet trails and trails under repair.  Higher elevation trails and viewpoints might not be open to the public until later in the season due to these kinds of conditions.
• The national park isn’t as pretty early in the season but starts improving with flowers blooming and green trees budding much later in spring.

Summertime

Accommodations/Food/Entertainment

• All hotels and restaurants which will be open for the season are open.
• Hotel booking rates become much more expensive and start filling up for weeks to months out.  During the bigger events, all the local hotels are often completely full.
• Restaurants fill up and can even have lines (at the more popular restaurants) during regular dining hours.
• Live shows are available but generally limited to live country music or rodeos.
• Reservations for daytime entertainment (such as horseback rides, ATV rides, and helicopter/plane rides) fill up fast so plan and book those before you come.
• There are events of all kinds scheduled for almost every weekend from the national park and the surrounding communities.  The most popular of which include Panguitch’s Balloonfest in June and the Bryce Canyon Half-Marathon in July.

Weather and Park Conditions

• The weather is hot and much more predictable until mid-July to August when daily afternoon rain showers start (referred to as monsoon season).
• Slot canyons (which Bryce Canyon has at least 1) should be avoided during monsoon season for safety reasons.
• Summer brings a much higher risk of area wildfires so use of campfires and other open flames is often regulated depending upon current conditions.
• Controlled burns can be seen occasionally and the smoke from western fires can flood into the area.
• The national park is usually fully open and much more full of tourists of all ages during daylight hours and spring trail repairs have usually completed by now.
• Monsoon season rains can and have washed out hiking trails.
• Early summer can bring beautiful flowers and the rest of the season has beautiful green deciduous trees.

Autumn

Accommodations/Food/Entertainment

• All hotels and restaurants are still open through the early and mid portion of the season.  However, they start closing towards the end of the season.
• Hotel booking rates start off being about the same as summer rates but eventually drop over the season to become reasonably cheap again.
• Restaurants can still be full at certain points during the early season but will stop being quite as full as the season progresses.
• Live entertainment still happens until the stream of tourists starts really slowing down for the season.
• There are still some events which happen in September but events tend to die down in October.

Weather and Park Conditions

• Monsoon season is generally over so the weather is much more predictable and the temperature starts cooling down.
• Depending upon the condition of western fires, smoke can still flood the area until things cool off significantly and the fires die down.
• Thanks to school starting back up, there are still lots of people in the park but the national park is much less full than it was during summertime.
• Due to high elevation, Bryce Canyon doesn’t get much in the way of fall colors since many of the trees are evergreen trees but, thanks to high elevation, the park can get early season snow.

Winter

Accommodations/Food/Entertainment

• Many area hotels and restaurants close for the season and will not reopen until spring.
• Hotel rates, for the remaining open hotels, are reasonably cheap and booking is easy.
• What restaurants which are still open have open seating available.
• There is no live entertainment available.
• There are no local events happening in the area.

Weather and Park/Road Conditions

• The weather becomes very unpredictable with fluctuating cold temperatures and snow storms.  This makes travel and outdoor activities at Bryce Canyon dangerous.
• The national park is practically empty.  However, many portions of the park are shut off to the public due to dangerous winter conditions (check this article for more details).
• Bryce Canyon spends much of winter without snow on the ground.  However, you can also find it covered in snow from recent snowfall.  This is a beautiful view.
• Roads in and out of the park in addition to highways leading into the area can be dangerous during winter conditions, especially any roads with mountain passes.
• Deer are more prevalent on the roads and in the towns.  This is due to hunting season and due to lack of food at higher elevations.  Extra watchfulness is needed on the roads during wintertime.

When Should You Visit Bryce Canyon

Now that you have a general picture of what the area is like from season to season, we return to the question of when to visit Bryce Canyon.  Given much of the information above, the obvious choice for most people is to visit Bryce Canyon during the warm months of the year ranging from May to September.  However, you may want to do something different such as avoiding the crowds.

The answer to when to visit is personal.  It varies wildly depending upon what you want to see and do while in the neighborhood.  Your current station in life will dictate a good portion of when you should visit the park.  For example: college kids and families with children still in school will find themselves restricted to school vacations such as winter vacation, spring vacation, and summer vacation.  Retired couples have a lot more flexibility in their schedule.

The information above should give you an accurate enough general idea of when to come to Bryce Canyon National Park based upon what you need and want out of your visit.  If you do find yourself heading to Bryce Canyon soon, stop into our gallery in Panguitch called the Panguitch Art Gallery.  We’d love to meet some of our readers.