Zion and Bryce Canyon are two national parks in southern Utah about 87 miles apart by the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway, just under two hours by car, and most trips pair them. Zion is a deep sandstone canyon entered from the town of Springdale, where a free shuttle replaces private cars for most of the year. Bryce sits at 8,000 to 9,000 feet on the edge of a plateau, above an amphitheater packed with hoodoos. Wading the Narrows is covered on the USA page; this page adds the rest of both parks.
Neither park uses timed entry in 2026, but both are among the parks where non-US residents aged 16 and over pay $100 on top of the entrance fee. Late October 2026 brings three changes: Zion's Watchman Trail is closed pending repairs, the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel has overnight closures from 26 October, and Wall Street on Bryce's Navajo Loop has been closed since mid-October after heavy rain.
Climb the chains to Angels Landing with a lottery permit
The Grotto (shuttle stop 6), Zion Canyon
About 4 hoursTimed entry
21 switchbacks to Scout Lookout, then a knife-edge ridge with a single chain for the last half mile.
What it is
The trail starts at the Grotto, shuttle stop 6, and climbs the 21 switchbacks of Walter's Wiggles to Scout Lookout. The last half mile runs along a knife-edge ridge with a single chain. The full hike is 5.4 miles round trip with 1,488 feet of climbing, about four hours; Scout Lookout, which needs no permit, is 4.2 miles and 1,000 feet.
How to do it
Every hiker on the last half mile needs a permit from the Recreation.gov lottery: a seasonal draw months ahead, or a day-before draw open from 12:01 am to 3 pm Mountain Time, with results after 4 pm. Applying costs $6 for up to six people, plus $3 per person if you win.
Good to know
Skip the chains on wet rock, in storms or with a fear of heights, and fill up at the Grotto: the trail has no water.
Ride the free shuttle up the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive
Zion Canyon Visitor Center to the Temple of Sinawava
1.5 hours round trip, plus stopsNo booking needed
For most of the year the canyon road is closed to cars, and a free bus every 5 to 10 minutes reaches the trailheads.
What it is
For most of the year private cars may not use the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive, even before the first bus or after the last, so the free shuttle, with no ticket needed, is how you reach the trailheads. Buses leave the Zion Canyon Visitor Center every 5 to 10 minutes and take about 45 minutes to the last of nine stops, the Temple of Sinawava.
How to do it
From 25 October to 28 November 2026 the first bus leaves at 7 am, the last one up at 5 pm and the last one down at 6:15 pm. Get off at the Court of the Patriarchs for a short paved path to the viewpoint, and at Weeping Rock for a short, steep walk to a dripping alcove.
Good to know
The visitor center car park fills early; otherwise pay to park in Springdale and ride the free Springdale Line.
Drive through the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel to the Canyon Overlook
Zion-Mount Carmel Highway, east end of the tunnel
About 1 hour for the trailNo booking needed
Switchbacks climb to an unlit tunnel of 1930, and just past it a short trail ends on a view down lower Zion Canyon.
What it is
Utah 9 leaves Zion Canyon at Canyon Junction and climbs about 900 feet in under three miles of switchbacks to the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel, 1.1 miles long, unlit and completed in 1930. The Canyon Overlook Trail starts just past its east end: 1 mile round trip, 163 feet of climbing and about an hour, with handrails along drop-offs, to a view down lower Zion Canyon.
How to do it
Measure your vehicle first: since 7 June 2026, nothing over 11 ft 4 in high, 7 ft 10 in wide with mirrors, 35 ft 9 in long or 50,000 lb may drive between Canyon Junction and the East Entrance, and there are no more ranger escorts. Bikes and walkers are banned from the tunnel. Parking is scarce.
Good to know
The tunnel can close for roadworks, as on several nights in late September 2026 (9 pm to 6 am, UDOT fiber optic work), and for snow, ice or rockfall: check the park's alerts and UDOT before going.
Walk up to the Lower, Middle and Upper Emerald Pools
Zion Lodge (shuttle stop 5), Zion Canyon
1 to 3 hoursNo booking needed
Walk under falls to the Lower Pool, then up to a sandstone ledge and a pool at the foot of a cliff.
What it is
The trail climbs in stages. The Lower Emerald Pool is 1.2 miles round trip, about an hour with 150 feet of climbing, and the path runs under the falls dropping from the Middle Pools. Carry on up an unpaved climb to the sandstone ledge of the Middle Pools, then a sandy, rocky path to the Upper Pool at the foot of a cliff, about 3 miles round trip from the lodge in all.
How to do it
Get off the shuttle at Zion Lodge and cross the road and the footbridge over the Virgin River. For a loop, descend the Kayenta Trail, about a mile with moderate drop-offs, to the Grotto and ride the shuttle back.
Good to know
Swimming is banned in every pool, and the park warns against putting your head in Zion's streams because of toxic cyanobacteria. Expect ice in winter.
Ride the Pa'rus Trail and the Scenic Drive by bike or e-bike
Pedestrian and bike entrance, Springdale
Half a dayBook ahead
The only way to move freely on the canyon road while it is closed to cars, starting on a riverside path.
What it is
A bike is the only way to move freely on the Scenic Drive while it is closed to cars. The paved Pa'rus Trail, the one park trail open to bikes and dogs, runs 1.75 miles along the Virgin River to Canyon Junction, with a 15 mph limit. The road then climbs steeply for 2 miles and levels off after the Court of the Patriarchs.
How to do it
Cyclists enter at the pedestrian entrance in Springdale, next to the Zion Outfitter rental shop, and pay the $20 per-person fee. Only Class 1 pedal-assist e-bikes are allowed, and they do not fit on shuttle racks, so you ride both ways; a regular bike can go up on a bus and coast mostly downhill back.
Good to know
Stop at the roadside whenever a shuttle comes up behind you and ride single file in groups of six at most.
Drive the Kolob Canyons Road and hike to Double Arch Alcove
Kolob Canyons, exit 40 on Interstate 15
Half a dayNo booking needed
Zion's quiet corner, with a 5-mile road past box canyons walled by 2,000-foot cliffs.
What it is
Kolob Canyons is Zion's quiet north-west corner, at exit 40 on Interstate 15, about an hour from Zion Canyon and 17 miles south of Cedar City, so it fits a drive to or from Salt Lake City. Its 5-mile scenic road runs past parallel box canyons with 2,000-foot cliffs.
How to do it
Stop at the Kolob Canyons Visitor Center to pay or show your pass, then take the scenic road. At the road's end, the Timber Creek Overlook Trail is a 1-mile round trip with views to the Pine Valley Mountains. The better hike is the Taylor Creek Trail: 5 miles round trip, about 3.5 hours, past two homestead cabins to Double Arch Alcove. Kolob Arch, 14 miles round trip from Lee Pass, needs a full day.
Good to know
Pets are banned, groups are capped at 12, and snow can close the road in winter.
The hike Bryce recommends to first-time visitors: down among the hoodoos past Queen Victoria and Thor's Hammer.
What it is
This 2.9-mile loop is the hike Bryce recommends to first-time visitors: 2 to 3 hours and 625 feet of climbing among the hoodoos. The Two Bridges side passes Thor's Hammer and is open all year. The Wall Street side, switchbacks between tall walls and Douglas firs, closes every winter for rockfall and has been shut until further notice since heavy rain in mid-October 2026.
How to do it
Walk it clockwise. Start at Sunrise Point and descend the gentler Queen's Garden Trail with the views ahead, taking the short spur to the hoodoo called Queen Victoria, then climb the steeper Navajo Loop to Sunset Point, since most injuries happen going down it. Return along the paved half mile of Rim Trail.
Good to know
You start above 8,000 feet and finish uphill, so wear boots with lug soles and, in winter, traction devices.
Catch first light on the hoodoos from Bryce Point and Sunrise Point
Bryce, Inspiration, Sunset and Sunrise Points
1 to 2 hoursNo booking needed
Nearly all of Bryce's viewpoints face east, so dawn lights the hoodoos head-on while the sun sets behind you.
What it is
Nearly all of Bryce's viewpoints face east, so dawn lights the hoodoos head-on while the sun sets behind you. The park's favourite sunrise spots are Sunrise Point and Bryce Point. Bryce Point, 2 miles up a spur road from mile 3, looks north along the whole amphitheater to the Wall of Windows and the Silent City, with the town of Tropic nearly 3,000 feet below. Sunrise Point, at 8,100 feet, has a 360-degree view.
How to do it
Inspiration Point, just before mile 3, has three levels, and the top one gives the best view south. For sunset, the park suggests Inspiration Point or Paria View, arriving 90 minutes early for the light on the rock. Sunset Point sits right above Thor's Hammer.
Good to know
Bring a jacket: from October to May it freezes nearly every night.
Follow the edge of the amphitheater for 5.5 miles, from fir-shaded stretches to a paved half mile open to dogs.
What it is
The Rim Trail follows the edge of the Bryce Amphitheater for 5.5 miles, from Bryce Point north to Fairyland Point, and you can walk any piece of it. Bryce to Inspiration Point is 1.5 miles through Douglas firs; Inspiration to Sunset Point, 0.7 miles; Sunset to Sunrise Point, half a mile, paved, accessible and the only stretch open to leashed dogs; Sunrise to Fairyland Point, 2.8 quieter miles.
How to do it
In shuttle season, April to October, ride to Bryce Point, walk north and catch a bus back from any viewpoint but Fairyland, which has no stop. Out of season, walk out and back or leave a car at each end.
Good to know
In winter the Bryce to Inspiration stretch closes because of snow cornices. Bikes are banned on the Rim Trail; the paved Shared Use Path, finished in September 2026, links the viewpoints for cyclists.
Ride a horse or mule down into the Bryce Amphitheater
Horse corral near The Lodge at Bryce Canyon
2 or 3 hoursBook ahead
Ride below the rim on trails built in 1931, and on the longer ride past the Wall of Windows.
What it is
Canyon Trail Rides, the park's concessioner, leads guided horse and mule rides below the rim on foot and horse trails built in 1931. The 2-hour ride leaves Sunrise Point by the Queen's Garden area, loops across the canyon floor and climbs back; the 3-hour ride, offered from May, carries on around the Peekaboo Loop past the Wall of Windows and the Silent City.
How to do it
Check in at the corral between The Lodge at Bryce Canyon and Sunrise Point 45 minutes before departure. Book on the operator's website, or call 435-834-5500 within seven days of the ride. The season runs from April to 31 October, weather permitting.
Good to know
Riders must be at least 7 for the short ride and 10 for the long one, and weigh no more than 220 pounds.
Bryce Canyon Visitor Center and the amphitheater rim
2 to 3 hours after darkBook ahead
About 100 astronomy programmes a year with rangers and volunteer astronomers, plus moonlit hikes on full-moon nights.
What it is
Bryce runs about 100 astronomy programmes a year with its rangers and volunteer astronomers, sometimes followed by stargazing. On full-moon nights rangers lead moonlit hikes of 1 to 2 miles and 2 to 3 hours. Each June, at the new moon, the free Astronomy Festival adds talks, solar telescopes and late shuttles; the 2026 festival ran from 11 to 13 June.
How to do it
Check the park calendar or the visitor center, and aim for the week before a new moon, when the sky is darkest. Moonlit hike tickets go on Recreation.gov at 8 am Mountain Time, 15 of them 14 days ahead and 10 more 5 days ahead, up to six per booking, and you check in at the visitor center by 3 pm.
Good to know
Children aged 7 and under cannot join the hikes, lug-soled boots are compulsory and white lights are banned.
Snow on red hoodoos, with every trail open to snowshoes and free ranger walks when snow allows.
What it is
At 8,000 feet Bryce has real winters: from December to February average highs are 36 to 38°F and lows near 15°F, and the reward is snow on red hoodoos. Snowshoeing is allowed on every trail; most people follow the Rim Trail, the Bristlecone Loop or the Fairyland and Paria View roads, closed to cars all winter.
How to do it
Rent snowshoes at Ruby's Inn. When snow and staffing allow, rangers lead free snowshoe walks of about a mile and 90 to 120 minutes, lending snowshoes and poles: sign up at the visitor center from 8 am that day, age 8 and up.
Good to know
Packed trails soon turn icy, so carry traction devices. Wall Street and the Rim Trail between Bryce and Inspiration Points close all winter, the road shuts beyond mile 3 after storms, and the Lodge closes.
Walk upstream in the Virgin River itself, between the canyon walls of Zion, on a day hike that needs no permit.
What it is
The day hike most people do is the bottom-up route, and it needs no permit: you walk in the Virgin River itself, upstream between the canyon walls. The top-down route, 16 miles from Chamberlain's Ranch, needs a wilderness permit and your own transport to the trailhead.
How to do it
Start at the Temple of Sinawava, shuttle stop 9, and follow the paved Riverside Walk to its end, where you step into the river. Turn back whenever you like; Big Spring is the limit for day hikers, a strenuous 10-mile round trip.
Good to know
The park closes the Narrows when the flow passes 150 cubic feet per second, and whenever a flash flood warning is issued, until at least two hours after it is lifted; above 70 cfs, walking against the current is hard work. Check the flow and the forecast that morning. Summer and early autumn bring the lowest, warmest water.
Zion Canyon's South Entrance is at the north end of Springdale, 170 miles from Las Vegas airport and 300 from Salt Lake City; St. George (49 miles) and Cedar City (60) have regional airports. Bryce Canyon is about 270 miles from both Las Vegas and Salt Lake City and 80 from Cedar City. Between the parks, Utah 9 through Zion and US 89 make about 87 miles; vehicles over the tunnel limits go round by Utah 20, 150 miles and 2.5 hours. SunTran buses link St. George with Springdale, but no public transport reaches Bryce. Each park charges $35 per car for seven days, card only at Bryce, plus $100 per non-US resident aged 16 and over unless you hold the $250 nonresident annual pass.
Getting around
In Zion Canyon the free shuttle replaces private cars on the Scenic Drive from March to November and over Christmas: in 2026 it runs until 28 November, stops from 29 November to 25 December and returns from 26 December to 2 January, when you can otherwise drive the road yourself. The free Springdale Line links the town's hotels with the pedestrian entrance. At Bryce the free shuttle ran from 3 April to 18 October 2026 between the Shuttle Station in Bryce Canyon City and the four amphitheater viewpoints; out of season you drive the 18-mile main road. Kolob Canyons, Zion's east side and Bryce's southern viewpoints all need a car.
How many days
In must30's view, give Zion two full days and Bryce one. Spend one Zion day on Angels Landing or the Narrows from the first shuttle, and the other on the Emerald Pools, a bike ride up the Scenic Drive and the Canyon Overlook on the way east. At Bryce, sleep near the rim so you can be at Bryce Point for sunrise and on the Queen's Garden loop before the crowds. Add half a day for Kolob Canyons if you arrive on Interstate 15. Doing both parks in one day leaves only a few hours in each.
When to go
Spring and autumn suit Zion best: summer days in the canyon regularly pass 100°F (38°C), and mid to late summer monsoons raise the risk of flash floods. Bryce is far cooler: June highs are in the high 60s to low 70s°F, July and August bring afternoon thunderstorms with lightning, and snow can fall from October. From December to February Bryce is at its coldest and snowiest, while Zion's winter days run from about 30 to 60°F (-1 to 16°C) and its shuttle stops for most of December. The Angels Landing lottery for March to May hikes opens on 1 January.
Where to base yourself
For Zion, stay in Springdale, on the free town shuttle and close to the pedestrian entrance, or at Zion Lodge, the only lodging inside the park, with 76 rooms, 6 suites and 40 historic cabins in the middle of the canyon. For Bryce, the Lodge at Bryce Canyon has 114 rooms, suites and cabins a short walk from the rim, but the main lodge and its dining room close in winter. Bryce Canyon City, just north of the park entrance, has the shuttle station and hotels such as Ruby's Inn. Sleeping a night or two at each park saves driving the 87 miles twice.
Questions travellers ask
Can you visit Zion and Bryce Canyon in one day?
You can drive between them in just under two hours, about 87 miles by the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway, but a day split between them leaves time only for viewpoints and short walks. In must30's view, spend two nights near Zion and at least one near Bryce.
Do you need a reservation to enter Zion or Bryce Canyon in 2026?
No. Neither park uses timed entry, and Zion's shuttle needs no ticket. You do need a permit for Angels Landing, the top-down Narrows and canyoneering. Entry costs $35 per car, plus $100 for each non-US resident aged 16 and over unless they hold the $250 nonresident annual pass.
How do you get an Angels Landing permit?
Through Recreation.gov, in two lotteries: a seasonal draw months ahead, and a day-before draw that opens at 12:01 am and closes at 3 pm Mountain Time, with results after 4 pm. Applying costs $6 for up to six people, and each person on a winning permit pays $3. Without a permit you can still hike as far as Scout Lookout.
Is the Zion shuttle running in November and December?
Until 28 November 2026 it runs daily, with the first bus at 7 am, the last one into the canyon at 5 pm and the last one out at 6:15 pm. From 29 November to 25 December there is no service and you can drive the Scenic Drive in your own car. It returns for the holidays from 26 December to 2 January.
Is Wall Street open at Bryce Canyon?
Not now: the park closed the Wall Street side of the Navajo Loop until further notice after heavy rain in mid-October 2026, and it closes every winter anyway because of rockfall danger. The Two Bridges side stays open all year, so you can still walk down past Thor's Hammer or combine it with Queen's Garden.
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