One Day in Bryce Canyon National Park with Kids - Winter Edition
One of the best ways to skip the crowds in busy national parks is to visit in the offseason and Bryce Canyon National Park is no exception. Visiting Bryce in the winter with kids is magical!
Those hoodoos covered in snow are such a beautiful site! Your hiking options may be a little limited because of ice and snow, especially if you are visiting with kids, but it is still 100% worth it.
WHAT ARE THE TEMPS LIKE IN BRYCE IN THE WINTER
Bryce in the winter is cold. Temps during the day average 36 degrees so dressing in layers and warm winter clothing is very important if you want to get out and explore. The graph below will give you an idea of the average temperatures in Bryce Canyon in the winter months.
INFORMATION FROM GOOGLE
HOW TO GET TO BRYCE CANYON NATIONAL PARK
Bryce Canyon is located in South Central Utah. Bryce is often visited along with Zion National Park or on a mighty 5 road trip.
Many visitors fly into the Las Vegas Harry Reid International Airport, rent a car, and drive 3 hours to Zion. They often make Zion their home base and make a 1 hour 45 minute drive for a day trip to Bryce.
The other most popular way is by visiting as part of a Mighty Five Road Trip by flying into Salt Lake City in northern Utah and driving three hours to Moab and visiting Arches National Park and Canyon Lands National Park together. Then head down the state two hours to Capitol Reef National park and then 1.5 hours over to Bryce Canyon National Park and then lastly 1.5 hour drive to Zion National Park. This road trip is typically done over a week.
ONE DAY WINTER ITINERARY WITH KIDS
For a Bryce winter adventure with kids I have put together a one-day itinerary that will give you the perfect mix of hiking and site seeing, and the best part is, you will have the park pretty much to yourself!
Start your day later in the morning (give the temps time to warm up a little) with a short and easy 1-mile round trip hike at Mossy Cave Trail. For this hike, you won't be driving into the park. Click here for directions.
HIRE A PHOTOGRAPHER IN ZION + SOUTHERN UTAH - CLICK TO LEARN MORE
This trail is a great one to do in winter because even if it is covered in snow it is still totally doable because there is very little elevation gain. If it has just recently snowed you may need snowshoes so be prepared.
When we hiked this trail the snow was very compacted from all the hikers that had gone before us and we didn't need snowshoes or even Yaktrax for our snow boots (Yaktrax would have been nice though!).
You will cross a beautiful bridge and hike to a waterfall area and then backtrack a bit to check out the caves. This is a great hike with kids. Take plenty of time to explore and play. The hike will take about an hour.
Head into Tropic for pizza at The Pizza Place after your hike. It's just a five minute drive from Mossy Cave Trail.
The Pizza Place offers specialty pizzas, burgers, sandwiches, and salads. There should be something here to please everyone.
Other options for lunch include The Pines Restaurant. or Ruby's Inn Cowboy's Buffet & Steak Room. The Pines restaurant offers delicious home-cooked meals including soup, pie, cowboy size steaks, mashed potatoes, and gravy. The Pines is world famous for their pie so make sure to get a slice! Ruby's Inn is diner style and offers lots of options.
The Cowboy Buffet and Steak Room is family style western dining featuring lots of options including the area's finest steak, ribs, chicken, and seafood.
After lunch head to the Bryce Canyon National Park entrance station. Drive into the park past the Bryce Canyon Lodge (the lodge is closed during the winter from December 1st through March 8) turn left towards Sunset Point.
Park in the designated parking lot and head to Sunset Point. Take in the views! They are AMAZING!!!
From here you can hike Navajo Loop Trail for a short distance. When I was here with my family we didn't have Yaktrax with us so the trail was too slippery to go very far. If you want to hike make sure to bring Yaktrax with you for your boots.
If you go to the right you will only be able to hike a short distance. The Wallstreet section of the trail is usually closed in the winter, but you can look down onto the trail from above and it is still pretty cool.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT HIKING NAVAJO LOOP TRAIL
Defrost from the cold temps by heading to Ruby's Inn for hot chocolate. Take the hot chocolate to go and do a scenic drive through the park.
Chances are you won't be able to make it to the end of the road to Bryce Viewpoint, they close the road in the winter due to heavy snow, but you should be able to make it pretty far. Our favorite scenic stop was the Natural Bridge Viewpoint.
When you get to the end of the road turn around and head to go park on the east side of the lodge. From here make your way to the Rim Trail until finding the perfect spot to experience sunset in Bryce.
The sun won't go down in front of your eyes but hopefully, you will catch some beautiful colors in the sky like we did.
What to wear for a winter day in Bryce Canyon National Park with kids?
Average winter temps in Bryce are in the mid 30's so it is very important to dress warmly. You will need beanies, gloves, winter boots, and warm coats. Here is some link to some of our favorite winter gear.
Here are some items that are similar to what we have used and loved in the past. I just purchased these boots from LLbean! I'll come back and let you know how they are after I have worn them for a bit.
Where to stay when visiting Bryce Canyon National park in the winter?
Stone Canyon Inn - If you are looking for a modern and stylish stay when you are visiting the area then you will love Stone Canyon Inn.
Ruby's Inn - This Bryce Canyon classic hotel is a family-friendly destination and the closest lodging to the park.
Ruby's Inn has a number of winter activities available including
Ice Skating
Horseback Riding
Snowmobiling
Snowshoeing
Cross-country Skiing
Sleigh Rides
I hope this inspires you to visit Bryce Canyon National Park in the winter. You won't regret it I promise. In the comment section below let me know if you have ever visited Bryce in the winter. I would love to hear about it.
