Bryce Canyon and Goblin Valley - landscapes of hoodoos

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04/09/2015

Our second road trip took us to the US Southwest. And first of place we visited there were Bryce Canyon and Goblin Valley. Both places are so different but still very beautiful like all other places we have been to in Utah and other states of the USA.

Bryce Canyon – rock city full of colorful hoodoos

Bryce Canyon is actually not a canyon at all. It is a collection of natural amphitheaters that mesmerize every visitor with its hoodoos. Hoodoos are rocks, mostly towers or blocks that may be found in there. White, red and orange colors of these rock formations make Bryce Canyon an pleasure for your eyes.

Entrance fee and accommodation in Bryce Canyon

Park entrance costs 30 USD/car/and up to 15 passengers and is valid for 7 days. We recommend you to buy National Park Pass for only 80 USD/year and you can use it in any National Park in the United States and it always covers your entrance fee. It is not valid in the State Parks though! If you annually visit at least 4 NP make sure to purchase this pass, it is worth it! The best thing is that the pass is transferable as it is made for two signatures so you can share it with another member of your family or in case you are not a resident, you can resell it later.

We reached Bryce Canyon in the afternoon and because we love camping we decided to pitch a camp in Sunset Campground for 15 USD/night. The place was nice, clean and with a fire ring. There are more campgrounds in Bryce Canyon. Who is not really a camping fan may always find accommodation in nearby lodges or hotels. But we have no clue about the prices.

What to see in Bryce Canyon

Right on our arrival day we decided to make a small tour along the park and visit all vista points. It is worth it! From the Sunrise Point with a spectacular view during sunset or sunrise we drove till the end of the road and stopped at every lookout point. Even these points are not so far from each other it will probably take you more than one hour to ride around, especially if you like taking pictures. On the way you may encounter animals. We met the Mule deer and observed them from a very short distance, about two meters. Beautiful!

Hiking in Bryce Canyonu

We woke up early in the morning and went hiking in the Bryce Canyon. It was a good thing to do because colorful hoodoos are even more beautiful from near. We decided to walk Queens Garden Trail from the Sunrise Point and connect to Navajo Loop Trail from where we reached the Sunset Point. It was a balm to the soul and absolutely amazing hike. Combo Trail is about 4-5 km long and with all photo shooting stopovers it took us about 90 minutes to walkt it. It is worth it and we can recommend you to do the same! Go early, take plenty of water and your super trip is guaranteed. 🙂

Goblin Valley – a small Mars on Earth

Goblin Valley is a good place to stop if you go from Bryce Canyon to Canyonlands, Arches & Monument Valley. On the way there you will experience landscape changes, once you will drive through the canyons then you appear in dense green forests until you reach Goblin Valley with its interesting hoodoos and landscape resembling Mars. Well at least we imagine it like that. Goblin Valley was also a movie location for sci-fi films about Mars. Entrance fee costs 10 USD. It is a State Park so you cannot use your National Park Pass here. There are several hiking trails in the Goblin Valley. We did not walk any of them because in July’s heat we were happy to survive our 30 minute trip there. It is very interesting stopover on the road trip in the US Southwest.