What to wear and bring to Bryce Canyon
Pack for two climates and a long seat. You leave the Strip in the dark and stand on a rim above 8,000 feet by late morning, before dropping into Zion's warmer canyon. Most of what spoils this day comes down to the wrong shoes or too few layers, and both are easy to sort out the night before.
Two climates in one day
Bryce's rim sits at roughly 8,000–9,100 ft (2,400–2,800 m), where the air can run about 30 °F (17 °C) cooler than on the Strip you left before sunrise. In winter it often stays below freezing all day, with snow lying on the ground from roughly November to April. Summer afternoons on the rim reach the 70s to low 80s °F (21–28 °C), yet mornings there still feel cool. Zion sits about 3,000 ft (900 m) lower and can pass 100 °F (38 °C) in July, a couple of hours after you stood shivering at a viewpoint. So pack for the coldest hour of the day and peel off as it warms.
The order of the parks shifts that coldest hour around. National Park Express usually reaches Bryce first, though its Viator listing shows Zion first and weather can flip the two. MarVit Tours divides its park time about evenly, close to 2 hours on the rim before a similar stretch in Zion. The best time for a Bryce Canyon day trip goes through the months one by one.
Layers that earn their space
- A long-sleeve base layer. Something thin you can wear under everything else from October to May, and on summer mornings too;
- A fleece or light down jacket. Outside June to August this is the thing people most often wish they had brought. MarVit's packing list names a jacket in every season;
- A rain shell. July and August bring afternoon thunderstorms with lightning over the plateau. A thin shell weighs little and doubles as a windbreak on an exposed point;
- Hat and gloves in winter. Wind on the rim on a January morning goes straight through jeans and bare fingers;
- A sun hat in summer. MarVit lists one, and you will want it more in Zion than at Bryce.
Skip the single heavy coat. Two or three thin layers cope better with a warm van and a cold rim, and they squeeze into a small bag once the day heats up.
Shoes with grip for the Navajo trail
Footwear deserves more thought than anything else in the bag. On National Park Express the guide leads a short zigzag descent on the Navajo trail among the hoodoos, and those switchbacks are steep and loose. Expect dust in summer and sometimes ice in winter. The listing asks for comfortable shoes, and one reviewer watched a fellow guest fall on the way down. MarVit's list is stricter and names hiking shoes or closed-toe shoes. Trainers with a decent tread do fine for most of the year. Sandals and smooth-soled fashion sneakers do not.
When the trails ice over, slip-on traction devices help a lot, and if snow is forecast it is fair to ask the guide whether the group will go below the rim at all. Remember that every step down is a step you climb back up at over 8,000 ft, where your lungs work harder than at home. Bryce viewpoints and the walk among the hoodoos describes the trails and how steep they get.
Staying fed and watered in the sun
The air on the rim is thin and dry, and you lose water faster than you notice. National Park Express hands out two bottles per guest and asks you to bring more. MarVit lists unlimited bottled water, and reviewers mention cold bottles at every stop. Drink before you feel thirsty, and take the climb back to the rim slowly; if the top leaves you light-headed, sit down for a drink rather than pushing on to the next viewpoint.
Food is where the two tours differ most. National Park Express includes a deli turkey sandwich box and a granola bar, eaten as a picnic overlooking the hoodoos, and you can ask for the vegetarian option if you contact them after booking. MarVit includes no lunch and stops somewhere you can buy it. Carry a card or some cash for that, plus your own snacks for the long road. Sunscreen and sunglasses belong in the bag in every month, since the sun burns faster at altitude and snow on the rim throws the glare back up at you. What a Bryce Canyon day trip costs adds lunch and tips to the ticket price.
Lunch and water already packed
National Park Express brings a sandwich box for the picnic at Bryce and two bottles of water per guest, so your own bag can stay light. The 13-hour day starts from ~$219, with free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Documents and gear for the early start
- Passport or ID. National Park Express asks you to bring it. Travelers from abroad aged 16 and over need it again at the parks, where the non-resident charge is $100 a head at each one (or $250 for the annual pass); our fee guide works out which is cheaper;
- A charger or power bank. The National Park Express Sprinter has WiFi, and most people take far more photos than they planned;
- Motion-sickness tablets. The roads through Red Canyon and over to Zion wind for long stretches, and the back rows feel every bend;
- A small pillow. The earliest pickups come at about 4:40 am, and MarVit puts a pillow on its own list. Plenty of guests sleep the whole way to the first break in St. George;
- Money for tips. Neither tour includes them, and guides on this route usually expect one.
What stays at the hotel
Both operators ban alcohol. National Park Express limits each guest to one piece of luggage, and its GetYourGuide listing also rules out professional cameras. Leave the tripod and the long lens in your room. A phone does the job, and the guide doubles as a photographer for group shots. MarVit takes no luggage or large bags at all, which matters if you meant to check out of your hotel that morning. A small daypack that sits on your lap is the right size for either van.
Packing for the other trips
If you spend a night near Bryce for the Bryce Canyon Stargazing session, from ~$59, bring your warmest layer even in July. The 1.5 hours run after dark at about 8,000 ft, where nights turn cold in every month. The operator hands out blankets and hot drinks, but those work best on top of a jacket, not instead of one. Its catch is the overnight stay you need first. A cloudy sky or a bright moon can also wash out the faint stars. The overnight page suggests where to sleep.
Jupiter Legend's Zion tour, from ~$148, needs the opposite bag. It skips Bryce entirely, which is its catch, so there is no cold rim to dress for, and in summer the canyon calls for sun protection and extra water long before a fleece. Its 12 hours fit in the short Canyon Overlook Trail, with a deli lunch served inside Zion. Our Zion guide sets it against the time the Bryce tours spend there.
Traveling with children adds spare clothes and a bigger snack bag, and the family guide goes into detail. A group hauling a lot of gear or camera kit should read our guide to private vans, which explains when a van of your own makes sense.