There are plenty of places to see on a Bryce Canyon tour, but if you want to start with the essentials, we recommend taking the Amphitheater drive first. This is by far the most iconic section of the park and includes a handful of spots that you definitely shouldn’t miss. The Amphitheater itself is a large bowl-shaped structure carved out of the rock by thousands of years of rainfall and melting snow. This area is most famous for its collection of “hoodoos,” large rock spires that rise out of the center of the bowl. The Bryce Amphitheater features the largest collection of hoodoos in the entire world, offering a sight that can’t be replicated at any other park on Earth.
The Amphitheater is also home to a few of the most iconic viewpoints in the park. The most famous of these is Bryce Point, one of the area’s most scenic vistas. Bryce Point is at the southernmost part of the Amphitheater, just a few miles past the visitor center, and is known for its spectacular sunrises if you can get there early enough. The closest view of the hoodoos comes from Inspiration Point, not far from Bryce Point. This viewpoint is broken up into three different levels, so you can see a few different views of the hoodoos against the backdrop of the nearby Boat Mesa. Finally, we also recommend checking out Sunset Point before leaving the Amphitheater. This spot also features some terrific views of the hoodoos, including Thor’s Hammer, the most famous formation in the park. The colors are especially vibrant from Sunset Point, so be sure not to miss it.
If you’d like to make sure you hit all the right spots, we recommend our own Bryce Canyon National Park Self-Guided Driving Tour.