What happens if you combine the oranges, pinks, and reds of the Grand Canyon, with the alpine forests of the Northeast or Pacific Northwest? In our opinion, you get one of the best national parks in the U.S. National Park System- Bryce Canyon.
After Zion, we drove a few hours to another AirBNB in Alton, UT. It was an awesome little cabin with a private bedroom and a loft for the girls. It also was on a ridge with some incredible night sky views and space to wander around with the dog. It was the perfect spot for a Thanksgiving for the family.
Once we got into Zion, the big focus was hiking the Fairyland Loop trail, an eight miler that is a Top 100 Hike in Backpacker The National Parks Coast to Coast Top 100 Hikes book. Looking back on all the hikes that we’ve done over the past nine years with the girls, this is one of the best hikes we’ve ever done. It was a relatively quiet hike- maybe we saw 15 people in total over the 8+ miles. We got to experience the hoodoos, the snowy peaks, and the solitude we are always looking for on these trips.
After that, we celebrated with a big Thanksgiving dinner at the house: turkey breast, smoked turkey legs, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and some veggies.
The next day, we explored a few of the major lookout points on the main road of the Park and bopped around some of the random hiking trails outside the park entering the town of Tropic.
The decision was easy on this park. We all loved the Fairyland Loop and hope you all get a chance to hike it one day.
Leona: Fairyland Loop
Quincy: Fairyland Loop
Mary: Fairyland Loop
Sean: Fairyland Loop and the open space
Adventure Them Young 