Bryce Canyon to Page: The Drive, the Stops, and Whether It Works as a Day Trip

If you are doing Utah's Mighty 5, Bryce is usually where the loop turns south. Page is the next stop, the hinge between the Utah parks and the Grand Canyon.

The drive is about 155 miles and roughly three hours without stops. It drops you more than 3,500 feet, from the pine forest at Bryce to the desert at Lake Powell. And in summer it hands you a free hour on the way.

Here is the route, what is worth stopping for, and the honest answer on doing Bryce as a day trip from Page.

The route in one paragraph

Out of Bryce Canyon, head north to Highway 12 and turn west. Highway 12 runs through Red Canyon and meets US-89. Turn south on US-89 and follow it through Long Valley, past Mount Carmel Junction, into Kanab. From Kanab, US-89 heads east, crosses into Arizona near Lake Powell, and runs over the Glen Canyon Dam bridge into Page.

Roughly half the drive is Bryce to Kanab, half is Kanab to Page. The second half is the same road as the Zion to Page drive, so if you have read our Zion to Page guide, you already know the best of it.

Fuel: fill up near Bryce or in Kanab. There is not much between Kanab and Page.

The time zone gift

Utah observes daylight saving time. Arizona does not. From March to the first Sunday in November, Bryce is an hour ahead of Page.

Which means a three-hour drive leaving Bryce at 11 a.m. arrives in Page at about 1 p.m. Page time. You get the hour back. In winter there is no difference and the clock behaves normally.

Set your tour times by Page time and check what your phone thinks. Phones near the line guess wrong.

The stops worth making, Bryce to Kanab

Red Canyon (about a dozen miles from the park). Highway 12 runs through two tunnels blasted through the red rock, and the hoodoos here are the same formation as Bryce without the entrance station or the crowds. Pullouts on both sides, no fee, and five minutes is enough. The area is Dixie National Forest, not the Park Service, and the visitor center is open mid-spring through late fall only.

Long Valley on US-89 (Hatch to Mount Carmel Junction). Small ranching towns, the East Fork of the Virgin River alongside the road, and the cliffs of the Grand Staircase stepping down to the south. No stop required. Just do not rush it.

Coral Pink Sand Dunes (a side road off US-89 between Mount Carmel Junction and Kanab). A Utah state park of pink sand dunes against red cliffs, with a day-use fee. Allow an hour or so for the detour and a walk on the sand. Worth it with kids, skippable without.

Kanab. Lunch, fuel, restrooms. It is the biggest town on the route. Everything east of here, the Toadstool Hoodoos, Big Water, Lone Rock and the Wahweap Overlook, is in our Zion to Page post, with how long each one really takes.

Christian David / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0

Time it for sunset

Leave Bryce by late morning, take the stops above and one or two east of Kanab, and you roll into Page with enough daylight for sunset. Two good choices:

Wahweap Overlook, on the right as you climb out of the lake basin about ten minutes before town. Free, quiet, and the widest view of Lake Powell you get without a boat.

Horseshoe Bend, ten minutes past town. Open sunrise to sunset, $10 a car, about 1.5 miles round trip on a hardened path. Be at the rim 45 minutes before sunset.

Can you do Bryce Canyon as a day trip from Page?

You can. We would not, in most cases.

It is about three hours each way, six hours of driving, before you have walked a single trail. In summer you also lose an hour going north, because Utah runs an hour ahead. Leave Page at 7 a.m. and it is 11 at Bryce.

Bryce also sits at 8,000 to 9,000 feet. It gets real snow in winter when Page is dry, and the rim can be twenty or thirty degrees colder than town. Check NPS current conditions before you go, not the Page forecast.

The better version: see Bryce on the way in, as part of the loop, and arrive in Page for two nights. If you are already based in Page and Bryce is the only thing missing, it works as a long day. Leave early, do Sunset Point to Sunrise Point and the rim, and drive home before dark.

Why Page gets two nights

Most people treat Page as one night between Bryce and the Grand Canyon. That only works if you skip Antelope Canyon, skip the lake, and see Horseshoe Bend for twenty minutes.

Antelope Canyon is a guided tour with Navajo-owned operators and takes half a day. Lake Powell is another half day at least. Add Horseshoe Bend at the right hour, and you have more than one afternoon can hold. Our 7-day Grand Circle road trip shows how two nights in Page makes the whole loop easier.

Go deeper

• NPS: Bryce Canyon National Park for current road and weather conditions, especially in winter.

• Our Zion to Page drive guide for every stop from Kanab east.

FAQ

How long is the drive from Bryce Canyon to Page?
About 155 miles and roughly three hours without stops. Plan four to five hours with lunch in Kanab and a couple of stops.

What is the best route from Bryce Canyon to Page?
Highway 12 west through Red Canyon, US-89 south through Long Valley to Kanab, then US-89 east to Page.

Is Bryce Canyon an hour ahead of Page?
From March to early November, yes. Utah observes daylight saving time and Arizona does not. In winter there is no difference.

Can you do Bryce Canyon as a day trip from Page?
Yes, but it is about six hours of driving round trip. It works better as a stop on the way into Page.

What should I stop for between Bryce and Page?
Red Canyon, Long Valley, and Kanab for lunch. East of Kanab: the Toadstool Hoodoos, Lone Rock, and the Wahweap Overlook.

The Grand Circle Route Planner. Every drive time between every stop on the loop, what to book ahead, and where to sleep each night. One page. Free.

Book direct

We are on the main street in Page, about ten minutes from Horseshoe Bend, Lake Powell and Antelope Canyon. The end of this drive, and a good place to stop driving for two nights.

Renovated rooms are open and bookable now, and more come online every few weeks.

Book direct for our best rate. Two night minimum, free cancellation up to seven days out. Direct only.

Check dates at thewesleyaz.com or call (928) 612-3300.

Written by The Wesley Team, the people who run the only boutique hotel in Page. Drive times and fees checked October 2026; confirm before you go.