Active Pursuits

Biking -- Bikes are prohibited on all trails, and are forbidden from traveling cross-country within the national park boundaries. The park's established scenic drive is open to road or mountain bikers, although you need to be aware that the 18-mile road through the park is narrow and winding, and can be crowded with motor vehicles during the summer.

Because mountain bikers are not welcome on national park hiking trails, you'll have to leave Bryce in search of trails. Fortunately, you won't have to go far -- the Dixie National Forest, which abuts the park, has numerous mountain biking opportunities.

Mountain bikes can be rented across the road from Ruby's Inn at the Bryce Canyon American Car Care Center (tel. 866/866-6616 or 435/834-5232; www.rubysinn.com) for $20 for a half-day and $35 for a full day.

Fishing -- The closest fishing hole to the park is at Tropic Reservoir in the Dixie National Forest.

Horseback Riding -- To see Bryce Canyon the way the early pioneers did, you need to look down from a horse. Canyon Trail Rides, P.O. Box 128, Tropic, UT 84776 (tel. 435/679-8665; www.canyonrides.com), offers a close-up view of Bryce's spectacular rock formations from the relative comfort of a saddle. The company has a desk inside Bryce Lodge. A 2-hour ride to the canyon floor and back costs $40 per person, and a half-day trip farther into the canyon costs $65 per person. Rides are offered April through November. Riders must be at least 7 years old for the 2-hour trip, at least 10 for the half-day ride, and weigh no more than 220 pounds.

Guided horseback rides in Red Canyon, just outside the national park, are provided by Ruby's Inn Horse Rides (tel. 866/782-0002 or 435/834-5341; www.horserides.net), at Ruby's Inn, at similar rates; in addition, Ruby's offers a full-day ride with lunch for $100. Ruby's will also board your horse (call for rates).

Winter Activities

Bryce is beautiful in the winter, when the white snow creates a perfect frosting on the red, pink, orange, and brown statues standing proudly against the cold winds.

Cross-Country Skiing -- Cross-country skiers will find several marked, ungroomed trails (all above the rim), including the Fairyland Loop Trail, which leads 1 mile through a pine and juniper forest to the Fairyland Point Overlook. From here you can take the 1-mile Forest Trail back to the road, or continue north along the rim for another 1.2 miles to the park boundary.

There are also connections to ski trails in the adjacent national forest.

Stop at the visitor center for trail information, and go to Best Western Ruby's Inn, just north of the park entrance (tel. 866/866-6616 or 435/834-5341; www.rubysinn.com), for information on cross-country ski trails and snowmobiling opportunities outside the park. Ruby's grooms over 30 miles of ski trails, some of which connect to trails within the national park, and also rents cross-country ski equipment.

Snowshoeing -- Snowshoeing is allowed anywhere in the park except on cross-country ski tracks. There are also numerous areas outside the park that are suitable for snowshoeing. Snowshoes can be rented at Best Western Ruby's Inn.

Tips: Winter Safety -- Although the entire park is open to cross-country skiers, rangers warn that it's extremely dangerous to try to ski on the steep -- and often slick -- trails leading down into the canyon.