Piracy Point

Piracy Point is one of the nine viewpoints on Bryce Canyon's Southern Scenic Drive, reached by a very short, flat, unpaved trail from Farview Point. The outlook takes in Swamp Canyon and the drainages around it. Add it if you have time for a different, valley-focused view; if your day is short, prioritize the park's signature hoodoo overlooks.

This is a wider look across orange cliffs, forested slopes and open valleys, rather than a close-up of Bryce's most famous hoodoos. For a photo, fit the two large buttes into the frame with the valley below. They give the panorama a landmark and are easy to imagine as ships.

The broad valley north of the point drains toward Sheep Creek. Tributaries of Willis Creek are steadily cutting back from the other side of the cliffs; over time, they could capture water that now flows toward Sheep Creek. That process is called stream piracy, and it is the more likely source of the viewpoint's name. Swamp Canyon has another unusual feature: some water flowing across the plateau here drains east over the rim instead of west toward the Sevier River.

This is a meeting zone between ponderosa pine and spruce-fir forest. Showy goldeneye and shrubby cinquefoil are among the flowers found here. Osprey have nested nearby and carried fish from Tropic Reservoir, about two air miles away. The birds and blooms are seasonal, so treat them as possibilities rather than a promise.