Rainbow Point

Rainbow Point is a high, open overlook at the southern end of Bryce Canyon’s main park road, set on the rim of the Paunsaugunt Plateau. At 9,115 feet, it’s one of the park’s highest viewpoints. I’d make the drive if you have time for the nearby Bristlecone Loop: the views here are broad and layered, a change from the close hoodoos around the amphitheater. If you only have a short visit, stay near the central overlooks.

You can see the main overlook from beside the parking area. For the south-facing panorama, cross the lot to Yovimpa Point or follow the short path toward Bristlecone Loop; those give a better view south. The overlook is photo-worthy without a hike, while the loop adds trees to the foreground.

Visitors report more wind and cold up here than around the amphitheater, and snow can linger on the high trails. Check road and trail conditions before driving all the way south in winter. The park lists parking, a picnic table and a restroom at Rainbow Point, but doesn’t list a food outlet or water-fill station here, so pick up what you need before the drive.

A short path from the overlook reaches the 1-mile Bristlecone Loop, an easy circuit with about 200 feet of elevation change. NPS gives it a typical time of one to two hours, especially if you stop to look at the trees. The trail has a hard surface, but several grades don’t meet accessibility standards; it may take assistance to use. NPS lists the overlook itself as wheelchair accessible.

Bristlecone pines on the loop can be up to 1,600 years old. They grow on dolomitic limestone near cliff edges, where harsh conditions can slow growth to about an inch per century. Some keep their needles for as long as 40 years. The surrounding forest also gives grouse, woodpeckers, owls, squirrels and chipmunks habitat; look for signs of wildlife rather than expecting a sighting.

Rain and melting snow have carved the Paunsaugunt Plateau’s rim into bowl-shaped amphitheaters that drain toward the Paria River and then the Colorado. To the east, the Pink Cliffs give way to the Grey and White Cliffs across the valley; the opposite Pink Cliffs rise to about 10,000 feet. To the west, the plateau edge is a watershed: water flows toward the Sevier River and Great Basin rather than the Colorado River.

The landscape was lifted from sea level over roughly 20 million years and then cut by tributaries. That long erosion has left undercut cliffs along this rim, older and more open than the hoodoo amphitheater farther north.

The open-air museum-shelter at Rainbow Point was completed in 1940 as part of Bryce Canyon’s Civilian Conservation Corps legacy. The park’s NP-3 camp operated from 1934 to 1943 and worked on roads, trails and structures here, including the Under-the-Rim Trail. The shelter was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.