Nothing along State Route 12 prepares visitors for Bryce Canyon National Park’s brilliant geological playing field. The sight of groves of ponderosa pines suddenly gives way to reveal an entanglement of dusty rose limestone pillars, curiously called “hoodoos,” forming 14 immense amphitheaters, zigzagging over 20 miles of eroded landscape.

Dropping more than 1,000 feet into the Paunsaugunt Plateau, the hoodoos cast off a kaleidoscope of colors that makes Bryce Canyon the most colorful national park in America. Declared a national monument in 1923, Bryce Canyon was named for a Mormon farmer, Ebenezer Bryce, who grazed his cattle around the multi-hued rocks.

According to Paiute legend, the hoodoos were turned to stone by a disgruntled coyote. Geologically, the carving of Bryce Canyon began a little over 500,000 years ago, with icy winters and summer rainstorms chiseling away about 16 inches of sandstone every 100 years. From Inspiration, Sunrise, Natural Bridge, and Rainbow Points, visitors can see the rock transform from desert cherry to burnt orange and into shades of purple.

Bryce Canyon’s 18-mile road traces the precipice before coming to a dead-end at Rainbow Point. Other trails into the canyon traverse a landscape of old twisted trees and shifting rock. The visitor center is at the park’s northern entrance, 1 mile south of Fairyland Canyon.

Bryce Canyon offers sanctuary to more than 150 bird species, including the whitecrested eagle. In winter, the hoodoos are at their most beautiful when the tips are covered in a dusting of snow.

Ancient bristlecone pines, dating back to the time of the birth of Christ, are found throughout the park.

The Bryce Canyon Visitor Center offers several slide and interpretive exhibits on the geological history of the park. There is a modest entrance fee for vehicles and a small fee for hikers and cyclists.

Cedar City is the nearest major airport, about 50 miles west of the park.