Compared to the ordered formality of Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon is like geology gone beserk. It’s nature at its playful best.  The kaleidoscope of colour is bewitching, with the rock formations spanning hues of crimson, orange, yellow, pink, grey, chocolate and white. Venturing to Bryce with great expectations, I was still slayed in disbelief at the unrestrained beauty of the place. It is poetry in stone. 

In this part of the world, you’ll come across a dizzying array of geological terms, including mesas, buttes, fins and hoodoos. The latter is Bryce Canyon’s biggest calling-card. Hoodoos are bulbous spires of multi-coloured stone, left standing by the combined forces of weathering and erosion. Thousands upon thousands of these delicate, eroding spires fan across the bowl-shaped canyon of Bryce, in vast galleries of bizarre and oddly-shaped statuary. These fanciful hoodoos, many shaped like totem poles, are also steeped in Paiute Indian folklore which considers them as ancient "Legend People" who were turned to stone as punishment for bad deeds.

From a distance, the setting resembles the ruins of an ancient city, like Ephesus or Palmyra, after a pink and orange paint job. One of the smaller of Utah’s National Parks, Bryce Canyon is a breeze to navigate around, but given its insatiable popularity, try and dodge the crowd crush of the peak season. I ventured into Bryce in mid-April, a late sprinkling of snow on the higher alpine slopes ensured a freshly chilled start to the day. And you’ll want to start at the crack of dawn to relish the sunrise spectacle over Bryce Amphitheatre.

Just past the park entrance, stand on the canyon rim trail at Sunrise Point as the first rays of day gild the pink cliffs and fantastical rock formations in golden light. The amphitheatre pops with colour. Just one shaft of sunlight, piercing the clouds, can transform the scene from grand to awe-inspiring, in a heartbeat. Similarly, the shadows of the early morning vividly define the intricacy of the formations.

Bryce Amphitheatre is the main chasm eroded into the eastern slope of the Paunsaugunt Plateau, an immense bowl of lace and filigree work in stone. Strung above the amphitheatre’s cliff edge, the Rim Trail runs for 5 miles, with a multitude of panoramic vantage points serving up distinctive perspectives. Alongside Sunrise Point, my favourite overlooks would be Inspiration and Bryce Points. Find your own pocket of unpeopled quiet, to take it all in.

In a bid to get a jump on the gathering crowds, I made a beeline, via the 18 mile long scenic drive to the last outpost navigable by car, Rainbow Point. With an elevation of over 9000 feet, the highest terrain in the national park, you’ll soon notice your lungs working harder in the thinner air. Rainbow Point not only treated me to the splendour of pink cliffs speckled in fresh, glistening snow, but from this vantage point, the view reaches out 200 miles over southern Utah and northern Arizona.

From Rainbow Point, I took a hike on the effortless 1 mile-long Bristlecone Loop track, which is a very woodsy affair. Across a carpet of soft powdery snow, I jaunted through forests of fir, spruce and the ancient guardians of the canyon, the 1600 year old bristlecone pines, gnarly and like driftwood, which are among the world’s oldest living trees. Working my way back towards the entrance, another essential stop is to marvel at Natural Bridge, conveniently located adjacent to the scenic drive. Natural Bridge is a stunning stone arch, sculpted from some of the reddest sedimentary rock (rich in iron oxide minerals) found in the canyon. Peeking through arch, the intense green of the Ponderosa pine forest in the canyon below forms a vivid contrast with the mineral-rich rock.

Back at Bryce Amphitheatre, I snapped away gratuitously at the magical canyon landscape in the shifting light of day, before taking the plunge deep into the canyon floor. If you have the lungs for just one decent hike, make a descent to the base of Bryce to walk among the hoodoos.

The Fairyland Loop is a four hour lung-buster through wonderland, with a taxing elevation change of 1700 feet. Bear in mind for every step down, you’ll have to make the return step back up, so you’ll need a mountain-goat warrant of fitness.  If that sounds far too arduous, the Najavo Trail is a 90 minute hike, with a far less strenuous elevation change of 550 feet.  But a close encounter with the vast ranks of hoodoos, standing on guard like an ancient army, is something to behold. In addition to the wizardry of the rock formations, you’ll walk through vanilla-scented groves of cedar trees and vast stands of soaring Ponderosas. It’s an intimate spectacle with nature at its uninhibited best. www.brycecanyoncountry.com