Boy, do we love our National Parks! We recently had the chance to attend the Bryce Canyon Astronomy Festival, held each June during the new moon and prime time for stargazing and Milky Way views. The Park truly goes all out for this event. Each day and night, volunteers and Park Rangers host educational programs, and by nightfall, dozens of telescopes are set up for visitors to explore the cosmos with expert guidance.
Kaylyn and I made it a weekend getaway with some Utah friends, and we were lucky enough to land rooms at the Bryce Canyon Lodge. That turned out to be more than just convenient, it was essential. During the festival, the Park restricts nighttime parking to reduce light pollution, allowing only those with overnight reservations to drive in the Park after dark. All others had to park outside. Only Park shuttle buses were allowed on the roads at night, running until midnight to ferry guests to and from telescope viewing areas. It made for a peaceful and dark environment, and perfect for stargazing.
Each evening featured talks by geologists and astronomers, where we learned about everything from the similarities between Utah’s red rock formations and Martian terrain, to how the stars have been used for navigation and learning stories from the past.
For astrophotography, my friend and I ventured out each night from about midnight to 3 AM, scouting trails and compositions to capture the Milky Way arcing over the surreal hoodoo formations. Each trail gave us a fresh angle of different clusters of stars, unique shapes in the stone, and an incredible sense of stillness under the stars.
To close out the trip, we made one last sacrifice: a 5:30 AM wake-up for sunrise photos from Bryce Point. Watching the first golden light spill over the hoodoos was unforgettable, and worth the few hours of sleep we squeezed in before checkout.
All in all, it was a stellar weekend (pun intended), and we’d absolutely return for the next Astronomy Festival.
Where were we…?
Wright Around the Bend 