Bryce or Zion first? Which has less to walk?

Interesting that most opinions are for Bryce. If you aren't walking, what do you see at Bryce besides the rim view of the canyon? Bryce, to me, would be A 1-2 hour park if you didn't hike.

I was just looking at my pictures of Bryce and Zion. Bryce is incredible. Zion is really nice but Bryce beats Zion.

Another vote for Bryce and the many overlooks. Spectacular views.

But if you go to Zion, you could take the free "Ride with a Ranger" leaving from the visitor center. It's a narrated tour, maybe an hour long, on one of the shuttles down into the canyon. Stops a few times for photos, no real walking.

There is much to be seen from Bryce overlooks
However the morning horse ride thru the Hoo Do's ,
Is not to be missed, If you can do it

My favorite part of Zion was not the main canyon.
The other two drivable areas had a lot fewer people, and has spectacular geology too -- not as spectacular as the cliffs in the main canyon, but worthy in their own right.

There are not many 'easy' trails in the main part of Zion. Some are short and paved and still have some steep pitches. The Angels Landing trail is strenuous even for someone young and healthy. You can see quite a bit from the road. We found the bus system to be excellent. You just get on and off wherever and whenever you want. The stops are only a few minutes apart and the buses come every 20 minutes or so.


You can see almost all of Bryce from the overlooks. The Queens Garden trail is wonderful and enchanting hiking down into the hoodoo maze, but steep in places. Not for someone not up for a good hike. We hiked the whole loop trail. The sections close to the trailheads were packed, but in the middle section along the bottom there were hardly any people.

OK, know about back issues - two surgeries but doing really pretty good now for an old f---!

Been to both and, years back, hiked in both a few times.

I would strongly recommend Bryce and enjoy looking down from the viewpoints as opposed to limited views looking up at Zion.

IMHO, the best views in Zion are Hwy 9 from the tunnel down and not the ride on the shuttle straining one's neck / back looking up.

Also just back from Bryce and Zion along with grand canyon north rim and Great basin a few days ago. Driving or taking the shuttle to the view points in Bryce is the easiest. A lot of Zion can be seen just riding the shuttle from stop to stop but to really see the sites hiking is involved. It is hotter in Zion than in Bryce. Both parks are awesome

Seems to be some conflicting advice above. We just got back from Bryce and Zion last month, and I'd definitely pick Bryce if you have a bad back. At Bryce, you can drive throughout the park and walk a short distance to beautiful overviews. In Zion, you have to park at the entrance then take a shuttle into the park, and then all of the good stuff requires walking. The park itself is pretty on the bus drive but you have to do some hiking to really appreciate Zion IMO.

We too have been to both and everything everyone has said is right, but you could easily enjoy both from the shuttles offered. When you feel better, go back and take some of the hikes - through Wall Street in Bryce and down around the Queen's trail. In Zion, the Upper Emerald Pool's trail. We didn't do Angel's Landing as it was a little too scary for me. But, a good tour of both on the buses is not to be missed and while you're in the vicinity go to Cedar Break's National Monument in between the two. Again, it's a drive an view from above. My husband and I do a lot of driving through type of touring because of our dogs that travel with us. When we've taken the trails such as these, we've boarded them for the day, but otherwise we do the drive and tour thing. On the other side of Bryce towards Panguitch is another side of Bryce that is beautiful with a very short comfortable trail you can take with your back. My husband has back problems so we take it easy.

I would pick Zion. If you think walking with bad back is hard. You won't like to walk very far when you're at elevation of 8000 feet and have 70% of the air. That where you would be if you choose Bryce.