Las Vegas to Bryce Canyon: the drive, measured three ways

How far is Bryce Canyon from Las Vegas?

Distance

248 miles via Duck Creek, 260 via SR-20, 244 via Zion

Drive time

4 hr 43 min to 5 hr 19 min without stops, plus one hour on the clock

Elevation

2,001 ft in Las Vegas to 7,894 ft at the visitor center and 9,115 ft at Rainbow Point

Every route

Starts on I-15 north and finishes on Scenic Byway 12 east and SR-63 south

Large vehicles

Use SR-20. Not SR-14, and not the Zion tunnel if you are over its limits

Winter

No road on any of the three routes closes for the season. Storms close them briefly

The three routes on a map

All three leave Las Vegas the same way and finish the same way. For the first 126 miles they are one road, I-15 through Mesquite, the Virgin River Gorge and St. George. They split at three different exits to climb from the desert to US-89, then meet again at the foot of Scenic Byway 12, 17 miles from the park. The solid line is the one we drive.

Which route: the measured comparison

We traced all three on the same day with the same router so the numbers compare fairly. The result surprises people: the shortest route is the slowest, and the scenic route over the mountain costs only 9 minutes against the fastest.

Times are no-stop driving at the router's own speed model, which runs a little under interstate speed limits, so a phone may show less. Measured from downtown Las Vegas; from the Strip, add about 5 miles and 5 minutes to each.

From 2,001 feet to the rim

Las Vegas sits at 2,001 feet and the Bryce Canyon Visitor Center at 7,894, so every route climbs nearly 5,900 feet net. They climb it differently. Highway 14 goes highest, to 9,905 feet, then comes down to the village and down again to US-89 before the last pull up to the rim. SR-20 crests about 2,000 feet lower. The Zion route stays in the desert longest and does its climbing late.

Our route in six legs

This is the Duck Creek route, the one we would send a friend on in a car or SUV between May and October. The first three legs are the same on every route as far as St. George.

1. 1

   Las Vegas to Mesquite, 81 miles

   I-15 north out of the valley, over the Apex grade and down through the Moapa Valley. It is the dullest and fastest stretch of the day. Mesquite is the last Nevada town and the obvious first fuel stop.

   Elevation drops, not rises: Mesquite sits below Las Vegas.

2. 2

   Arizona and the Virgin River Gorge, 29 miles

   I-15 cuts across the corner of Arizona and threads the Virgin River Gorge, a narrow canyon with tight curves, no services and patchy phone signal. A crash here can close the interstate, and the detour is long. The two Arizona cameras below bracket it.

   Utah line at mile 110.5. Mountain Time from here.

3. 3

   The Utah line to Cedar City, 59 miles

   Past St. George the interstate climbs the Black Ridge and the desert turns to juniper. The Zion route leaves at exit 16. Our route stays on I-15 to Cedar City and turns east on Center Street, which becomes Highway 14.

   Cedar City is the last large town before the mountain. Fill the tank here.

4. 4

   Over the Markagunt on Highway 14, 29 miles

   The road leaves Cedar City at 5,846 feet and climbs Cedar Canyon for 17 miles to a summit at 9,905 feet, with about two miles at close to 7 percent near the top. Highway 148 to Cedar Breaks leaves just past the summit. Then the road eases down past Navajo Lake into Duck Creek Village at 8,455 feet.

   The highest road on any of the three routes, and the one that needs watching in winter.

5. 5

   Duck Creek to US-89 and Scenic Byway 12, 32 miles

   East on Highway 14 down to Long Valley Junction at 7,460 feet, north on US-89 through Hatch, then right onto Scenic Byway 12. The SR-20 and Zion routes have joined you by now.

   Miss the Byway 12 turn and you end up in Panguitch.

6. 6

   Red Canyon and into the park, 17 miles

   Byway 12 climbs into Red Canyon, where the orange hoodoos start well before the park, and passes through two short arches cut in the rock. South on SR-63 at the roundabout and you are at the Bryce Canyon Visitor Center.

   The Red Canyon Visitor Center has restrooms and no fee.

Stops along the way, by mile

Mileposts are measured from downtown Las Vegas along the traced Duck Creek route. Elevations are USGS figures, or the Park Service's own at Bryce.

Worth a detour off the route: Navajo Lake, a few minutes south of Highway 14 before the village; Strawberry Point, a high overlook on a gravel road south of Duck Creek; and in summer Cedar Breaks, off the SR-14 summit.

Time zones, fuel and fees

• The time change. Utah is one hour ahead of Nevada all year. Arizona, which you cross for 29 miles, does not use daylight saving time, so in winter your phone may change at the Arizona line (mile 81.2) instead of the Utah line (mile 110.5). Either way you arrive an hour later than your watch suggests. Sunset at Bryce comes an hour sooner than you think.
• Fuel. Every route has one long gap. Through Duck Creek it is the 29 miles of mountain from Cedar City to the village, which has one gas station with daytime hours, then 24 miles to Hatch. On SR-20 there is no town at all between I-15 exit 95 and Panguitch, 31 miles. Fill up in Cedar City on either route.
• Entrance fees. Bryce charges $35 per private vehicle, valid seven days, and is card only. The Zion route adds a second $35: the Park Service requires a pass even if you only drive through on SR-9. One America the Beautiful pass ($80 for US residents) covers both.
• Non-US residents. Each park adds $100 per person aged 16 and over, unless you enter on an annual or America the Beautiful pass. The non-resident America the Beautiful pass is $250.
• Altitude. You gain 5,893 feet between Las Vegas and the Bryce visitor center, and the rim runs higher still to 9,115 feet at Rainbow Point. Pack a jacket even in July, and drink more water than you think you need.
• No reservation to drive in. Bryce has no timed entry. You can arrive any time the road is open.

Driving it in winter

All three routes stay open through the winter, and most winter days the roads are dry. What changes is how high you go and how fast the weather can change up there.

• Nothing on these routes closes for the season. I-15, SR-9, SR-14, SR-20, US-89, Scenic Byway 12 and SR-63 are all absent from UDOT's seasonal-closure list. Storms close sections for hours while plows work. Bryce plows its park road and keeps it open to cars all year.
• SR-14 is the high road. It tops out at 9,905 feet and spends twelve miles above 9,000. UDOT designates it a traction-law corridor (Class I, aimed at vehicles over 12,000 lb), and in a storm it is the slowest of the three. If you are coming to stay with us in winter, read the winter driving brief first.
• SR-20 is the low crossing. Its summit is 7,912 feet, about 2,000 feet lower than SR-14, and it is the route UDOT sends large vehicles on. UDOT's traction-law map covers parts of SR-20 too, so check the current restriction before you go.
• Cedar Breaks closes in winter. Highway 148, the turn to Cedar Breaks from the SR-14 summit, is gated from roughly mid-November to mid-May. It is not on any route to Bryce, but it is a reason the Duck Creek route is a different trip in summer.
• Daylight is short. In December the sun sets at Bryce between about 5:10 and 5:20 p.m. Mountain Time. Leave Las Vegas early enough to be off the mountain roads before dark.

Live surface conditions, plows and every camera on these roads: road conditions and live cams.