My son and I will be getting away for a few days and wanted to spend a day at Bryce and a day at Zion. I'm now finding out you need shuttle tickets for Zion and they're all sold out. On Saturday, Oct 10 we want to hike the Queens Garden Trail in Bryce Canyon. Will parking be a zoo requiring us to get there extremely early or will it not be that bad? I'm disappointed I didn't do more research about the Zion shuttle ticket requirement.

I do not live in Utah, so do not know when the state wide fall school break is, but if you are not there during that you should be ok. Do hope it has not snowed though.

I've been at Bryce in all the seasons multiple times and have never had a problem with parking. Overlooks are separated and each has its own parking lot. The NPS is pretty good about snow clearing so, unless the COVID has effected staffing levels, you should be OK in the park. If it has snowed or is icy, your bigger problem may the roadways in and out. There are some major grades between the park entrance and Hwy89 so you may need chains or studded snow tires. October is fairly early so it would not usually be a problem but at that altitude, it can be.

For what its worth, I think Bryce is more magical after the snow starts than in more temperate times.

October 10 will be fine. The statewide school break is later. I wouldn't hit the trail at 11. Be there before 9 and you should be fine.

Thanks for the advice...we'll be there by 9.