Hiking to the Mossy Cave trail at Bryce Canyon National Park might come with a bit of a surprise – if you’re looking for moss or a cave. Still, thopugh short, it’s one of the best hikes in Bryce Canyon.
What you will find at Mossy Cave is something better than a cave, especially in the hot desert- water. Lots of it, falling off a cliff – as in a waterfall. However, there is no mention of this in the literature. While the traditional, crowded hoodoo hikes are great, this one has the added bonus of a waterfall.
The National Park Service may not be great at naming or describing hikes, but the maps are good, and the land is protected, which is essential.
This Utah summer is always a scorcher and the places for water recreation, especially in Bryce Canyon, are few and far between. That’s what makes Mossy Cave such a surprising delight.
Mossy Cave Description
The trail is at the end of the park off Highway 12. It’s described as less than a mile long with an elevation gain of 200 feet. That much is true. It says it’s a streamside walk to a mossy grotto that fills with icicles in winter and dripping moss in the summer.
What it doesn’t say is that there’s a waterfall. In hindsight, you could say I’m dense that if there are icicles, moss and a stream, there will be a waterfall, but it wasn’t clear to me the day I visited. Why doesn’t it say, “riverside hike that ends at the waterfall?”
Getting to the Mossy Cave Hike
Despite my arrival at the trailhead being late in the day and off the beaten path, the lot was still full and I had to wait a few minutes for a spot.
As I walked up the trail, it is surrounded by clusters of red, pink and white hoodoo formations and tall pine trees in a scenic, wooded landscape. Alongside the path was a slow-running river.
The river became wider and faster the further I walked. Along the trail, I passed several families with small children soaking wet and barefoot. The trail was sandier than rock at that point, so going shoeless was ok. This is a great hike for kids.
At about halfway, I turned a corner, and the trail opened to an entire river, though the level was shallow. It’s the perfect spot for a picture. There I found many children playing in the water.
Further down, I came to a wooden bridge, and halfway across the bridge, I saw off a distance; on the right, there was a waterfall. It’s relatively substantial for a southwest Utah waterfall.
No Cave at Mossy Cave
I, however, was still looking for the “mossy cave.” I hiked about the grassy path alongside the river, and eventually, it ended within sight of the waterfall. I tried to see if there was a cave behind the fall, but it didn’t look like it.
A couple of trails led further up the hill, so I took one, and the trail became more strenuous, but still, no cave appeared, though the up-close views of the hoodoos were worth it.
Fun fact: Hoodoos are geologic formations that look like multicolored rock spires gutting out of the ground. They are formed by a unique three-step process:
1) Deposition of Rocks
2) Uplift of the Land
3) Weathering and Erosion
Bryce Canyon has the largest number of hoodoos in the world.
Hikers Looking for the Cave
While roaming those higher trails, I ran into several other hikers looking for a cave. We all asked the same questions, “Do you know where the cave is?” None of us found it.
It was still a lovely, short trail worth visiting during your trip to Bryce Canyon.
Find Bryce Canyon National Park at UT-63, Bryce, Utah 84764.
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