Bryce Canyon National Park entrance fee and passes.

Buying and using the pass.

Bring a card. Bryce Canyon does not accept cash. The fee stations take credit or debit cards only. If you're riding the shuttle in from outside the park, you can park and pay your entrance fee at the Shuttle Station before boarding.

Or buy a digital pass. The park sells its vehicle, per-person, and motorcycle passes online through Recreation.gov, card only. The pass arrives as a PDF by email, and you show it at the entrance or when boarding the shuttle outside the park. You can set it to start on any date from today on. A digital America the Beautiful pass also saves to your phone and works right away. A physical one ordered online from the USGS store can take up to three weeks, and NPS won't accept the order receipt in place of the pass.

The pass is for Bryce Canyon only. Vehicle, per-person, and motorcycle passes are good for 7 days from the date they start and are valid only at Bryce Canyon. The annual pass runs 12 months. America the Beautiful passes need the holder's valid photo ID each time, and they're non-refundable, non-transferable, and can't be replaced if lost or stolen.

Groups and tours. Noncommercial organized groups, such as Scouts, clubs, churches, and reunions, pay $35 per vehicle seating 15 or fewer, or $20 a person in a vehicle seating 16 or more, never more than the commercial fee for the same size vehicle. Kids 15 and younger are free, and the group rate is good for 7 days. Anyone with a valid annual or lifetime pass can use it at the per-person rate, with pass and photo ID present. Commercial tours pay by vehicle capacity: $60 for a mini-bus seating 16 to 25 and $150 for a motor coach seating 26 or more. NPS lists commercial sedans and vans as activity based, set by capacity and by whether passengers are residents, with no fixed price on the page. Tour passes last the day of purchase and the next six days for the same group. Non-U.S. residents on commercial, CUA, or concessioner tours still owe the $100 fee.

School groups from bona fide academic institutions can get the entrance fee waived when the visit is for educational or scientific purposes; see the NPS fees page.

The $100 nonresident fee.

Each non-U.S. resident 16 and older pays a $100 nonresident fee at Bryce Canyon on top of the standard entrance fee, unless they come in on an annual or America the Beautiful pass. For two non-U.S. adults in a rental car, that's $35 plus $200, or $235. For four, it's $435. The $250 non-resident America the Beautiful pass covers the entire vehicle, or two motorcycles, or the holder plus three more adults where fees are charged per person. Three adults in one car already pay $335 at the gate, so the pass wins at Bryce Canyon alone.

If anyone in the car is a U.S. citizen or resident, their pass can do the same job for everyone. Per the NPS nonresident fee page, every valid America the Beautiful pass and park-specific annual pass covers entrance and nonresident fees for the holder and passengers in a private vehicle, or the holder and three more adults where fees are per person. That includes the $70 Bryce Canyon Annual Pass, a $20 senior pass, and the free Access, military, and 4th grade passes. The pass holder has to be in the vehicle.

Photo ID decides the price. Resident pricing is checked when you use a pass, not only when you buy it. NPS says purchasers show photo ID at the time of use, and someone who isn't eligible for the resident pass is asked to upgrade to the $250 non-resident pass. Acceptable proof of U.S. citizenship or residency includes a U.S. passport, a state or territory driver's license or state ID, or a green card.

Bryce Canyon is one of eleven parks that charge this fee, per the NPS entrance fee prices page. Zion and Grand Canyon are on the list too, so Bryce Canyon plus Zion is $200 a head in nonresident fees before any vehicle fees. Arches is not on the list. Fee-free days don't help: from 2026 they're for U.S. citizens and residents only, and nonresidents pay the regular entrance fee and the nonresident fee.

Free entrance days in 2026.

NPS lists eight fee-free dates for 2026, ten days in all: February 16, May 25, June 14, July 3 to 5, August 25, September 17, October 27, and November 11. Seven of the ten days have passed. The three left in 2026 are September 17, October 27, and November 11. Entrance is free for U.S. citizens and residents only. NPS notes that other fees, including reservation fees, may still apply.

Of the three left, September 17 is the busy one. September is Bryce Canyon's second-busiest month, with about 10,800 recreation visits a day on average over the past five years, close to June's 11,000. October 27 falls in a month that averages about 7,600 a day, and November 11 in one that averages about 2,700. For what a cold-season visit looks like, see Bryce Canyon in winter.

Reservations, permits, and other fees.

No entry reservation. NPS says no reservations are required to enter Bryce Canyon, but entrance fees apply whether you arrive by car, shuttle bus, bicycle, or on foot. The park shuttle is free with park admission for you and everyone in your vehicle.

Backcountry permit. Overnight trips need a backcountry permit, and backcountry camping is allowed only in designated campsites. It costs $10 per permit plus $5 per person, so four people pay $30 on top of the entrance fee. Credit cards are accepted. Permits for trips from March through November can be reserved on Recreation.gov up to three months ahead. Winter trips, December through February, are walk-in only, issued up to 48 hours ahead. Online permit holders still check in at the Visitor Center before they set out. Details are on the NPS backcountry page.

Campgrounds. The park has two developed campgrounds, with their own camping fees; see Bryce Canyon camping.

Special use permits are required for activities such as weddings and scattering cremated remains. Filming and still photography by eight or fewer people with hand-carried gear usually need no permit, and a permit application costs $100 when one is needed; see Bryce Canyon photography and the NPS filming page.

Is the annual pass worth it?

Two $35 vehicle passes cost $70, the same as the Bryce Canyon Annual Pass, so the annual pass breaks even on a second trip within its 12 months. Most Bryce Canyon trips take in other parks, though, and the park's own passes work only here. Zion also charges $35 per vehicle, so Bryce Canyon plus Zion is $70 at the gates, just under the $80 America the Beautiful pass. Add Arches at $30 or Grand Canyon at $35 and the pass comes out ahead. A digital Bryce Canyon pass that is still valid can be upgraded to an America the Beautiful pass at a Bryce Canyon entrance station. Bryce Canyon's fees don't change by season, so pick your dates on the best time to visit Bryce Canyon page and budget the pass separately.

For non-U.S. residents, the math tips toward the $250 pass fast. Three adults in one car cross it at Bryce Canyon alone. A solo traveler crosses it on a second park that charges the nonresident fee, such as Zion or Grand Canyon: $135 at each gate is $270. The calculator above runs your own numbers.

Common questions.

How much does it cost to get into Bryce Canyon National Park?

$35 per private vehicle for 7 days, $30 for up to two motorcycles, or $20 per person on foot or bike for visitors 16 and older. Kids under 16 are free. Non-U.S. residents 16 and older add $100 each unless a valid annual or America the Beautiful pass admits them. Pay by card; the park does not accept cash.

Can I just drive through Bryce Canyon National Park?

Not for free. NPS requires every visitor to buy a recreational use pass on entering the park. The $35 vehicle pass covers everyone in the car for 7 days, including the park shuttle.

Do I need a reservation to enter Bryce Canyon?

No. NPS says no reservations are needed to enter the park, but admission fees apply. The only permit most visitors might need is a backcountry permit for an overnight trip.

Can you use the same pass for Zion and Bryce?

Only an America the Beautiful pass. Bryce Canyon's vehicle, per-person, and motorcycle passes are valid only at Bryce Canyon, and Zion sells its own. The $80 America the Beautiful pass covers both. At $35 each, the two parks come to $70 at the gate, so the pass pays off once a third fee park, such as Arches or Grand Canyon, is on the route.

Is there a senior discount at Bryce Canyon?

Yes, through the America the Beautiful senior passes. U.S. citizens and residents 62 and older pay $20 for a Senior Annual Pass or $80 for a Senior Lifetime Pass. Either one covers the entrance fee for the holder and everyone in the car, and the park shuttle too.

Where these facts come from

Entrance, annual, America the Beautiful, group, and commercial prices, the no-cash rule, card-only fee stations, photo ID and mail-order pass rules, the academic waiver, special use permits, and the 2026 fee-free dates come from the NPS Bryce Canyon fees page; the no-permit rule for small filming and photography groups and the $100 application fee from the NPS filming page. Pass validity, the Bryce-only rule, digital pass delivery, start dates, upgrades, and the no-reservation rule come from the NPS digital pass page; shuttle coverage and paying at the Shuttle Station from the NPS shuttle page; backcountry permit prices and booking windows from the NPS backcountry page. Nonresident fee rules, pass coverage for passengers, residency documents, and photo ID at time of use come from the NPS nonresident fee page; the eleven-park list from the NPS entrance fee prices page; the U.S.-residents-only rule for fee-free days from the NPS fee-free days page. Zion, Arches, and Grand Canyon vehicle fees and their nonresident fee status come from our fee tables built from the Zion, Arches, and Grand Canyon NPS fees pages. Daily visit figures are five-year monthly means (2021 to 2025) of recreation visits from NPS Visitor Use Statistics, divided by the days in the month. Calculator results are our arithmetic on the fee table. Independent site, not affiliated with the National Park Service.