Bryce Canyon Dump Station Closed for the Winter

If you're planning a trip to Bryce Canyon in a van or RV, here's a service note that changes how you handle your logistics on the ground. The park's dump station is closed for the season. The reason is an early freeze: temperatures have already dropped low enough to knock out this water-sensitive equipment.

For now, that means you can't empty your gray and black water tanks here. So you'll need to line up another option before you arrive, or plan a stop at a dump station outside the park. Better to know now than to find out once you're parked up on the plateau, over 7,800 feet up, where the nights turn cold fast.

The same goes for drinking water. The drinking fountains are being winterized, to protect them from the freeze just like the dump station. So assume you won't necessarily find an open water source here, and bring plenty of your own water to last your whole visit.

This kind of closure is nothing unusual at Bryce Canyon. The park's elevation makes it one of the coldest spots on the Colorado Plateau, and the first freezes can arrive well before the heart of winter. The water systems are the first to be shut down, then brought back online when the warm weather returns.

Otherwise, the park stays open, and the scenic drive still takes you out to the big overlooks of the hoodoos, those orange limestone spires it's famous for. If you're mapping out your route, check the Bryce Canyon park guide for hours, access, and seasons. And if you happen to be traveling in an RV, take a look at our road trip itinerary that passes through this park to plan your stops and water fill-ups in the right places.