mossy cave trail

We came for Valentine's day to enjoy the unusual warm winter weather(40-63 degrees). This is a great taste of Bryce Canyon without having to pay the $25 entrance fee to the park. The trail head is very close to the town of Tropic just outside of Bryce. The trail starts out fairly flat and follows a river the entire time. After you cross the bridge about 3/4 way in, the trail climbs up quite a bit but don't worry it is a short distance. You turn a corner and the cave is right there.The trail also has a fork shortly after the bridge that takes you to a waterfall (you can actually see it from the bridge). It starts off with a very short uphill section then levels out. Helpful notes: This was our second visit. We have been here before in late June. A few comparisons. Winter visit: awesome hiking temperatures but it has been unusually warm an dry in Utah this year so the trail is free from snow. The mossy cave definitely has less moss and less water dripping right now. So some might not see the full glory right now (maybe every winter?). Also the waterfall and fork, well the waterfall isn't really running right now, just a trickle of water. It might rely on snow melt from higher elevations. So some might be disappointed this time of year. We still find it beautiful. While the main river below (fed from 3 sources including the cave) was still running, it was quite low.Summer visit: hiking the trail during the day is pretty hot, especially the first section to the bridge and fork. Not much shade butYour following a river. Once you get to the cave it is refreshingly cool. More moss and water this time of year. The waterfall is also running and is very pretty and has trees for some shade.Pros and Cons depending on the time of year but definitely worth the short hike of 0.4 miles in.

This was a very easy hike, until right at the end where it goes up steeply. It is a nice walk, but the cave is pretty boring. Not much to see.

Mossy Cave is nothing too special, but after the heat and dryness of Bryce Canyon it is nice to walk beside a rushing river and see some greenery.

We picked the worst day to do this trail with pounding rain but on the plus side we had the place to ourselves and we didn't have to pay an entrance fee. Nice views of the hoodoos from here. The mud is pretty messy when it rains so keep that in mind if you want to keep your car clean.

Stupendous place for strolling around after exerting ourselves a bit to get up to view the 'cave'. We took many beautiful photos during our morning there.

This is a fairly easy trail beside a creek with a small waterfall. It had a nice breeze coming off the creek in the middle of the day. The cave is very small.

This trail isn't in the main Bryce Canyon but accessed from Route 12 (so you don't need a park pass). There is only parking for around 20 cars, but it was very quiet when we were there mid October. You will alongside a river, then the trail splits and you can walk to the cave or to a waterfall. The cave doesn't offer much to see in October - it would be prettier in spring with more water flowing or in winter with icicles. The river is the outlet from a dam upstream and I believe that it only flows from May till October. There are pretty views of the hoodoos all along the trail, but if you go beyond the waterfall the trail gets steep.

When we asked to be directed to the best and easiest place to walk among the hoodoo's in the park, we were told Mossy Cave Trail. Although you do walk among the hoodoos, after seeing the rest of the park, it was somewhat a let down. Yes, it is an easy trail at the start, but it rises near the end and is as difficult as some of the medium trails. The cave is really a waterfall but late October had just a thin stream of water. Next year we will try the entrance at Sunrise point as it switchbacks at a gentle slope and can be done with as many stops as necessary. It is a great trail for kids to explore and lots of distractions along the way but for just walking among the hoodoos, it wasn't the experience I was expecting.

This was a trail that was not what we were expecting but we are still glad we went. The cave is just an alcove, which might be cool in the winter but was disappointing. The waterfall was pretty and we were the only ones on the trail, which was a nice break from some of the crowds.

the road to this trail was lovely...the actual trail was easy to manage and provided a nice view UPward to the formations...if you are pressed for time and want a pleasant manageable hike somewhere other than the canyon, this is the one....

This was our first stop in Bryce, as it is not in the park. Some local recommended we go in and check out Mossy Cave. He even went as far as to say after going there we wouldn't need to bother even going into the park. Wow, was he off. When we first walked in, there were a few nice red hoodoos, which was exciting to us, as it was the first time we saw them. While this would be a nice, elementary hike for folks that might not be able to walk far distances, this not only was, by no means a challenging hike, the "cave" was nothing more than an indentation in a rock and the waterfall, while pretty was nothing to write home about.

This is a short trail outside Bryce National Park proper. It follows the “Tropic Ditch” which is a small creek/river to a “y” in the trail where you can go to the Mossy Cave or waterfalls. We found the waterfalls more interesting. It was a nice easy short hike.

The Mossy trail is located at the north end of Bryce. You need to exit the park and go east on Route 12 for about 6 or 7 miles. It is a short, very easy hike to the main waterfall. There is another smaller waterfall around the bend from the main one. The day we were there it was not very picturesque. The creek was roaring but it was so silted up it was a brown mess. We then walked up to the cave. The cave was neat in that there was moss there and it was wet and cool. It did not take long to do this hike, was easy, and would be very good for kids.

Short hike with great views and river crossings. There is even an unexpected waterfall. The cave is not that great, but the waterfall and views are enchanting as is the wood bridge. This does not take much time, but I'm glad we did it.

This place is best seen in the winter. The water seeps from the cave, forming giant icicles. Pretty cool! (PS We did not stop here in Sep/2014, but in a winter past.)