Under Canvas Bryce Canyon vs Dark Light Collection: Tents or Glass Pyramids

Under Canvas Bryce Canyon is a seasonal glamping resort of safari-style canvas tents. Dark Light Collection is building glass pyramids on private land near Bryce Canyon National Park and opens in 2027. Both sit about 15 minutes from the park, so the choice depends on what you sleep in, when you travel, and how much sky you can see from bed.

The Short Version

Under Canvas Bryce Canyon suits a trip with confirmed dates in 2027. Dark Light Collection suits a traveler who wants a glass room built for watching the sky and is willing to reserve before opening. Under Canvas runs its tents from early May to late September. Dark Light Collection is taking founding deposits now for pyramids that open in 2027.

The two stays differ in three ways that shape a trip:

• Structure. Under Canvas guests sleep in canvas tents warmed by a wood-burning stove. Dark Light Collection guests sleep inside a pyramid of triple-pane glass.
• Season. Dark Light Collection has not announced its season, though its glass is heated so snow melts off.
• Stargazing from bed. At Under Canvas, the Stargazer tent is the one with a viewing window above the king bed. In every Dark Light Collection pyramid, the king bed is positioned for sky-gazing and a personal telescope sits on the deck.

Check the Under Canvas Bryce Canyon camp page for current rates. Dark Light Collection has not announced nightly rates or deposit amounts.

Under Canvas Bryce Canyon vs Dark Light Collection at a Glance

Under Canvas Bryce Canyon and Dark Light Collection sit at a similar distance from the park and differ in almost everything else.

Read the table by the row that matters most for your trip. A family planning a July visit can look at an Under Canvas Suite or a tent with a Kids Tent. A couple who wants a telescope and a glass ceiling over the bed should look at a pyramid and plan around its opening.

Tents and Amenities at Under Canvas Bryce Canyon

Under Canvas Bryce Canyon is a DarkSky-certified glamping resort that calls itself "one of the world's first DarkSky resorts." Its safari-style tents stand on 700 acres of high-alpine juniper forest. Every tent has a king bed and a private ensuite bathroom with a shower, sink and flushing toilet. Each also has a private deck with lounge chairs and a wood-burning stove stocked with free firewood.

Tent Types

• Deluxe: sleeps up to 2.
• Stargazer: sleeps up to 2 and adds a viewing window above the king bed. Pick this tent if seeing the sky from bed is the reason for the trip.
• Suite: sleeps up to 4 and adds a lounge with a queen sofa-bed.
• With Kids Tent: the Deluxe, Stargazer and Suite each come in a version with an adjacent tent holding two twin beds, so children get their own space next door.

Life on Site

The resort serves a seasonal, locally sourced menu. Evenings bring a fire pit with s'mores and live music, and mornings start with yoga. Kids activities, star parties and experience coordinators round out the program.

Under Canvas cites two awards for this camp: Condé Nast Traveler's 2023 Readers' Choice list of Top Resorts in the Mountain West and the Travel + Leisure 2023 It List.

Season and Booking

Under Canvas Bryce Canyon is seasonal and does not run year-round. For a trip between October and early May, use the guide to lodging near Bryce Canyon to find a stay that is open on your dates. Check current rates on the Under Canvas Bryce Canyon page.

To compare camps near Zion, Moab and Lake Powell too, see the best glamping destinations in Utah.

Dark Light Collection near Bryce Canyon National Park

Dark Light Collection is building up to 25 glass pyramids on private land near Bryce Canyon National Park, opening in 2027. The site sits outside the park, with Red Canyon about 10 minutes away and Zion National Park about 1 hour away. Nobody has stayed yet, so every feature below describes the pyramids as designed.

The pyramids come in two sizes, with 8 m and 9 m bases. They are arranged in an Orion's Belt pattern, with one 8 m pyramid for every two 9 m pyramids, and no pyramid shares a wall with another. The glass is triple-pane with a Low-E (low-emissivity) film that blocks 99% of ultraviolet (UV) light. It is heated so snow melts off, and smart privacy glass tints at a tap when you want the room shaded.

Inside and out, each pyramid includes:

• A king bed positioned for sky-gazing, an en-suite bathroom and a kitchenette.
• A private deck with a fire pit, heated loungers and a personal deck telescope, so you can look closer at the sky without leaving your own space.
• Nightly downloadable astrophotography taken from the pyramid's own coordinates, which gives you images of the sky above the room you slept in.
• A built-in projector that turns the glass into a cinema on cloudy nights.
• App-controlled lighting and climate, plus biometric locks.

The concierge coordinates private guided astronomy sessions and golden-hour photography tours. Full details on the glass and layout are on the pyramids page, and the site itself is described on the Bryce Canyon location page. Founding deposits are open on the Dark Light Collection reservation page.

For the project's status, sites and deposit terms, see is Dark Light Collection legit?.

Which Stay Fits Which Traveler

Under Canvas Bryce Canyon fits travelers with fixed summer dates, children or a dog, and Dark Light Collection fits travelers who want a glass pyramid with the king bed positioned for sky-gazing.

• A summer trip with set dates: Under Canvas. Its 2027 season is published on its site.
• A family of three or four: Under Canvas. The Suite sleeps four, the Kids Tent option adds two twin beds, and the camp runs kids activities.
• Traveling with a dog: Under Canvas, which welcomes dogs for a small nightly fee. Dark Light Collection has not announced a pet policy.
• A stargazing or astrophotography trip: Dark Light Collection. The glass walls, deck telescope, guided astronomy sessions and nightly sky photos are built for this purpose.
• A trip that may hit cloud cover: Dark Light Collection has a projector cinema in the glass. Under Canvas has its fire pit and live music.
• A couple who wants privacy: both stays work. Under Canvas tents have private decks, and Dark Light Collection pyramids have no shared walls and tinting glass.

Dark Light Collection does not fit a trip that has to be locked in today with known dates. Under Canvas does not fit a visit between October and early May, or a traveler who wants a sky view from bed in a tent other than the Stargazer.

This comparison changes once Dark Light Collection announces its opening month, season and rates. If the pyramids open before your travel dates at a rate you can accept, the in-room stargazing features tip the choice toward a pyramid. If the opening falls after your trip, Under Canvas is the only one of the two you can stay at.

Other Ways to Stargaze near Bryce Canyon National Park

Bryce Canyon National Park was certified as an International Dark Sky Park in 2019. You can stay at either of these two properties and still spend an evening at a park viewpoint.

If you are also weighing a trip to Montana, the same two brands are compared in Under Canvas Glacier vs Dark Light Collection.

To lock in a plan, check the Under Canvas Bryce Canyon camp page for current rates, or place a founding deposit on the Dark Light Collection reservation page.