Hiking in Bryce Canyon National Park:
We knew we wanted to go hiking on our full day in Bryce Canyon, so I diligently researched all the hiking trails beforehand. I had it planned out. We were going to do the strenuous 8-mile Fairyland loop. It is less traveled, and the views are supposed to be gorgeous. But when we got to Bryce Canyon the night before and saw Sunset Point, we started questioning all my planning. Was my research wrong? Maybe we should do the Queen’s Garden Trail combined with the Navajo Loop Trail. That is the most popular hiking trail in the park, and the views couldn’t get more stunning than this, right?
We were too tired to make up our minds the previous night, but when we woke up in the morning we decided to do the popular Queen’s Garden and Navajo Loop. There has to be a reason it is so popular after all. Plus it is only roughly 3 miles and rated as moderate. That means we could easily finish the hiking in the morning and have the entire afternoon and evening to explore other areas of the park.
As with most loop trails, you can either hike clockwise (starting with Queen’s Garden) or counter clockwise (starting with the Navajo Loop). We opted to hike clockwise because that’s what the park rangers advise. Sure the ascent at the end is harder, but hiking counter-clockwise isn’t as scenic or as safe.
Queen’s Garden Trail
We started at Sunrise Point and followed a gradually descending path down to the bottom of the canyon. The views from the rim were stunning, but from down here, we were able to get up close and personal with some of the most spectacular formations and hoodoos in the park. Besides the hoodoos, you will also pass through several rock tunnels and a little forest where you can see the red rock formations peeking through.
Side note: Hoodoos are odd looking rock formations. And they went through a crazy process to look that way. First, they started as plateaus which eroded into fins. These fins became thinner and thinner, and rain seeped into the cracks, freezing, thawing, and eventually forming holes in the center creating a window. Finally, the tops of the windows broke away leaving what we know as hoodoos.
Navajo Loop Trail
Once we passed through the forest part of the trail, we came to a 4-way intersection. From here, I recommend heading to Sunset Point via the Wall Street half of the Navajo Loop. Wall Street is THE thing to do at Bryce. It is a very narrow canyon with high red rock walls on either side. I’ve never hiked through anything like it!
As you can see from the pictures below, mid-morning during the summer is not a great time to take pictures. The sun was too harsh. It’s best to go very early in the morning or in the evening.
Just beyond Wall Street are the famous switchbacks leading up to Sunset Point. It’s a little challenging especially if you haven’t hiked in a while, but just take your time. While we were slowing making our way to the top, I kept telling myself this was just preparing me for our hike to Zion’s Angels Landing in a few days. It did not. Nothing can prepare you for those insane switchbacks. So enjoy this. It is a piece of cake comparatively.
Scenic Hwy 63
After we completed our hike, we still had a full afternoon and evening ahead of us, so headed south on Hwy 63. It is an 18 mile stretch of road that has various pull off and overlooks. We were advised to take the free shuttle since parking is very limited, but drove anyway so we could be on our own schedule. And, we didn’t have a problem even though it was a holiday weekend. The further south we went, the fewer people we saw.
Some of our favorite lookout points along the way included Bryce Point, Rainbow point, and the Natural Bridge.
Bryce Point
Bryce Point is one of the first stops along the highway, and therefore it is also one of the busier stops. But fear not, there was plenty of parking. The observation point is a short stroll away from the parking lot, and it is absolutely nothing like Sunset or Sunrise Point. Those 2 look-outs are much closer to the hoodoos. Bryce Point is higher up and looks out over a much larger area of the canyon. Incredible views and definitely worth the short drive. If you are feeling adventurous, you could also hike the rim trail here all the way from Sunset Point.
Rainbow Point
Rainbow Point is at the very end of Highway 63. You can’t miss it. It has fantastic views that are very different from Bryce Point or Sunset/Sunrise Point. Similar to Bryce Point though, it is at a much higher elevation than Sunset Point, so you have a very different perspective. Everything seems so far away.
Natural Bridge
Between Bryce Point and Rainbow Point is the Natural Bridge, and it is worth a short stop for a picture. Funny enough though, it isn’t a bridge. It is an arch. What’s the difference? A bridge is formed by erosion from a stream or river. This arch was formed by frost wedging.
Fairyland Point
After our tour down highway 63, we still had a little bit of sunlight left, so we decided we might as well check out Fairyland Point and do a tiny portion of the hike just to see what we missed out on. It was completely different from Sunset and Sunrise Point, but it was completely stunning all the same. Also, we practically had the whole area to ourselves. Do I regret not hiking the Fairyland Loop Trail? No. The Queen’s Garden and Navajo Loop were excellent, and I’m so happy we hiked it. But, next time I’m back at Bryce Canyon, Fairyland will be #1 on my list of things to do.
