Last Updated on: 19th August 2024, 08:18 pm
Bryce Canyon is the smallest of Utah’s Mighty 5 by far. At around 36,000 acres (or 72 km2), it’s less than half the size of Arches. And it’s nearly a tenth the size of Canyonlands (337,000 acres). But millions of visitors still come each year to admire Bryce’s iconic hoodoos. Most people, however, stick to the same few viewpoints and hikes, meaning it’s not that hard to leave the crowds behind in a day in Bryce Canyon.
The park was named after Ebenezer Bryce, a Scottish-born Mormon convert who set up a homestead in the area in the 1870s. But rather than a canyon, the park is centered around a natural amphitheater, simply called the ‘Amphitheater.’ And most of Bryce Canyon’s main points of interest are overlooks above or hikes down within the Amphitheater.
While many itineraries for a day in Bryce Canyon largely focus on the Amphitheater’s Navajo Loop Trail, hiking enthusiasts should have plenty of time left over for the lesser-known Peekaboo Loop, arguably Bryce Canyon’s top activity.
For more info on getting around Bryce, current entry fees and the best places to stay, be sure to check the end of the article.
Sunset & Sunrise Point
A good point to start your day would be at Sunset Point, accessible by turning left as you make your way south past the entrance down Bryce Canyon Rd. As one of the most popular sections of the park, the parking lot can fill up quickly and it would be wise to arrive early.
In my case, I arrived a little before 9:00 and had no trouble finding a spot, though things are likely more crowded in the months of July and August.
Despite its name, Sunset Point does indeed look good in the mornings as well. And just a short walk down the paved Rim Trail is Sunrise Point. Both of these points overlook Bryce’s stunning Amphitheater.
As mentioned, Bryce is most known for its hoodoos, which can be defined as columns of weathered rock. While you can find them all over the Southwest, not only does Bryce Canyon have the most hoodoos of anywhere on earth, here they take on a distinct look.
A large part of what makes Bryce Canyon’s hoodoos so unique is how at this high elevation, water continually seeps into the cracks before freezing. The freezing causes the water to expand, causing new fractures.
Later, the ice melts again, after which it seeps into some of the new cracks, repeating the process.
As with other parks, especially unique formations at Bryce have been given special names. While walking along the rim, look out for landmarks such as Thor’s Hammer and the Cathedral.
While the stunning overlooks above the Amphitheater would be enough to warrant the trip out here, taking a hike down amongst the hoodoos is an unforgettable way to experience the park.
And just near Sunrise Point is the start of one of the park’s most popular (and crowded) trails: the Queen’s Garden & The Navajo Loop.
Queen's Garden & The Navajo Loop
Before descending into the Amphitheater, there are a few important points about the trail that you should know. The initial trail starting from Sunrise Point is called the Queen’s Garden Trail. If you’re really short on time, you can do this as a quick out-and-back hike that’s just 0.8 miles (1.3 km) each way.
Most people, however, immediately move on to the Navajo Loop trail which will ultimately take you back to Sunset Point (assuming you began at Sunrise Point). At the end of the Navajo Loop, you actually have two options to return to the parking lot: the ‘Two Bridges’ path or the ‘Wall Street Path.’ Learn more details below.
All in all, the Queen’s Garden Trail combined with the Navajo Loop Trail is about 5 km and should take you a couple of hours to complete.
It’s also worth noting that a short path connects the Navajo Loop Trail with an excellent yet uncrowded trail known as the Peekaboo Loop. If you’d like to do one really long hike, you could connect the two trails and then take a shuttle back to your car.
In this guide, however, we’ll be covering the Peekaboo Loop as its own individual hike further below.
Descending into the Amphitheater, it was immediately apparent that the weather would not be on my side that morning. Throughout the hike, the sky would be mostly overcast with a few short downpours, though the sun would also occasionally make brief appearances.
All in all, this combined hike is a fairly easy one, with the most difficult parts being the descent into the Amphitheater and the walk back up. It can indeed get crowded, so adding a less-crowded hike to your itinerary would be a wise idea (more below).
The Queen’s Garden Trail is named as such due to a particular hoodoo known as Queen Victoria’s Benchmark, as it’s said to look like a particular statue of Queen Victoria which stands in London, England.
As mentioned above, the Queen’s Garden Trail leads into the Navajo Loop Trail. The hike remains relatively flat, while you’ll occasionally get to walk through natural arches.
Unfortunately, weather conditions prevented me from getting too many pictures of this hike.
Near the end of the hike, the trail will fork into two sections, both of which will ultimately take you back up to the rim of the Amphitheater via Sunset Point. The one to the east is known as Two Bridges, while the one to the west is called Wall Street. But which one should you choose?
If you’re the type that likes to see everything, it’s fairly easy to see both. From the fork, it’s just around ten minutes to walk to the Two Bridges landmark. As described, here you’ll find two natural bridges stretching across a narrow canyon.
Returning to the fork, you can then proceed via Wall Street. As the name suggests, the hoodoos in this section are replaced by steep towering walls on either side of you.
While impressive to look at, this is one of the most crowded portions of the trail. It’s also one of the most difficult, as you’ll have to walk up a relatively steep series of switchbacks to reach the exit.
With that in mind, you may decide to do the trail described above in reverse by descending at Sunset Point and returning via Sunrise Point.
The sun had luckily come out again by the end of my hike, so I took some more time to appreciate this section of the Amphitheater from above before moving on to the next overlook.
Inspiration Point
Another one of Bryce Canyon’s most popular viewpoints is known as Inspiration Point, which overlooks the same Amphitheater mentioned above albeit from a different angle.
From Sunset Point, it’s just a 5-minute drive to get there. Head south, make a left onto Bryce Point Road, and just after that, turn left at the fork onto Inspiration Point.
Those with more time can also walk there via the Rim Trail (0.7 miles) while taking a shuttle is yet another option.
From Inspiration Point, one can view landmarks down below such as Wall Street, the Cathedral, and the Wall of Windows. As this is just an overlook, you won’t be spending a tremendous amount of time here, but it’s worth setting aside at least 20-30 minutes.
Bryce Point
If you’re driving, return to Bryce Point Rd and ride it until the end, arriving at Bryce Point itself. This is another fantastic viewpoint, though its parking lot is considerably smaller than that of Inspiration Point.
After a few failed attempts, I had to return to Inspiration Point and take the shuttle over, which is something you might want to try from the onset if you don’t want to deal with the stress of finding a spot.
Bryce Point is not only a stunning overlook, but it’s also the starting point of the Peekaboo Loop Trail – what many consider to be the highlight of Bryce Canyon National Park. What’s more, is that it’s considerably less crowded than the Navajo Loop.
As mentioned earlier, there’s a path connecting the Navajo Loop with the Peekaboo Loop, so you can do them together as one long hike if you wish.
Looking back, I’m glad that I divided them up. Not only could I enjoy a brief rest in between, but the descent into the Peekaboo Loop from Bryce Point is one of the most scenic portions of the entire hike.
The Peekaboo Loop
The Peekaboo Loop is what really sold me on Bryce Canyon National Park. Not only is it a more challenging hike than the Navajo Loop, but being down amongst the hoodoos practically by yourself is an experience you won’t forget.
While perhaps the comparison is unfair due to the bad weather that morning, I also found Peekaboo to be the much more scenic of the two loop hikes.
The Peekaboo Loop Trail is about 5.5 miles (8.4 km) and takes a little over three hours to complete. While tougher than the Navajo Loop, it could still be considered a moderate hike overall.
The toughest sections will be the descent into the Amphitheater and the ascent back up to Bryce Point, though this part is probably the most scenic.
As mentioned, Bryce Canyon is by far the smallest of Utah’s National Parks, offering the least amount of variety to visitors. Be that as it may, the scenes I witnessed on the way down into the Amphitheater from Bryce Point are some of my favorites in the Southwest.
Eventually, the one-way portion of the hike will end end once you reach the bottom of the Amphitheater, marking the beginning of the loop.
Being a loop trail, of course, you have the choice of hiking in either direction. In my case, I decided to do it clockwise.
Should you also choose this route, one of the first landmarks you’ll encounter is the Wall of Windows.
Before the standalone pillars we see today, erosion caused large openings called ‘windows’ to form, some of which can still be seen around the park. When the arches atop the windows eventually collapse, what are left are the tall spires for which Bryce is known today.
As mentioned, this trail is pretty peaceful compared with others at Bryce. What you will encounter, however, are equestrians, and hikers are expected to step aside to let the horses pass.
Traversing the trail, the hoodoos surrounding you almost seem to take on the form of people. In fact, before the arrival of Europeans, this land was inhabited by the Paiute Indians, who believed the hoodoos to be ancient beings.
Known as the Legend People, they were said to have been turned into stone by the Coyote as a result of their misdeeds.
Frozen Legend People or eroded spires of stone, the hoodoos or Bryce Canyon are beautiful regardless. And as you’ll notice, their hues gradually change throughout the day based on the position of the sun.
As such, after completing the loop and making your way back to Bryce Point, you’ll likely find that the scenery no longer looks quite the same as it did three or four hours prior. And that’s a large part of what gives the Peekaboo Loop Trail – and Bryce Canyon as a whole – its charm.
Rainbow Point
If you only have a day in Bryce Canyon, you probably won’t have time for any additional hikes. And by this point, you’ll likely want to rest your legs.
Fortunately, Bryce Canyon National Park is home to plenty of more overlooks that you can drive right up to. Returning to the main road, drive all the way south for around thirty minutes, after which you’ll eventually encounter Rainbow Point.
Rainbow Point stands at an elevation of 9115 ft. But as it’s in an entirely different section of the park from Bryce’s main Amphitheater, the views here are an interesting mix of hoodoos and forest.
From here, one also has the option of taking relatively short and flat hikes along the rim to other viewpoints, like the Bristlecone Loop and the Yovimpa Point.
But as time before sundown was running out, I decided to begin the journey toward the exit, stopping at several more overlooks along the way.
More Overlooks
There are lots of overlooks to stop at between Rainbow Point and the area around Sunset Point (at least six or seven). Not sure exactly which ones to see, I decided to stop at every other overlook that I passed by.
The photos below demonstrate what to expect at various stops, though at many of them, the lighting was no longer ideal.
Ponderosa Point
Natural Bridge
Sheep Creek /Swamp Canyon
Fairyland Canyon
While the overlooks above can be found along the main road, Fairyland Canyon is found along its own little side road near the park entrance, north of Sunset Point.
Fairlyand Canyon, at an elevation of 7758 ft, offers yet another unique vantage point of Bryce’s iconic hoodoos. But though I originally intended to wait here for sunset, I determined that this wouldn’t be the most impressive spot.
Looking back, I probably should’ve ended the day where I started: at Sunset Point.
Additional Info
At the time of writing, Bryce Canyon costs $35 to enter (learn more here).
If you’re visiting from abroad, note that in contrast to many other countries, US parks typically charge per vehicle rather than per person. However, if you’re traveling by bicycle instead, they’ll charge you for an individual pass which costs $20, while those on motorcycles will be charged $30.
Considering how many National Parks and National Monuments there are to see in the Southwest alone, the best option for most will be to buy an ‘America the Beautiful’ Annual National Parks Pass.
These cost $80 for the year. In most cases, you’re already saving money by just visiting four National Parks/Monuments anywhere in the country within a full year.
What’s more, is that only one person in your vehicle needs to have the pass. Additionally, seniors can buy the pass for just $20. So if you have someone over 62 in your party, just have them get the annual pass and everyone else will be set.
As for where to get the pass, you can purchase it in person at most National Parks or Monuments. But you can also order it in advance online.
Most people get around Bryce Canyon by car. If you’re coming from far away, be sure to arrange a rental in advance.
Bryce, however, is one of the few National Parks at which you can get just about everywhere via a free shuttle. And unlike nearby Zion National Park, the shuttle is optional and not mandatory. Learn more and check out the shuttle map right here.
Note that even if you have a car, you may still find yourself wanting (or needing) to use the shuttle due to parking constraints in certain sections of the park.
Don’t have time for a full day in Bryce Canyon? Not to worry, as there are plenty of organized tours out there.
This highly-rated tour can take you to a number of the landmarks mentioned above within 3 hours.
It’s possible to stay at Bryce Canyon itself, such as the Bryce Canyon Lodge. Additionally, the park is home to a few different campgrounds.
Just outside the park is Bryce Canyon City, home to popular hotels such as Bryce View Lodge and the Best Western. Also nearby (and close to Kodachrome Basin State Park) is the town of Tropic, where you’ll find several hotels. Highly rated options include Bryce Pioneer Village, Bryce Country Cabins and Bryce Canyon Country Inn.
In regards to larger cities and towns nearby, visitors have a couple of good options. The town of Kanab, for example, is only 90 minutes away by car. It also makes for a great base for exploring southern Utah and northern Arizona.
In Kanab, I stayed at Travelodge by Wyndham Kanab, a basic hotel that was perfect for resting after long days out in nature. They also provide free breakfast. Other popular options close to the center include Comfort Suites and the Hampton Inn.
But many visitors to the region will also be visiting Zion National Park, which is in the same general area as Bryce. And you may prefer to use a single base from which to visit both parks. The city of St. George in southwest Utah, along with the neighboring town of Hurricane, are both about 2 hours and 20 minutes away from Bryce.
I spent a few nights in St. George following my visit to Bryce Canyon. I stayed at the Red Lion Hotel, which was one of the better deals I found in the Southwest. Another good option that won’t break the bank is the St. George Inn & Suites.
If you’ll be spending a few days or more at Zion, Hurricane is only 30-40 minutes away and features a number of quality Airbnbs.
Of the three towns mentioned above, St. George has the most amenities by far, while it’s also the closest to Las Vegas (about 2 hours) – convenient for those beginning or ending their trip at that airport. But in the end, choosing where to stay should largely be based on your other travel plans before and after Bryce.
Planning to do a longer trip through the incredible state of Utah? Be sure to check out our detailed Utah road trip itinerary. In addition to the Mighty 5, you’ll also learn about some amazing State Parks and National Monuments to stop at along the way.
And in regards to Utah’s Mighty 5, how does Bryce Canyon stack up against the others? You can find our rankings of the five parks here.