Queen’s Garden Trail, Navajo Loop
3 mi, ~2-3 hr, Easy-Intermediate, Sunrise to Sunset Point
How to get there: You can drive around Bryce but they also offer a complimentary shuttle. I would suggest parking at Sunset and starting the hike there. You can either walk to or take the shuttle to Sunrise Point, we walked since it was only 0.5 mi.
Starting at Sunrise point there is a lookout with an amazing view, but trust me, it only gets better. The trailhead is clearly marked by wooden signs as you venture down into the canyon, surrounded by hoodoos. Queen’s Garden Trail is ~1.6 mi downhill until you reach the bottom of the canyon and come to a fork. At the fork you can either continue to Sunset Point or take the Navajo Loop back to Sunset Point.
Take the Navajo Loop Trail until you reach a fork where you can either take Wall Street on the left or go right past Thor’s Hammer. We originally wanted to take Wall Street, as we heard it was amazing. However it was closed off so we had no choice but to take the other way, which was still amazing. Either way, both hikes up are quite steep switchbacks, so just take those breaks! It was really cool looking down from the top of the switchbacks.
Finally, the last stretch is really short, maybe a 0.2 mi at most where you see Thor’s Hammer and get a great view of the Amphitheater. At the end there is a viewpoint right next to the parking lot that many go to for a quick picture.
Overall, the most popular hike in Bryce because of how beautiful and doable it is. We chose to go from Sunrise to Sunset because Sunrise is a much longer incline than starting at Sunset. While Sunset is much steeper, chances are you will stop every few switchbacks to enjoy the view. So we preferred the long ‘milder’ downhill and quick ‘steeper’ uphill versus the opposite.
Inspiration Point
3 mi, ~0.5 hr, Easy
You park in the lot at Inspiration Point and can see the amphitheater from three levels. You can also actually reach Inspiration Point by walking 0.75 mi south of Sunset Point. It’s quite a steep walk up to each of the levels but they’re all short and definitely worth it!
Jordan and I both agree that Bryce was probably one of our favorite parts of our trip, while short lived, we thoroughly enjoyed our day there. It was just awe-inspiring seeing the thousands of hoodoos and the scale of mother nature’s formations. Even if you are only driving through, I would highly recommend checking out Inspiration Point!
