The mornings were spent hiking at Bryce Canyon, but the afternoons and evenings we played tourist just like thousands of others. We rode the shuttle. We checked out all the overlooks. We oohed and aahed. We took lots of pictures.

The first three miles inside the park is where you will find Bryce Amphitheater. The most iconic — but also most popular — views are found along the canyon rim here. Bryce Point, Inspiration Point, Sunrise and Sunset Points all have breathtaking viewing of the hoodoos that populate the amphitheater. We also went to Paria View to see the sunset.

Hoodoos here begin as fins capped with dolomite extending from the rim of the plateau. Each year brings nearly a 200 day freeze-thaw cycle, combined with the effects of CO2 fueled acid rain, to erode the hoodoos and create windows in these fins. Eventually the caprock caves in creating hoodoos.

As the streams and rivers that feed the Grand Canyon carved down into the rock layers, the headwaters moved slowly, further and further back, like fingers into the rim of the plateau creating a bowl-shaped pattern. This is the genesis of the main Bryce Amphitheater and the other smaller theaters that adorn the plateau, creating the most dense collection of hoodoos in the world.

If you want to learn more about some of the hiking trails available at Bryce Canyon National Park you can see my reports here:

Fairyland Loop Trail
Mossy Cave Trail
Queens Garden Trail
Bristlecone Loop Trail
Swamp Canyon Trail

But if you just want to be a tourist, you can do that too. Put simply, Bryce Canyon is one of the most unusual and awesome places on Earth. If you’ve been, you know what I’m talking about. If not, you need to plan a trip. You will be inspired and amazed. Enjoy the photos! Feel free you leave your comments below the thumbnails gallery.

This post was created by Jeff Clark. Please feel free to use the sharing icons below, or add your thoughts to the comments. Pack it in, pack it out. Preserve the past. Respect other hikers. Let nature prevail. Leave no trace.

Golden hour is special for any place with picturesque scenic beauty, especially if you also happen to like photography. There aren’t many places more stunning during the golden hour — that time right after sunrise and right before sunset — than Bryce Canyon. There are even viewpoints named for these wonderful times… Sunrise Point and Sunset Point. So how about a trail that goes from one to the other while also diving down amidst the wondrous hoodoos and pine forest that give Bryce Canyon its majesty and character? That would be Queens Garden. My brother Dave and I hiked the Queens Garden Trail on Sunday, June 3, 2018 beginning at 6:00AM and finishing about 8:45AM. Our plan was to start at Sunset Point, crossing the Rim Trail over to Sunrise Point, arriving before dawn. As the sunrise began we would descend Queens Garden Trail from Sunrise Point, taking the loop in a clockwise direction. We would climb back up out of the hoodoos to Sunset Point, completing the loop.

The crowd was beginning to arrive already as we walked the half mile from Sunset Point to Sunrise Point in the daybreak twilight. It’s a daily ritual at Bryce Canyon as the tourists, campers and hikers all arrive before dawn for the light show that turns the world famous hoodoos from grey darkness to bright orange.

There were perhaps as many as two dozen already there when we arrived at Sunrise Point. Mostly dressed in jackets and hats for the morning chill at 8,000′, many would go back to their campfires for breakfast as soon as the sun broke the horizon. Dave and I already had ours and we started down the Queens Garden Trail right away, hoping to beat the rest of the hikers, and to find a dazzling view spot farther down into the canyon.

Our plan worked, as we didn’t see another hiker for at least the next hour. Bryce Canyon is brilliant enough in the middle of the day. I’ve now had the opportunity to experience a sunrise amongst the hoodoos twice. It simply takes your breath away. Consider every shade of pink and orange imaginable. The shadows on the tall pines and the taller hoodoo spires are long. Everything surrounding you begins to glow during the golden hour.

The sky is a cerulean blue. The moon hangs above the cliffs of the canyon rim. The chipmunks chatter. Birds form a chorus. Deer scamper and graze. The breeze whispers through the canyon passageways. Everything is in unison as it welcomes and delights in the promise of a new day. I felt privileged just to be there.

As you plunge deeper and deeper into the canyon you are surrounded by hoodoos on both sides. If you don’t know, hoodoos are tall skinny spires of rock that protrude from the bottom of arid basins. They are created over many centuries through slow erosion of the soft rock and dirt sediment layers. Here in Bryce Canyon their color tends to be mostly various shades of orange, but there are some with more of a whitish or pinkish hue.

The forest that grows in the canyon is evergreen. It is a combination of juniper, ponderosa pine and the ageless bristlecone pine. A few wildflowers manage to bloom sporadically on the otherwise barren dirt. When you reach the bottom of the trail after about three quarters of a mile, there are white and pink and orange and red mounds of dirt interspersed among the hoodoos and pines signalling the entrance to what is known as Peekaboo Canyon. You can hike down in there. Dave and I talked about doing just that on a future visit.

This is the scene at the entrance to Peekaboo Canyon.

Once you reach the bottom of the canyon, the trail is like a maze through a series of passageways, curling in, around, and among the towering hoodoos. In a couple of places where you would otherwise be stymied by limestone walls, the trail builders have carved short tunnels through the stone.

At 0.8 mile you reach a short spur trail that takes you to what is known as Queen Victoria’s Garden, a collection of hoodoos that are clustered together between two hills. At one time, decades ago, one of these hoodoos looked eerily similar to a statue of Queen Victoria found in England. Over time, though, erosion has continued to do its own sculpting on the hoodoo, so you really have to use your imagination to conjure the namesake.

The next couple miles of trail wanders among more hoodoos and follows a wash through the forest. Keep your eyes peeled for wildlife in this area. There is more vegetation for them to feed on. The hiking is easy as the trail is mostly level. We found a log bench to take a brief break, and were greeted by chipmunks who wanted to share our snacks.

By now, a couple hours into this hike, we were beginning to see other folks. A few had caught up from behind, but most of them were coming down the other side of the loop. We went a bit farther and came to the junction with the Navajo Trail. It had been our original plan to take that to complete this loop hike, but it was closed for repairs. So we began the ascent of the south side of Queens Garden Trail.

As you start the ascent, the hoodoo walls get tighter and tighter. The trail becomes almost like a slot canyon. There isn’t much light. The trees are few, and the tread is dustier. We reached a feature known as Two Bridges, an alcove where twin natural bridges span a gap between hoodoos.

Soon after, the climb back to Sunset Point begins in earnest. There is a series of about a dozen switchbacks that takes you between hoodoo walls. The crowd of hikers was really coming down the trail now as we were within a quarter mile of the rim. After clearing the switchbacks, you pop out into the bright sunlight of the Bryce Amphitheater. The orange glow from the hoodoo pipes and spires seems to permeate your senses.

Across the way a lone mule deer was in peaceful repose in a gap between the towers, completely oblivious to the crowd of humans in proximity. She too was reveling in the splendor that is a Bryce Canyon morning.

We reached Sunset Point. The view over the south side into the Silent City collection of hoodoos was stunning in the early morning light. We stared at the scenery for 10-15 minutes. It wasn’t even 9:00 yet. As we sauntered back to the car, we still had nearly the entire day to look for other adventures at the wonderful Bryce Canyon.

Summarizing Queens Garden Trail, this is an excellent means of “walking among the hoodoos.” While there is some exertion involved to climb back out of the canyon, it isn’t too tough. Take your time. This entire loop can be hiked in less than three hours and offers a stimulating Bryce Canyon experience. You can make it even that much more enjoyable by checking it out at sunrise. I hope you enjoy the photos below. I especially liked putting this gallery together.

This post was created by Jeff Clark. Please feel free to use the sharing icons below, or add your thoughts to the comments. Pack it in, pack it out. Preserve the past. Respect other hikers. Let nature prevail. Leave no trace.

Bryce Canyon National Park is in the southwestern corner of Utah, near Zion and Cedar Breaks. Most of the park is above 8000 feet elevation, so the air is clear and the views long. Bryce Canyon is famous for its odd, fanciful geologic formations known as hoodoos and the myriad of color found in the sandstone. The Fairyland Loop Trail is one of the best kept secrets about Bryce Canyon. Located at the far northern tip of the park, most of the tourists blow right past Fairyland on their quest for car accessible Bryce overlooks. So Fairyland is a hikers dream. This hike occurred on July 18, 2009 beginning at 7:00AM and ending about 12:15PM. Our plan was to be at the trailhead at dawn and traverse the loop in a counterclockwise direction, starting with a climb up the rim trail, followed by the downward plunge to Tower Bridge, and concluding with the climb out of Fairyland Canyon back to the trailhead at Fairyland Point.

View Fairyland Loop Trail, Bryce Canyon National Park in a larger map

First a few warnings about hiking in Bryce Canyon. The park elevation is between 7000 and 9000 feet. It’s up there. So if you are arriving from your home in a significantly lower elevation, it is a good idea to spend at least a full day doing less strenuous activities to acclimate your body to the elevation. Altitude sickness is no fun. Second, even though this is in the mountains, the region is quite arid. It is a high desert. You will discover the trails are dry and dusty, especially in summer, so please bring plenty of water with you for this eight mile hike. It is recommended to have at least a liter for every two hours of hiking. This trail is highly exposed to sun and wind, so sunscreen, sunglasses and a broad-rim hat are recommended. Additionally, Bryce Canyon has the highest lightning strike hazard in Utah. Take approaching weather very seriously and plan your travel time accordingly.

Apparently most people hike the Fairyland Loop in the clockwise direction. However, my brother and I took a look at this elevation profile from the National Park Service and thought it might best be done the other way. We thought the very steep section between Tower Bridge and Sunrise Point might be preferable in a downward fashion. As I will be describing the hike, we traveled from right to left on this profile graphic.

We arrived at the Fairyland Point trailhead right at dawn, so the color on the sandstone was already dancing for our eager cameras. The trail climbs and follows the rim above the canyons for the first 2.5 miles. It starts out going around the edge of Boat Mesa, an 8000′ formation of harder sandstone that has managed to avoid the erosion that creates the famous hoodoos. The trail is very close to cliff edges and the stability of the ground can be iffy. After all, erosion is what created this marvelous scenery. So be wary and careful if you peer over the edge. The early morning light on the hoodoos in the canyon was stunning, as evidenced by the photo at the top of this post.

As we reached the top of the rim, there was a marvelous view to the west of the Table Cliffs in the distance. In the foreground was pinyon pine, wildflowers and open grass. Quite different from the juniper and bristlecone pine we would encounter in the canyons. Two miles along the rim and we began hearing the sounds of campers doing their morning camper things as we passed the North Campground. There were a lot of folks scurrying about, but we were already two miles into our hike and they hadn’t even had breakfast yet. The early bird catches the amazing view at Sunrise Point, which was the next landmark along the trail. It looks down Campbell Canyon and far beyond to Dixie National Forest.

Just before Sunrise Point, the Fairyland Loop Trail takes a left turn and begins heading downward. By now it was beginning to warm up so I unzipped the legs from my convertible hiking pants and stuffed one of my core layers in the pack. Shorts and a tee were now the fashion as I expected it to get considerably warmer on this mid-July day. The next 1.5 miles winds quite steeply down into Campbell Canyon. As we were pounding our knees on this steep trail, I was thinking to myself we made the right decision going this direction. I wouldn’t want to climb this later in the morning when it was hotter. The forest of pinyon and juniper eventually gave way to dry dirt and hoodoos. It’s hard for vegetation to get a root hold.

We passed an amazing stand of colorful hoodoos known as the China Wall. It dominated the view along the trail for quite awhile. When we reached the bottom of the canyon we could see evidence of Campbell wash, a drainage channel that runs through Campbell Canyon. This is the halfway point of the hike and there is a spur trail through a small forest that drinks from the sparse water provided by the wash. About 200 yards up the spur is Tower Bridge, a natural arch with spire-like “towers” on either end of the arch.

There are some well placed logs in the shade beneath Tower Bridge that made an ideal spot for an early lunch, and to rest the legs and lungs before beginning the upward part of the hike. As we were chowing down, a couple came down the trail who were tackling the loop the opposite direction from us. They asked how steep the climb back up to Sunrise Point was. Not wanting to break their hearts and their will, we responded that they would do just fine. They looked young and fit.

The trail begins to climb out of Campbell Canyon with a series of switchbacks that took us up and over the next ridge. On the other side was a spectacular surprise. Although very windy while we were standing on the precipice, there is a fabulous view of Fairyland Canyon and the iconic Sinking Ship Mesa beyond the canyon. We had to be very careful on the narrow ridge edges because of both the wind and erosion, but this was the highlight of a terrific hike. There are hundreds of hoodoos visible above, below, to the left and right… every which way but up. And oh the up. The sky in Bryce Canyon is some of the clearest in the country. People come from hundreds of miles just to stargaze at night. As we were surveying this beautiful landscape, a lone hiker came up from in front of us carrying nothing but a gallon jug of water. At least he had that. No hat, no shirt, no shades.

Best HikeThe rest of the hike is a steady, gradual climb up the ridge that follows the northern branch of Campbell Wash and parallels Fairyland Canyon. It is longer, but a lot less steep than the climb from Tower Bridge to Sunrise Point, so I’m glad we chose to take this hike counterclockwise. The canyon floor is heavily vegetated and the trail crosses the wash three different times. The trail traffic picked up considerably going the opposite direction from us as those late rising campers began to strike out and explore. As we neared the top, we could again see Boat Mesa to our left and the canyon rim above. We reached Fairyland Point in just over five hours, stopping for lunch and lots and lots of pictures. The views were awe inspiring… indeed a fairyland. I can’t imagine any of the trails in Bryce Amphitheater being any better than the Fairyland Loop. I highly recommend it and I rate it as one of the best hikes I have done out west.

My brother put a 6 minute video together.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hslT7Kfkrbk&w=640&rel=0]

This post was created by Jeff Clark. Please feel free to use the sharing icons below, or add your thoughts to the comments. Pack it in, pack it out. Preserve the past. Respect other hikers. Let nature prevail. Leave no trace.