Waymark
Trek Utah — Bryce Canyon National Park, USA

Navajo Loop & Queen's Garden — The Bryce Amphitheater Circuit

The classic half-day combination: drop off the rim at Sunset Point through the Wall Street switchbacks, cross the hoodoo floor of the Bryce Amphitheater, and climb back out through Queen's Garden to Sunrise Point.

Navajo Loop & Queen's Garden — The Bryce Amphitheater Circuit
Photo: King of Hearts · CC BY-SA 4.0
Duration
1 day
Distance
4.6 km
Walking time (est.)
3 h
Ascent
200 m
Difficulty
Moderate
Best season
Late spring to autumn (about April–October), when the rim is mild and the Wall Street switchbacks are open; the park stays open in winter, but snow and ice close Wall Street

Walking

    Your location stays on this phone. It is never sent, stored or put in a link.

    Getting there and back

    Start
    Sunset Point
    Finish
    Sunset Point (via the Rim Trail from Sunrise Point)

    One-way: plan your trip back

    Directions to the start Back from the finish

    Bryce Canyon is not a canyon at all. It is a series of huge natural amphitheaters eroded into the eastern edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau, filled with hoodoos — tall, thin spires of soft rock capped by harder stone that shelters each column from the weather. Linking the Navajo Loop with the Queen’s Garden Trail is the standard way to see them from below rather than from a railing, and at about 4.6 km round trip it is the most rewarding short hike in the park.

    The route drops off the rim at Sunset Point, threads the shaded slot of Wall Street, wanders the amphitheater floor among the hoodoos, then climbs gently back out through Queen’s Garden to Sunrise Point. A stretch of the paved Rim Trail closes the loop back to your car.

    Getting there. Sunset Point and Sunrise Point sit about 800 m apart on the rim road, both with parking; in summer the park shuttle links them, so you can walk the loop one-way and ride back.

    Which way round. Almost everyone walks it counter-clockwise — down Navajo, up Queen’s Garden. The Navajo side is the steep one, and it is far kinder on the knees and lungs as a descent.

    Good to know:

    Elevation profile

    Highest point
    2851 m Day 1
    Lowest point
    2328 m Day 1
    Total descent
    914 m

    Point at the profile, or focus it and use the arrow keys, to see that spot on the map.

    Terrain heights along a straight line between each day’s stops, not along the footpath, so a pass or a switchback the path takes can be missing. Descent and walking times use the same line.

    Elevation data: Terrain Tiles (Mapzen, AWS Open Data)

    Day by day

    DayDistanceAscentDescent (est.)Walking time (est.)
    Day 1 Hardest daySunset Point to Sunrise Point via the amphitheater floor
    Distance4.6 kmAscent200 mDescent (est.)914 mWalking time (est.)3 h

    Flights on Kayak Car rental on Localrent Travel eSIM on Airalo

    Day 1

    Sunset Point to Sunrise Point via the amphitheater floor

    Sunset Point → Sunset Point (via the Rim Trail from Sunrise Point) 4.6 km 200 m 3 h
    Navigate this day

    The full combination circuit: a steep switchbacked descent, an easy wander among the hoodoos, and a steady climb back to the rim.

    Water and food

    Water
    Drinking water 40 m from stop 1
    Water point 190 m from stop 1
    Water point 240 m from stop 1
    Drinking water 540 m from stop 3
    Drinking water 580 m from stop 3
    Food
    The Lodge at Bryce Canyon Restaurant 630 m from stop 3
    Valhalla Pizzeria Restaurant 740 m from stop 3
    General Store Convenience shop 840 m from stop 3

    Places mapped by volunteers on OpenStreetMap; opening times and taps change, so check before relying on one. © OpenStreetMap contributors

    Segments

    1. Sunset Point and Thor's Hammer 0.3 km 0 m Map

      Sunset Point parking → Navajo Loop trailhead

      Paved rim overlook

      Walk out to the railing for the view over the Bryce Amphitheater. Thor's Hammer — a hoodoo with a broad block balanced on a slender neck, the park's most photographed formation — stands below the rim here and is visible from the overlook and the first switchbacks. About 15 minutes.

    2. The Wall Street switchbacks 0.8 km 0 m Map

      Navajo Loop trailhead → Foot of Wall Street

      Steep packed-dirt switchbacks in a slot

      The signature descent: a tight stack of switchbacks folds down into a shaded slot barely wide enough for two people, where a pair of Douglas firs have grown tall reaching for the light. Steep and loose in places, and closed through the winter months. About 30 minutes down.

    3. The hoodoo floor
      The hoodoo floor 1 km 30 m Map

      Foot of Wall Street → Queen's Garden junction

      Easy sandy trail between spires

      Out of the slot the trail levels into open ponderosa woodland on the amphitheater floor, winding between hoodoos that now tower overhead rather than falling away below. This is the quietest, strangest stretch of the loop. About 30 minutes.

      About this place

      A hoodoo is a tall, thin spire of rock formed by erosion. Hoodoos typically consist of relatively soft rock topped by harder, less easily eroded stone that protects each column from the elements. They generally form within sedimentary rock and volcanic rock formations.

      Read more on Wikipedia Photo: Luca Galuzzi (Lucag) · CC BY-SA 2.5
    4. Queen's Garden 1.7 km 60 m Map

      Queen's Garden junction → Sunrise Point

      Steady climb, short rock-cut tunnels

      Climb back toward the rim through Queen's Garden, passing under short tunnels cut through fins of rock to the spire said to resemble Queen Victoria, which gives the trail its name. The gentlest way out of the amphitheater — but it is still a climb at altitude. About 45 minutes.

    5. The Rim Trail back to Sunset Point
      The Rim Trail back to Sunset Point 0.8 km 110 m Map

      Sunrise Point → Sunset Point

      Paved, mostly level rim path

      Follow the paved Rim Trail south along the edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau back to your car, with the whole loop you just walked laid out below. In summer the shuttle covers the same ground if you would rather not. About 20 minutes.

      About this place

      The Paunsaugunt Plateau is a dissected plateau, rising to an elevation of 7,000–9,300 feet (2,100–2,800 m), in southwestern Utah in the United States. Located in northern Kane County and southwestern Garfield County, it is approximately 10 miles (16 km) wide, and extends southward from the Sevier Plateau approximately 25 miles (40 km), terminating in the Pink Cliffs at the southern end.

      Read more on Wikipedia Photo: Lee Siebert (Smithsonian Institution) · Public domain

    Partner link: if you book through it we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It does not change what we recommend. How this works

    You might also like

    From the blog

    Comments