Our Day Trip to Bryce Canyon National Park from California
Daniel and I are very spontaneous. Although we both have travel bucket lists, we rarely plan our trips except when we are going abroad. Most of our trips within the United States are results of last-minute decision making. I love that about us. We both have full-time jobs and weekends are the best time for us to explore and spend time with each other.
Our trip to Bryce Canyon National Park was one of those “let’s pack up and go” trips. From California, we drove 10 hours to get to Utah, on a Friday night. We arrived at the park around 4 AM. Our original goal was to see the sunrise from the vista point, but we took a nap and woke up a little late. Yes, we missed the sunrise. Ha!
I was aware that the visitor center won’t be open by the time we get to the park, so I downloaded the map of the park that I found online.
In this route you will see a lot of hoodoos, or as what Daniel and I called, “The Queen’s soldiers”. At the end of this trail, using your imagination, you will see Queen Victoria overseeing the garden before her. See the photo below.
NAVAJO LOOP TRAIL
After almost dying from hiking the Peekaboo Trail (because we run out of water and snacks), we continued hiking to Navajo Loop Trail. Halfway through the trail, you have two options, hike towards the Two Bridges/Thor’s Hammer Branch, or take the Wall Street Branch which would also take you to the Sunset Point.
Since we were already exhausted, we opted to take the Wall Street Branch. I am glad we did. Wall Street is the only slot canyon in Bryce.
We parked our car close to the Sunrise Point. The views from the Sunrise Point were out of this world. I can’t stop saying, “wow”, the whole time we were there. But instead of watching the amazing formations from the vista points, we decided to hike and explore the park. We started our hike from the Sunrise Point at 6:25 AM.
QUEENS GARDEN TRAIL
From Sunrise Point, we hiked 0.8-mile downhill into the valley of Bryce Canyon National Park. I felt so small while hiking as the hoodoos were towering over us. I slipped a couple of times because of the loose rocks on the trail. It was my fault as I was not wearing proper hiking shoes.
QUEENS GARDEN TRAIL
From Sunrise Point, we hiked 0.8-mile downhill into the valley of Bryce Canyon National Park. I felt so small while hiking as the hoodoos were towering over us. I slipped a couple of times because of the loose rocks on the trail. It was my fault as I was not wearing proper hiking shoes.
Please don’t be like us. Invest in good hiking shoes.
In this route you will see a lot of hoodoos, or as what Daniel and I called, “The Queen’s soldiers”. At the end of this trail, using your imagination, you will see Queen Victoria overseeing the garden before her. See the photo below.
Following the signs, we continued hiking for another 0.7 miles going to the Navajo Loop Trail. Since we were very adventurous that day, we decided to hike the Peekaboo Trail first before doing the Navajo Loop Trail.
PEEKABOO TRAIL
We must have misread the signs, we didn’t realize that this 5.5-mile trail was considered a strenuous canyon trail with rapid elevation changes. No wonder we encountered a lot of people riding horses on the trail instead of hiking. Silly us! But hey, hiking this trail was totally worth it. The rock formations were amazing. These are the views you can never see from the vista point.
We must have misread the signs, we didn’t realize that this 5.5-mile trail was considered a strenuous canyon trail with rapid elevation changes. No wonder we encountered a lot of people riding horses on the trail instead of hiking. Silly us! But hey, hiking this trail was totally worth it. The rock formations were amazing. These are the views you can never see from the vista point.
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| Walls of Windows, Peekaboo Trail at Bryce Canyon National Park |
NAVAJO LOOP TRAIL
After almost dying from hiking the Peekaboo Trail (because we run out of water and snacks), we continued hiking to Navajo Loop Trail. Halfway through the trail, you have two options, hike towards the Two Bridges/Thor’s Hammer Branch, or take the Wall Street Branch which would also take you to the Sunset Point.
Since we were already exhausted, we opted to take the Wall Street Branch. I am glad we did. Wall Street is the only slot canyon in Bryce.
From Wall Street, we hike going up to Sunset Point where we enjoyed watching the beautiful sunset.
On our way home, we stopped at the visitors center, bought the park sticker and some souvenirs, and got the stamp for our National Park Passport.
Bryce Canyon National Park, another item off our bucket list.
THINGS I LEARNED FROM VISITING BRYCE CANYON NATIONAL PARK, AND TIPS I CAN SHARE WITH YOU.
The views from vista points are fantastic.
The Queens Garden Trail, for me, is the easiest and shortest hike in the park.
The Peekaboo Trail is rated very difficult. If you are not a hiker, think twice before exploring this trail. The views in this trail are amazing.
Make sure to bring lots of water, snacks, and sunscreen as it can get so hot on the trail.
Make sure you are wearing good hiking shoes to avoid accidents.
I highly recommend exploring the park as early as you can.
Please check the weather before visiting Bryce Canyon National Park. Plan ahead to avoid dangerous lightning storms.
Thank you for reading our blog.
Have you been to Bryce Canyon National Park?
We'd love to hear your Bryce Canyon experience.
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