Bryce Canyon National Park Hikes – Best Hike for a One Day Visit
Bryce Canyon Hikes – “The Best 3-Mile Hike In The World”
Best Bryce Canyon Hikes For a 1 Day Vist
Bryce Canyon is a 5-hour drive away from Las Vegas and 1.5- hour drive from Zion, which makes it a popular destination for those visiting the area. Visitors often ask, is one day enough for Bryce Canyon National Park? For those that are on a tight schedule, it’s more than enough time to take in what makes Bryce remarkable.
Queens Garden/ Navajo Loop / Rim Trail – Day Vist Trail Combo
Bryce Canyon hikes are famous for their Hoodoo rock formations. For a one day visit, we opted to do the combo of trails dubbed ‘The best 3-mile hike in the world”. This loop will traverse 3 separate trails.
- Queen’s Garden Trail
- Navjao Loop Trail
- Rim Trail
The three trails combined, complete a ~ 3-mile loop which starts along the rim and brings you down into the Bryce Canyon Amphitheater. This combination will give you the best variety and bring you through the different ecosystems in the park. You’ll come back up on the “Wall Street” section of the trail. Elevation change of entire loop- ~500ft
Queens Garden Trail
The Queens Garden trail is rated “Easy” on the official National Park Service website. The trail begins on the rim at Sunrise Point. This section of the trail is ~1.8 miles and merges into the Navajo Loop trail which will lead you back up to the rim. The trail starts off without much vegetation but was amazing to see the bottom of the amphitheater was the total opposite, with abundant trees and bushes, yes like a “Garden”.
Navajo Loop
The entire loop is ~1.3 miles, though combining it with the Queens Garden Trail, you would be going up either side of the loop. One side is of the loop is the Twin Bridges trail and the other side is the Wall Street side. Either side will bring you up the iconic steep switchbacks up to the rim of the amphitheater.
Rim Trail
The Rim Trail is a flat path that follows the perimeter of the amphitheater. It’s paved/ packed dirt the entire way that is easily accessible from multiple parking lots.
Bryce Canyon Parking
There is plenty of parking in either sunrise or sunset point, either of which will place you on the rim trail and a short walk to the trails.
Bryce Canyon Trail Conditions
Once you veer off the Rim Trail, the paths are still wide but crushed /packed rock. There is fairly good traction and the switchbacks are gradual enough that you do not have to worry about slipping. There were spots in the canyon where it was muddy with rainwater from past storms.
GEAR
Shoes
The trails are wide well maintained packed dirt or semi-loose gravel. While hiking shoes are recommended for any hike with dirt and elevation, it’s entirely do-able in regular sneakers, as most people I came across seemed perfectly fine in sneakers.
Hiking Poles
If you’re doing the Navajo Loop, there is quite a bit of steep elevation going up and down the switchbacks on both the Wall Street and Two Bridges side. About ~500 ft down and up. Those with potential knee problems I would recommend bringing a pole. Otherwise due to the short distance of 3 miles, one should be fine without it.
Clothing and Temperature
Light Jacket/ Layers. Bryce Canon is ~8000ft + in elevation, higher than Zion and Grand Canyon it also snows quite often in the winter. When I went in August, it was quite windy and cool at the rim and I needed a light jacket, but as you went down, the wind was not as much of a factor and became hot (though could be from me walking). The majority of the trail is open throughout the day with the exception of the canyons.
Tips
Beware of Thunderstorms
Check the weather for thunderstorms. The park ranger warned of the weather patterns and fast rolling thunderstorms, at least for the summer. As other hikes within the area including Zion and Grand Canyon, the mornings are sunny but there is a high chance of thunderstorms for any given evening. It was sunny at the beginning of our hike, but storms did develop and experienced thunder hail as well.
Go Early!!
It’s suggested that hikers start the hike early, not so much for avoiding crowds but to avoid the inevitable evening thunderstorms. It’s mostly sunny during the mornings. If you plan to do the loop in a day visit, it will take you around 2-4 hours depending on how fast you walk or stop to take pictures.
Trail Profile For a One Day Visit
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So you took the rim trail from Sunset Point Back to Sunrise Point?
Hi Hannah! I updated the post with the exact route I traveled through. https://www.komoot.com/tour/274157014. We parked and started at Sunrise Point. At sunrise Point you start descending into the valley, but you will come back up to the rim at Sunset Point. So we needed to walk from Sunset point to Sunrise point to complete the loop (and get back to the car). That last bit (from sunset to sunrise) is a flat, with no elevation, and is a part of the “Rim Trail”