Information
Landmark: Navajo Loop TrailCity: Bryce Canyon City
Country: USA Utah
Continent: North America
Navajo Loop Trail, Bryce Canyon City, USA Utah, North America
Overview
The Navajo Loop Trail ranks among Bryce Canyon’s most popular, easy-to-reach hikes, leading you past towering orange hoodoos and into the heart of its sweeping amphitheater.It’s only about 1.3 miles long, but the trail drops steeply from the rim, winding through tight switchbacks and past jagged, rust-colored rock in the heart of Bryce Amphitheater.You can start the trail from either Sunset Point or Sunrise Point, though most people set off from Sunset Point, where the view opens onto a sweep of red cliffs.From the rim, the path drops into the amphitheater, winding among tight clusters of hoodoos where sunlight flickers between the spires, before meeting the rim trail again.The trail winds down in sharp switchbacks, easing hikers into the canyon and offering spots where a camera catches sunlit rock faces from above.On the Scenic Experience Navajo Loop, you walk between towering hoodoos, the rock walls glowing warm orange, and see angles you’d never catch from the rim.Along the trail, you’ll pass Thor’s Hammer-a lone spire shaped like a massive stone mallet-and Wall Street, a tight canyon hemmed in by towering rock faces that glow warm in the afternoon sun.The trail shifts from sweeping, open vistas to narrow corridors where hoodoos tower all around, like a quiet stone forest pressing in close.Navajo Loop is one of the park’s busiest trails, with a steady stream of hikers passing by, especially from mid-morning into the early afternoon.Even with the crowds, the trail still slips into pockets of calm along its quieter bends, where you might stop to catch the wind, the crunch of boots on gravel, or a bird calling from far off.The seasons keep things fresh-winter’s snow makes the orange and red spires glow against a white backdrop, while summer drapes the trail edges in thick, green leaves.Look closely and you’ll see fine ripples in the rock layers, the faint outline of old fossils, and small green patches of lichen clinging to the stone.All day, shifting light and shadow reshape the hoodoos, bringing out the fine ridges and grooves carved by centuries of wind and rain.Little touches-like wildflowers tucked into rocky cracks or the silver gleam of frost at dawn-pull you deeper into the scene.Hikers can link the Navajo Loop with the Queens Garden Trail to create a 2.9‑mile circuit, dropping down among towering hoodoos before climbing back through soft, sculpted rock gardens.This loop lets you take in Bryce Canyon’s full range, from towering, flame-colored cliffs to quiet hollows where the wind barely stirs.The Navajo Loop Trail captures the heart of Bryce Canyon, leading you past towering red hoodoos, opening to sweeping canyon views, and offering moments where the landscape feels like it’s been carved by a careful hand.It tests your body while pulling you deep into the park’s striking geology-the sharp scent of pine, the rough edges of ancient stone.
