Hiking Among the Hoodoos - A Photo Essay

During my American Southwest road trip last summer, I spent one morning hiking among the hoodoos of Bryce Canyon National Park. Hoodoos are columns of weathered rock and they are in abundance in this remote national park located in the southwest Utah about 4 hours from Las Vegas, NV.

My aunt, uncle, uncle's brother, and I were up early (this was a recurring theme during the entire trip) and in the park even before the rangers arrived to man the entrance gates. Starting at Sunset Point, we descended into the hoodoos via the Navajo Loop Trail for a closer view of the mysterious rock formations.

The trail led us down a series of switchbacks and through a section known as Wall Street, a narrow canyon with high rock walls.

After reaching the canyon floor, we opted to continue along the Queen's Garden Trail instead of finishing the Navajo Loop (which leads back to the canyon rim). This trail is known as the Queen's Garden & Navajo Combination and most hikers (from what I've gathered) do it in that order whereas we did it in reverse.

Some of the park's most spectacular formations can be found in Queen's Gardens, including the formation for which the garden is named - Queen Victoria.

After a final ascent, we arrived back on the canyon rim at Sunrise Point (1/2 mile from Sunset Point, where our hike originated). The Navajo Loop/Queen's Garden Trail is a heavily trafficked, well marked 2.8 mile trail (Sunset Point to Queen's Garden to Sunrise Point back to Sunset Point), that has an elevation change of 623 feet. We didn't encounter many other hikers on the trail until our final ascent to Sunrise Point, where we met a steady, increasing stream of hikers descending into the canyon.

One bit of advice - remember, if you descend into the canyon, at the end you must ascend to get out.  This is very important to keep in mind, especially when hiking during the summer months.

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