Southwest Road Trip: Day 4: Bryce Canyon National Park - Peekaboo Loop and Navajo Loop
brycecanyon July 05, 2015
This post continues from part one and part two at Bryce Canyon.
At the Navajo Loop and Queens Garden Trail junction, we continued for a short stretch before we continued onto Peekaboo Loop. This portion of the trail has less hoodoos, yet still gives a grand scope of the landscape known as Bryce Amphitheater. Some guides recommended counter-clockwise, while others recommended the clockwise direction. Either works, and I'm glad that we went the clockwise direction.
We arrived back at the Queens Garden Trail and Navajo Loop junction again, still dismayed that Wall Street was closed. We sighed, and continued with the open portion of the Navajo Loop back up to Sunset Point. By this point, the switchbacks heading back up to the car were steep and I was exhausted.
We made it back to Sunset Point, relaxed and waited about half an hour before "sunset" so we could grab a sunset picture. The weather was not in our favor, as the view looked dark because the sun had dipped behind the clouds before giving away the colorful display. Another time, we said. (I think the gentle glow of the light gives the amphitheater a beautiful glow.)
Peekaboo Loop
Start: From Queens Garden/Navajo Loop junction or Bryce Point
Duration: 2-3 hours
Difficulty: Moderate
Length: 5.5 miles for a full loop
Navajo Loop
Start: From Sunset Point (or Queens Garden junction)
Duration: 1 hour
Difficulty: Moderate (steep descent and ascent)
Length: 1.3 miles round trip
We headed back to Ruby's Inn to grab some more supplies. We spent our night at North Campground and were glad to stake out a spot earlier in the day so we could spend the rest of the day cruising around Bryce Canyon. Be careful though. When we woke up, we found that a park ranger visited a car illegally camped in a non-designated spot.
Happy travels!
Cat
At the Navajo Loop and Queens Garden Trail junction, we continued for a short stretch before we continued onto Peekaboo Loop. This portion of the trail has less hoodoos, yet still gives a grand scope of the landscape known as Bryce Amphitheater. Some guides recommended counter-clockwise, while others recommended the clockwise direction. Either works, and I'm glad that we went the clockwise direction.
We arrived back at the Queens Garden Trail and Navajo Loop junction again, still dismayed that Wall Street was closed. We sighed, and continued with the open portion of the Navajo Loop back up to Sunset Point. By this point, the switchbacks heading back up to the car were steep and I was exhausted.
We made it back to Sunset Point, relaxed and waited about half an hour before "sunset" so we could grab a sunset picture. The weather was not in our favor, as the view looked dark because the sun had dipped behind the clouds before giving away the colorful display. Another time, we said. (I think the gentle glow of the light gives the amphitheater a beautiful glow.)
Peekaboo Loop
Start: From Queens Garden/Navajo Loop junction or Bryce Point
Duration: 2-3 hours
Difficulty: Moderate
Length: 5.5 miles for a full loop
Navajo Loop
Start: From Sunset Point (or Queens Garden junction)
Duration: 1 hour
Difficulty: Moderate (steep descent and ascent)
Length: 1.3 miles round trip
We headed back to Ruby's Inn to grab some more supplies. We spent our night at North Campground and were glad to stake out a spot earlier in the day so we could spend the rest of the day cruising around Bryce Canyon. Be careful though. When we woke up, we found that a park ranger visited a car illegally camped in a non-designated spot.
Happy travels!
Cat
