We decided to take the most popular hike in Bryce Canyon, the Navajo Trail, with a side hike to Queen’s Garden.  As with other hikes we got up early to beat the heat.  The park newspaper suggested starting the hike at Sunrise Point and hiking clockwise.  After reading some reviews of the trail by other hikers who suggested going counterclockwise, we decided to take the advice of the hikers and we started at Sunset Point and ended at Sunrise Point.  According to hikers, this allows for you to descend on the steepest side of the trail and ascend out of the canyon on the side of the trail with a more gradual ascent.  This hike took us on a trail down into the canyon, a drop of 600 feet into what is referred to as “Wall Street” because the canyon walls close in around you like the tall buildings on Wall Street in New York.  The trail descended steeply and this part of the trail was narrow.

Once we walked through Wall Street it opened up into a larger area which surprised us with its green trees.  We saw a deer grazing on some foliage.  The tall trees amazed us.  We stood in awe of all the hoodoos and colorful canyon walls surrounding us.  It was hard not to snap pictures every few steps.

We saw many balanced rocks, windows and arches, including several narrow passageways.  It was fun to imagine the shapes of animals and people in the hoodoos, including E.T.

We took a small detour on the trail to Queen’s Garden where we saw a hoodoo which looked very much like a statue of Queen Victoria in London.  This hoodoo showed Queen Victoria facing backwards while riding a camel.  Can you see it?

We hiked the short distance back to the Navajo trailhead and continued on our way.  A thunderstorm the evening before had really cleared the air, giving us some amazing views as we made the climb out of the canyon.  Going down 600 feet sure was easier than coming up 600 feet!  The trail up was pretty steep in places and we were both glad when we reached the rim at Sunrise Point. We were glad we had taken the advice of the hikers because even though the climb out was steep and hard, hiking out the other direction would have definitely been harder. We hiked the distance back to our car parked at Sunset Point along the Rim Trail.  This part of Bryce Canyon National Park has a Rim Trail with beautiful canyon views from the top, similar to the Grand Canyon Rim Trail, but on a much smaller scale than the Grand Canyon.

In a couple days we will be leaving this area and heading to Zion National Park.  We have certainly enjoyed our time in Panguitch and Bryce Canyon.  The temperature has been pleasant with strong breezes in the afternoons.  We have had occasional evening thunderstorms with some small hail but nothing damaging.  Bryce Canyon National Park is our favorite Utah Park and we look forward to coming back some day!