4 Amazing EASY HIKES in Bryce Canyon (Perfect for Beginners)

Bryce Canyon National Park is best known for its hoodoos, which are tall, thin spires of rock. Needless to say, hoodoos are best experienced from the day-hikes! Bryce Canyon offers several easy day-hiking trails, which provide an up-close and intimate look at these intricately carved rock formations.

Here are my favorite, absolutely amazing 4 easy hikes in Bryce Canyon National Park where you are guaranteed to see breathtaking scenery.

Looking for longer and more challenging hikes? No problem! Check out my post 11 BEST HIKES in Bryce Canyon National Park.

• Roundtrip Distance: 1.8 miles (not a loop)
• Trail Location: Sunrise Point
• Time: 1-2 hours
• Elevation Change: 320 feet
• Difficulty: Easy

Queens Garden Trail is the most popular easy day-hike in Bryce Canyon that will take you below the rim, and let you meander among the hoodoos and see up-close their intricate carvings.

What are hoodoos and how are they formed?

Hoodoos are geological formations created over many centuries through a combination of physical and chemical weathering forces.

As the National Park Service explains, “in the winter, melting snow, in the form of water, seeps into the cracks and freezes at night. When water freezes it expands by almost 10 percent, bit by bit prying open cracks, making them ever wider, in the same way, a pothole forms in a paved road.”

Queens Garden Trailhead is located at Sunrise Point. It is super easy to get to Sunrise Point.

Once you get to the Visitor Center, which is about 1 mile past the entrance to the park, continue south for no more than 0.5 miles until you reach a junction.

Be on the lookout for the sign pointing to Sunrise Point. At the junction, turn left and continue for about 0.5 miles until you reach another junction. Next, follow the sign pointing in the direction of Sunset Point/General Store.

Finally, turn left again and continue for about 0.2 miles until you reach the Sunrise Point parking area.

Queens Garden Trail starts at Sunrise Point.

However, before you hit the trail, make sure to take your time at Sunrise Point and admire the incredible views of thousands of chiseled pinnacles extending all the way to Fairyland Point.

First of all, the trail starts very gently and gradually descends along a sloping ridgeline.

Soon enough, you will be passing by several groups of beautiful hoodoo formations protruding from the trail right in front of you. This is a perfect spot to take lots of pictures!

As you continue hiking along Queens Garden Trail the views of the hoodoos just get better. You will notice that they are all in different sizes and heights.

After about 0.5 miles from the trailhead, you will reach the junction with the Horse Trail. Follow the sign for Queens Garden Trail.

At about 0.7 miles from the trailhead, the Queens Garden Trail passes through a short, artificial tunnel. It is another great spot to take a few pictures!

Soon after, the trail starts to zig-zag down a small hillside, and at that point, you will get to see some great views of a pinnacle-filled ravine. Shortly after, the trail reaches the second tunnel, followed by the third tunnel. All of these spots are awesome for taking some great photos.

Finally, you will encounter a junction with a very short spur trail to a viewpoint of Queens Garden. Make a slight right turn at the junction and follow the signs for Queens Garden.

The Queens Garden is a beautiful semi-circular ridge of phantom-like rock spires. At the center of it, is a swirling, elevated rock formation thought to resemble Queen Victoria.

Next, when you are ready, retrace your steps and get back to the main trail.

You have two options at this point. You can continue hiking or you can simply retrace your steps and get back to Sunrise Point where you started Queens Garden Trail.

If you decide to continue hiking, then right after you retrace your steps to the main trail, there will be a junction between Navajo Loop Trail and Peek-A-Boo Trail.

Navajo Loop Trail is an awesome trail that you should consider checking out. It is a moderate trail and has a steep incline at the end. Peek-A-Boo Trail is another one of my favorites, however, it is a fairly strenuous hike.

This is important!  The entire Rim Trail in Bryce Canyon National Park is 10.4 miles round trip (not a loop). However, you can shorten this hike and hit the best viewpoints! Here are my recommendations:

• Roundtrip Distance: Start your hike along Rim Trail in Bryce Canyon National Park at Sunrise Point, then continue to Sunset Point, and finish off your hike at Inspiration Point. The total distance is 1.2 miles from Sunrise Point to Inspiration Point
• Trail Location: Various Access Points between Sunrise and Inspiration Points
• Time: 1-2 hours
• Elevation Change: 200 feet
• Difficulty: Easy

The entire trail is 10.4 miles long. It starts at Fairyland Point and goes all the way to Bryce Point. The elevation change is 1,177 feet and starts to change as you approach Bryce Point.

However, if you are not up to it, then it is perfectly ok to shorten this hike and start it from Sunrise Point to Inspiration Point. The distance is no more than 1.2 miles from Sunrise Point to Inspiration Point with very little elevation change making it a perfect easy day-hike in the Bryce Canyon.

It is super easy to get to Sunrise Point!

Once you get to the Visitor Center, which is about 1 mile past the entrance to the park, continue south for no more than 0.5 miles until you reach a junction.

Be on the lookout for the sign pointing to Sunrise Point. At the junction, turn left and continue for about 0.5 miles until you reach another junction. Next, follow the sign pointing in the direction of Sunset Point/General Store.

Finally, turn left again and continue for about 0.2 miles until you reach the Sunrise Point parking area.

Hands down, I have to say, this is one of my favorite easy hikes in Bryce Canyon. You get to take a leisurely walk along the rim of the scenic Bryce Amphitheater and admire the fascinating views dotted for miles by hoodoos!

Sunrise Point will be your starting point. Take your time at Sunrise Point because the views of the Bryce Amphitheatre are off the charts here!

Next, continue south along Rim Trail. After about 0.5 miles, you will reach Sunset Point. It is another awesome viewpoint to stop and take it all in. The views of Bryce Canyon are breathtaking.

Moreover, most of the trail between Sunrise and Sunset points is paved and also so well worn that portions are wheelchair accessible. However, the rest of the sections have some uneven surfaces which may make wheelchair access to some areas difficult.

Next, continue south until you reach Inspiration Point, which offers some of the best views in the entire park. It will be about 0.7 miles from Sunset Point to Inspiration Point.

Inspiration Point is a great spot to watch a sunset. If your time allows, come back to Inspiration Point to see Bryce Canyon Amphitheater in completely different colors!

I need to mention that there are wooden benches at various points along Rim Trail so take your time, sit down, and enjoy this wondrous scenery.

If you like taking pictures, then please check out my post Best Photography Locations in Bryce Canyon for sunset, sunrise, or nighttime photography, plus a ton of useful photo tips for Bryce Canyon.

For example, I always feel compelled to capture the entire Bryce Canyon Amphitheater, however, it is ok to zoom in and photograph sections of hoodoos.

Now, you can continue along Rim Trail, or you can end your hike right at Inspiration Point and retrace your steps and get back to Sunrise Point where you started.

• Roundtrip Distance: 1 mile
• Trail Location: Rainbow Point or Yovimpa Point
• Time: 30 min – 1 hour
• Elevation Change: 200 feet
• Difficulty: Easy

Bristlecone Loop Trail is one of the easy hikes in Bryce Canyon National Park where you can see the oldest living things on Earth, the Bristlecone Pines!

The oldest living Bristlecone Pine tree is called “Methuselah” and is 4,765 years old. Apparently, it lives in a secret location in the White Mountain range of California and Nevada.

• You can see Bristlecone Pine trees on Fairyland Loop Trail, as well as Bristlecone Loop Trail at Rainbow Point.
• They are also scattered about the park, on Peekaboo Trail, and in places along Rim Trail near Inspiration Point.
• Usually, you won’t find them in the interior of the park, only near the rim.
• The oldest bristlecone is found at Yovimpa Point on Bristlecone Loop Trail, and is estimated at over 1,600 years old–a mere youngster!

Source: NPS

You can start Bristlecone Pine Trail at either Yovimpa Point or Rainbow Point which are located at the very end of Bryce Canyon Scenic Drive.

To get to Yovimpa Point or Rainbow Point take the main road that runs through the park. The road starts at the entrance to the park and after about one mile passes by the Visitor Center. Continue for about 14 miles until you reach Yovimpa Point. Check out my post and make some stops along the way to catch some more great views of Bryce Canyon.

Bristlecone Loop Trail is one of the easy hikes in Bryce Canyon National Park. You can start hiking from either Rainbow Point or Yovimpa Point. My recommendation is to start at Yovimpa Point. Why? The views just get better as you hike.

First of all, the trail goes through the forest of white fir, Douglas fir, and blue spruce. Next, it meanders to several good viewpoints at the top of the cliffs.

Along the way, you get to catch some awesome views of the Promontory, an isolated pink-sided summit southeast of Rainbow Point.

Be on the lookout for several weather-beaten bristlecone pines.

The views get better as you hike along the trail.

When you are ready to continue, follow the trail. The final quarter-mile of the path is through a pretty dense forest. It feels great to walk through this section in the summertime since it is cool and shady. You might be able to find some patches of snow as late as the middle of the summer.

In winter the snow accumulates to depths of 10 feet or more. Although the road to Rainbow Point is generally open, the trail may well be inaccessible.

• Roundtrip Distance: 0.8 miles (not a loop)
• Trail Location: North end of the park – 4 miles east on Hwy 12
• Time: 30 min – 1 hour
• Elevation Change: 200 feet
• Difficulty: Easy

Mossy Cave Trail is one of the most fun easy hikes in Bryce Canyon that is great for the entire family. You can see a waterfall in summer and icicles in winter!

Mossy Cave Trailhead is located at the north end of the park, about 4 miles east on Hwy 12.

Once you leave the Visitor Center, drive about 4 miles north on UT 63 (main park road) north to its junction with Hwy 12.

At the junction turn right and drive 3.5 miles east until you reach a parking area for Mossy Cave Trail.

Mossy Cave Trail is one of the fun hikes in Bryce Canyon. It meanders alongside a stream and takes you all the way to the waterfall and a cave.

Interestingly enough, the stream is not natural. It originates from Tropic Ditch, which is an irrigation channel constructed by Mormon settlers between 1890 and 1892 to supply water to Cannonville and Tropic in the dry season when the Paria River stops flowing.

So let’s get started! From the parking lot, take the trail and start hiking alongside a stream. In about 0.4 miles you will reach a junction. Turn left at the junction and continue to a mossy cave.

In fact, this mossy cave is quite spectacular in the wintertime when the water freezes and forms ice pillars and icicles.

After visiting the cave retrace your steps to the junction and at the junction turn right and continue a bit upstream until you reach a waterfall tumbling down 15 feet over the ledge and forming a small pool. It feels wonderful to take a break here and soak your feet after a long day of hiking.

When you are ready to head back, simply retrace your steps and get back to the parking lot.

I have seen many people hiking in their flip-flops, without any sun protection, and above all with no water. So, here is a reminder to make sure to have the basic hiking gear if you are planning to do some hiking.

• Appropriate footwear

Trail shoes are great; hiking boots are even better since they offer more support.

• Plenty of water

Without enough water, your body’s muscles and organs simply cannot perform as well. Consuming too little water will not only make you thirsty but susceptible to hypothermia and altitude sickness. I have been using Yeti Rumbler 26 oz insulated, stainless steel bottle, and I am highly recommending it!

• Food

Food will help keep up energy and morale. I like RXBAR. It is a high-protein bar, gluten-free, and it is super yummy! Make sure to get a variety pack to keep it interesting.

• Rain gear and extra clothing

The weatherman is not always right. Be prepared for unannounced rain or a cold spell. Dress in layers. It will allow you to adjust to changing weather and activity levels. Two rules: avoid cotton (it keeps moisture close to your skin) and always carry a hat. I have had my North Face Jacket for years, and I love it.

• First aid kit

Prepackaged first-aid kits for hikers are available at any outfitter.

• Knife

A knife or even better, a multi-purpose tool is always good to have. These enable you to cut strips of cloth into bandages, remove splinters, etc.

• Sunscreen and sunglasses

Especially in the summertime, you will need sunscreen to prevent sunburn.

• Daypack/backpack

You need something you can carry comfortably and has features designed to keep you hiking smartly. Don’t forget the rain cover; some packs come with one built-in. I have Osprey Daylite Daypack and it is perfect for day hiking.

• Trash Bag

This will make sure that the trail will stay beautiful for generations to come. A zip-lock bag is a great option as well for keeping the trash you pick up along the trail separate from the rest of your gear.