If you want to make it even better, I would recommend combining it with the spectacular Queens Garden Trail, as we did.
A few pictures from the hike:
Showing posts with label Bryce. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bryce. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Roadtrip 2008: Peek-A-Boo Trail in Bryce NP
On the second day of our stay in Bryce NP we went for a 7-mile long hike into the canyon. We started the hike at Bryce Point with the Peek-A-Boo Trail, which drops quickly to the canyon floor and is not heavily used neither by hikers nor mules. Because of those two reasons it is my favorite hike in Bryce.
If you want to make it even better, I would recommend combining it with the spectacular Queens Garden Trail, as we did.
A few pictures from the hike:
If you want to make it even better, I would recommend combining it with the spectacular Queens Garden Trail, as we did.
A few pictures from the hike:
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Road Trip 2008: Bryce NP
Bryce NP was the last national park that Agnieszka and I visited during our two week-long road trip through the Southwest in 2008. I had been to Bryce already in 2006, but for Agnieszka it was the first time. She was so immensely impressed with it that she said that she was glad it was the very last place we visited, as all other parks would seem unimpressive compared to it.
The first thing that we did in the park was to go for a drive to Rainbow Point (18 miles one way). There are 13 viewpoints along the road and we stopped at all of them. I think Rainbow and Bryce Points offered the best views, but the photos below should help you judge that for yourself.
Rainbow Point:
Natural Bridge
Bryce Point
Sunrise Point
The first thing that we did in the park was to go for a drive to Rainbow Point (18 miles one way). There are 13 viewpoints along the road and we stopped at all of them. I think Rainbow and Bryce Points offered the best views, but the photos below should help you judge that for yourself.
Rainbow Point:
Natural Bridge
Bryce Point
Sunrise Point
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Bryce NP - Queen's Garden & Navajo Trail Loop
The Fairyland Loop Trail left us wanting to see more of the park, so after a short break we set out for another hike. This time into the Bryce Amphitheater.
We started the hike at Sunrise Point with the Queen's Garden Trail, which is the least steep trail entering the canyon. It is also one of the prettiest trails in the park as it passes next to some of the most interesting hoodoos and several natural bridges.
The Queen's Garden Trail connects with the Navajo Trail, which we used to hike out of the canyon. The last part of the trail is very steep. It leads through a slot canyon called "Wall Street" to Sunset Point, where the trail ends. To complete the loop and get back to your car, you will need to hike another 0.3 mile on the Rim Trail.
The combined trails create a 2.9 mile (4.6 km) loop with the elevation change of 580 ft (177 m), which modestly is called in the park's newsletter "the prettiest 3-mile hike in the world". Well, they might just be right about this one.
Queen's Garden:
One of several bridges:
On the trail:
Honeymoon picture :)
Wall Street:
Some of the best views in Bryce NP are on the trail under the rim near Sunset Point:
We started the hike at Sunrise Point with the Queen's Garden Trail, which is the least steep trail entering the canyon. It is also one of the prettiest trails in the park as it passes next to some of the most interesting hoodoos and several natural bridges.
The Queen's Garden Trail connects with the Navajo Trail, which we used to hike out of the canyon. The last part of the trail is very steep. It leads through a slot canyon called "Wall Street" to Sunset Point, where the trail ends. To complete the loop and get back to your car, you will need to hike another 0.3 mile on the Rim Trail.
The combined trails create a 2.9 mile (4.6 km) loop with the elevation change of 580 ft (177 m), which modestly is called in the park's newsletter "the prettiest 3-mile hike in the world". Well, they might just be right about this one.
Queen's Garden:
One of several bridges:
On the trail:
Honeymoon picture :)
Wall Street:
Some of the best views in Bryce NP are on the trail under the rim near Sunset Point:
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Bryce NP - Fairyland Trail
In Bryce Canyon we decided to hike the less popular, 8 mile (12.9 km) long, Fairyland Loop Trail.
The trailhead for the hike is at Fairyland Point, which can be found at the end of a side road located around 1 mile before the park's entrance. First, the trail descends rapidly into Fairyland Canyon, where you can enjoy the beauty of the hoodoos from up close. Then it gradually climbs back to the canyon's rim and eventually it reaches it at Sunset Point. From there it follows the level Rim Trail back to Fairyland Point.
It took us around 3.5 h to complete this hike, which was surprisingly quick taken into account that we had to descend and then climb 2309 feet (704 m). Moreover, we did not feel tired after this hike, so we decided to go for another one after a short lunch break.
It is a very nice hike, but if you have only one day in the park I would recommend doing the Peekaboo Loop hike instead. The latter trail is much more picturesque, though also more popular with tourists.
I think the hoodoos look even more fascinating and bizarre when you look at them from the ground level:
Tower Bridge:
The trailhead for the hike is at Fairyland Point, which can be found at the end of a side road located around 1 mile before the park's entrance. First, the trail descends rapidly into Fairyland Canyon, where you can enjoy the beauty of the hoodoos from up close. Then it gradually climbs back to the canyon's rim and eventually it reaches it at Sunset Point. From there it follows the level Rim Trail back to Fairyland Point.
It took us around 3.5 h to complete this hike, which was surprisingly quick taken into account that we had to descend and then climb 2309 feet (704 m). Moreover, we did not feel tired after this hike, so we decided to go for another one after a short lunch break.
It is a very nice hike, but if you have only one day in the park I would recommend doing the Peekaboo Loop hike instead. The latter trail is much more picturesque, though also more popular with tourists.
I think the hoodoos look even more fascinating and bizarre when you look at them from the ground level:
Tower Bridge:
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Bryce NP - Viewpoints
I've been to Bryce Canyon NP three times. First time just after moving to the US before I started working at UCSF, second time during the road trip with Agnieszka, and third time now during the honeymoon. During each single of those visits I was deeply touched by the canyon's beauty. It is one of those places in the world that takes your breath away, even if you see it over and over again.
What makes Bryce Canyon beautiful and unique are the rocks that form it. They are called "Hoodoos", which means "to cast a spell". Hoodoos are formed by the erosion, which must have been particularly strong at Bryce. They have amazing vivid colors mostly thanks to iron and manganese oxide minerals. At the photos below you can see how much the canyon's colors can change depending on the sun's position.
Bryce Canyon (Sunset Point) around sunset:
Bryce Canyon around sunrise:
What makes Bryce Canyon beautiful and unique are the rocks that form it. They are called "Hoodoos", which means "to cast a spell". Hoodoos are formed by the erosion, which must have been particularly strong at Bryce. They have amazing vivid colors mostly thanks to iron and manganese oxide minerals. At the photos below you can see how much the canyon's colors can change depending on the sun's position.
Bryce Canyon (Sunset Point) around sunset:
Bryce Canyon around sunrise:
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Bryce NP
After a slightly disappointing hiking experience in Zion NP, we moved to Bryce NP, another geological phenomenon located in Utah. In my opinion, the rocks forming Bryce Canyon are much more spectacular than the ones in Zion. Therefore, I was surprised to see less tourists there than in the other park. Moreover, most of them were only driving between one viewpoint and the other. That means that most hiking trails are not overcrowded and as soon as you will start hiking under the rim, you will have the park just for yourself.
To get a decent length one-day hiking trail we had to combine several trails. If I remember correctly we started at Bryce Point with the Peekaboo Trail, then we switched to the Navajo and Queen's Garden Trails until we reached Sunset Point. From there we took the Rim Trail back to Sunrise and Bryce Points. It was a very nice hike that allowed us to admire the geological formations of Bryce both from the birds and ants :-) perspective.
Jochen at Bryce Point:
One of many spectacular hoodoos, also at Bryce Point:
On the Peekaboo Trail:
Our perspective was changing gradually as we were moving along the Peekaboo Trail. First we were looking down at the hoodoos:
And then we started to look up at them:
Again looking down at the hoodoos from the Rim trail:
I could not resist not to "steal" this photo from Jochen. It was also taken in Bryce NP but not in November as other pictures, but in January 2007, when he went back there with his family. Puzzling, isn't it?
As Francis Bacon said: Man, being the servant and interpreter of nature, can do and understand so much and so much only as he has observed in fact or in thought of the course of nature: beyond this he neither knows anything nor can do anything.
To get a decent length one-day hiking trail we had to combine several trails. If I remember correctly we started at Bryce Point with the Peekaboo Trail, then we switched to the Navajo and Queen's Garden Trails until we reached Sunset Point. From there we took the Rim Trail back to Sunrise and Bryce Points. It was a very nice hike that allowed us to admire the geological formations of Bryce both from the birds and ants :-) perspective.
Jochen at Bryce Point:
One of many spectacular hoodoos, also at Bryce Point:
On the Peekaboo Trail:
Our perspective was changing gradually as we were moving along the Peekaboo Trail. First we were looking down at the hoodoos:
And then we started to look up at them:
Again looking down at the hoodoos from the Rim trail:
I could not resist not to "steal" this photo from Jochen. It was also taken in Bryce NP but not in November as other pictures, but in January 2007, when he went back there with his family. Puzzling, isn't it?
As Francis Bacon said: Man, being the servant and interpreter of nature, can do and understand so much and so much only as he has observed in fact or in thought of the course of nature: beyond this he neither knows anything nor can do anything.
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