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: