Bryce Canyon’s Navajo Loop Trail: One of a Kind Trail

Bryce Canyon National Park is one of the most beautiful locations in all of the United States.  The orange rocks and unique structures are truly one of a kind.  And if you go and hike the Navajo Loop Trail, you’ll get to walk right into the magic.

Clocking in at less than 2 miles, this trail is doable for just about anyone.  However, this trail is steep and shouldn’t be underestimated.  You might have to go slow and take frequent breaks, but you can absolutely hike the Navajo Loop Trail!

The Navajo Loop Trail does connect with other trails so you can make this hike as long or as quick as you want.  But let’s dive right into the details!

Important Links

• Bryce Canyon National Park website – NPS.com
• Navajo Loop Trail – AllTrails Link
• Hiking Backpack Essentials Freebie – Never Forget Hiking Must Haves Again!
• Bryce Canyon National Park Brochure

Location

The Navajo Loop Trail is located in Bryce Canyon National Park.  This beautiful national park is absolutely worth road tripping to!  But how far will you be driving?

Bryce Canyon National Park is a little over 2 hours from St. George, UT, about 4 hours from Las Vegas, NV, and about 4 hours south of Salt Lake City, UT.  If you are flying to one of these airports in the morning, you’ll be able to hit the trails by the afternoon!

Fees

All National Parks, Seashores, Lakeshores, etc. require their guests to pay a fee.  The average family/couple/person who drives a private vehicle will pay the $35 standard fee.  This fee buys a 7-day park pass and will cover you and a car-full of guests.  

If for some reason you are walking or biking into the park, you’ll pay a $20 fee, and a motorcycle pays a $30 fee.  Both of these passes are good for 7 days.

However, if you intend to visit Byrce Canyon more than 2 times per year, you can purchase an Annual Pass for $70.  This pass is good for 12 months for you and a car-full of guests.  This pass can only be purchased at the park.

And for all of those Federal Recreation Area enthusiasts, there is the America The Beautiful Pass. This pass can be purchased ahead of time or at the federal locations for $80.  This pass gets you into any federal recreation area for free for an entire year!  If you plan to visit more than 3 national parks in a 12 month span, this pass pays for itself!  

Parking

Now, let’s discuss parking for the Navajo Loop Trail.  The Navajo Loop Trail, and many other popular trails, begins at the end of Sunset Point Road.  There is a decent sized parking lot here with toilets and a beautiful view at sunrise or sunset.  

In short, you’ll want to park here, or you can type “Bryce Canyon National Park Sunset Point” into your preferred GPS app. 

Just be aware that you will want to arrive here sooner rather than later as this parking lot does frequently fill up.  We hiked this trail in the middle of October and the parking lot was FULL by 9am.   

Before You Hike

Alright, now that you know what to pay and where to go let’s cover a couple quick things before we dive in!  

Firstly, most of the park sits at an altitude of 8,000 feet.  This will definitely leave you feeling out of breath if you aren’t acclimated.  Trust me!

If you have the time to take a few days to get acclimated, this will be the best way to help you avoid altitude sickness.  However, since this is rarely the case, you’ll want to drink more water than you typically do.  You’ll also want to go slower when hiking so you don’t get too out of breath.  

Secondly, the sun is stronger at this elevation as well.  So make sure that you pack plenty of sunblock, hats, and any other sort of sun protection.    

And finally, Bryce Canyon is located in a very dry location.  Meaning there is little to no humidity and the air is dry.  Again, you can help combat this by drinking plenty of water and electrolytes.  You also might want some chapstick and lotion to help chapped lips or dry skin from bothering you.  

Okay, okay, enough about the climate and the other housekeeping things.  Let’s get to the trail details!

Trail Stats

The Navajo Loop Trail is a pretty short trail and is often combined with the Queens Garden Loop and/or the Peek-a-Boo Loop. (I do highly recommend adding both of these loops if you have the time!).

• Distance: 1.6 miles (Loop)
• Elevation Gain: 515 feet
• Difficulty: Moderate
• Time of Trail: 1-2 hours

Again, this is not a hard trail, especially because of how short it is. But you’ll want to be aware that you basically hike straight down on a series of switchbacks, and then straight back up on a different set of switchbacks.  To an advanced hiker, you’ll be done in an hour or less.  But if you are a new hiker, be prepared to take several breaks on the way back up.

+Our Itinerary

My husband and I hiked the Navajo Loop Trail in October of 2025.  We also added the Queens Garden Loop and the Peak-a-Boo Loop for a grand total of 7.25 miles.  This morning of hiking was one of the highlights of our year.  

Here was our exact itinerary so you have an idea how to plan.  

• Sunrise: 7:25am
• Arrived/Parked: 7:30am
• Started Hiking: 8:00am
• Hiked for: 4.5 hours (7.25 miles)
• Return to Truck: 12:30pm

In short, we completed the Navajo Loop Trail, the Peak-a-Boo Trail and the Queens Garden Trail in about 4.5 hours.  This totaled about 7.25 miles of incredible Utah hiking.  If you have the time and the ability, I absolutely recommend this longer loop!

Whether you are adding the extra trails or not, here is what to expect from the Navajo Loop Trail.  

The Hike

Hiking the Navajo Loop Trail requires a little bit of planning and then you’ll be treated with some incredible hiking.  

First you’ll start by entering Bryce Canyon National Park, paying for your park pass, parking here, and then getting ready to hike.  There are bathrooms at the trailhead and I highly recommend you use them since there isn’t a place to go once you are down in the canyon. 

Once you’ve parked, you’ll head for the trailhead, which is right next to Sunset Point.  This is clearly marked and unless it’s the dead of winter, you won’t be alone.  As you head down the first switchback, you’ll very quickly see the highlight of this trail, Thor’s Hammer.

The Highlight (Thor’s Hammer)

The highlight of hiking this incredible trail is definitely Thor’s Hammer.  This unique structure is famous in Bryce Canyon and the Navajo Loop Trail leads you RIGHT past it.  

Depending on whether you go clockwise or counter clockwise on this loop, you’ll either start by hiking next to Thor’s Hammer, or conclude your hike here.  Be sure to snap a photo of the tall and unique structure and keep hiking as there might be a line of people behind you trying to do the same thing.

Switchbacks on Switchbacks

After you’ve been graced with the awesome view of Thor’s Hammer, you’ll come to an intersection.  You can either hike down to the right or hike down to the left.  The Navajo Loop Trail leads you down one way and up the other way, so you’ll get to hike both sides.  **NOTE: down to the right is the Wall Street Section of this loop and this section is only open in the summer months.**

We chose to hike down to the left and hike the loop clockwise.  You can go either way (in the summer).  Either choice leads you down a steep, and beautiful, set of switchbacks.  The glow of the orange rock around you is unlike any place I had ever hiked before. It was absolutely incredible! 

As you hike down, you’ll go back and forth and back and forth again until you head down into the pines that grow down in the canyon.  You might be lucky enough to see some birds like the Stellar Jay down here if you’re hiking in the morning.  

Lower and lower you’ll hike until you reach the Navajo Loop Benchmark at the 0.8 mile mark.  There will also be a trail marker pointing you toward the rest of the trail.  

Around and Back Up Again

As you begin to loop around the orange rock structure, you’ll begin to climb out of the pines and hit more switchbacks.  These switchbacks will lead you out of the canyon.  You will still be surrounded by incredible rock structures and arches, but no longer right next to Thor’s Hammer.

Hiking back up is significantly harder than hiking down was, so don’t be afraid to take frequent breaks and sip your water as you go.  Don’t forget that the altitude can play a part in your heavy breathing if you aren’t acclimated.  

Once you reach the top again, you can make your way back to your vehicle.  Hopefully you enjoyed the beauty of this hike.  And if you’re feeling ambitious, here are a few other trails you will love!

Other Trails

If you just can’t get enough of Bryce Canyon, you’ll love hiking the Queens Garden Loop.  This trail can be easily combined with the Navajo Loop Trail.  And if you’re feeling extra ambitious, you can add on the Peak-a-Boo trail.  There were significantly less people on this trail and even better views.

If you want to see a slightly different area of the park, you can also hike the Fairyland Loop Trail. That trail also leads you among one-of-a-kind structures of Bryce Canyon.  

Things To Do in the Area

Once you are in the park, you’ll definitely want to drive the Scenic Drive.  This 18 mile road has many pull-offs along the way where you can stop and view different areas of the park.  

If you’re up for a bit of a drive, you are only about an hour and a half from Zion National Park.  Here you can hike the Watchman Trail, the Canyon Overlook Trail, and in Kolob Canyon.  

You are also only a little over an hour from Cedar Breaks National Monument.  This monument very much resembles Bryce Canyon, but has less than half of the visitors each year.  

Conclusion

The Navajo Loop Trail is one of Bryce Canyon’s must-do trails.  Just about anyone can hike this trail and you won’t want to miss it!  It’s also highly recommended that you add the Queens Garden Loop with this trail if you have the time.  

The incredible orange rock that surrounds this beautiful trail is not only unique, it is truly one of a kind.  So get your hiking boots and head over to Bryce Canyon!

As always, feel free to email me at averagewildexperience@gmail.com with any questions.

-Happy Hiking!