On our tour of the southwest this past September, one of our stops was to Bryce Canyon National Park. This was our first trip to Bryce, but not our last! The spectacular formations of the "hoodoos" which are spectacular to see along the rim trail, are even more impressive when you venture into the canyon itself and get a close-up look.

Our first day we arrived in the afternoon with our only goal being to walk the rim trail from Sunrise Point to Sunset Point to Inspiration Point to get a better feel of the park and figure out where we needed to be for our next day early morning hike. The hoodoos are spectacular and change from each vantage point. As you look deep into the canyon, people look like ants hiking along the trails!

The next morning we arrived just as the sun was coming up to get an early start before the heat of the day. We were hiking the Queens/Navajo Combination Loop…advertised by the park as the "world's best 3-mile hike" and I think would have to agree. The Wall Street portion of that trail is absolutely amazing. It drops 400 feet in less than a half mile and then takes you through a narrow canyon. While the park recommends hiking this loop in a clockwise direction, we met some folks the day before who suggested just the opposite for two reasons. First, we wouldn’t have any crowds on what’s considered the best section of the trail, Wall Street, and secondly, the sun would be to our back in the second half of our hike. They were right on both counts. This is the “must do” hike of Bryce.

This park is extremely popular and gets very crowded as the day progresses. I would strongly suggest getting there early if you're looking for some serenity. For additional pictures of our trip, please visit our blogs on Bryce Canyon:

http://hikinginglacier.blogspot.com/2012/10/occupy-wall-street.html

http://hikinginglacier.blogspot.com/2012/10/taking-in-bryce-canyon-from-rim-trail.html