Bryce Canyon Day 2: Queens Garden Trail / Navajo Loop via Wall Street

After a very cold and windy night, we were all a bit groggy and slow moving the following morning. It was another late start to the day and it took us a few trips between the shuttle stop and van to ensure we had everything we needed (hats, sunglasses, brushed teeth, and hiking boots). Once again, it was shortly before noon before we even got into the park.

Getting off the warm shuttle at the Sunrise Point bus stop took more effort than expected due to the gusty wind and frosty bite in the air.  But we were going to make the most of the day and enjoy a proper hike (and prove the grumpy ranger wrong). We opted for the popular Queens Garden Trail and Navajo Loop which took us down into the amphitheater, past countless hoodoos, through a few natural tunnels and arches and then straight back up the mountain via Wall Street.  Unlike Wall Street in the Narrows (which was named because you can reach out and touch both sides of the canyon walls), this Wall Street is a set of stairs and switchbacks that take you through very narrow paths in the limestone walls, straight up one of the gaps in the spires / hoodoos.  It was such a cool experience and I am glad we ended the hike on this section of the trail.  

The Navajo Trail ended at Sunset Point, which is just a quick walk away from Bryce Canyon Lodge where we headed for coffee and hot chocolate.  The restaurant at the Lodge was closed, but we were pointed to the Valhalla Deck just across the parking lot for coffee and drinks. Randomly enough we ended up sitting next to a couple from Switzerland and had a nice conversation with them about our time living there, switching between English and German without a thought.

We slowly made our way back towards the visitor center to collect the Junior Ranger Badges (the kids didn’t know I had them) and to see if there was an additional prize for finding at least three trail medallions on our hikes (there was, but we didn’t find out until the next day).  The visitor center unfortunately closed ten minutes before we got there and so the grumpy ranger’s plan of giving me the badges in advance actually turned out to be a positive move on his part.  

That evening was spent enduring the chaos of the indoor swimming pool (part of the overall hotel and resort) and the subsequent chaos at the buffet (the only restaurant available within walking distance of our campsite. 

Next stop: the visitor center one more time for the trail medallion prize and then: to be determined. 

Bryce Canyon Day 1: A Very Grumpy Ranger

The drive from Zion to Bryce was a quick two hours (most drives were less than two and half hours) so we were able to head straight to the visitor center before checking into the RV Park for the two night stay. 

Arriving at Bryce Canyon after the craziness of Zion was a breath of fresh alpine air.  It felt so much bigger and less crowded.   Surprisingly, the ranger who assisted us, didn’t feel the same way.  During our short interaction he seemed less than impressed with everything: he warned of the large crowds and prepared us for limited to no parking, he didn’t think we could handle a hike more intense than a one mile loop (after cautioning us to take it easy at elevation) and he preemptively gave me the Junior Ranger Badges (typically given out after the book is completed) so we wouldn’t have to come back and need his help again.

The two hikes the ranger suggested were as easy as expected: Bristlecone Loop (a one mile loop at the end of the 18 mile scenic drive) and Mossy Cave (a one mile loop at the opposite end of the park).  And to be fair, there were a decent number of people who struggled with the slight incline towards Mossy Cave. The kids, conversely, were able to show off their mountain goat skills at Mossy Cave by hiking through the creek instead of the trail on the way back to the van.  

We checked into Ruby’s RV Inn and Campsite late in the afternoon and enjoyed our first warm shower since leaving Las Vegas.  We also turned on the heater in the van for the first time in anticipation of a very cold night. 

Bryce Canyon National Park

Founded in: 1928

Size of the Park: 35,835 acres

Topography: Renowned for having the largest concentration of hoodoos (irregular rock spires) on Earth, which are formed by annual freeze-thaw cycles

Number of Annual Visitors: 2.5 Million 

Popular Hikes: Rim Trail, the steep Peek-a-Boo Loop, and the iconic Wall Street section of the Navajo Loop

Breuer Fun Facts: Bryce Canyon sits at over 9,000 feet above sea level and it was extremely cold when we were there (down to sixteen degrees overnight).  This combination of warm (our first day in Zion) and cold officially makes it a trend of going to National Parks over spring break with both high highs and low lows.

Zion Day 3: A Hodge Podge Rainy Day

The rains started the day before (right as we were wrapping up our hike of the Narrows) and the downpour continued through the night and into the morning.  The benefits of having the van, and more importantly the four person table inside, really came to light as we enjoyed our breakfast out of the rain.  And with no big plans for the day, we enjoyed some downtime of reading in the two respective “bedrooms” before getting started.  

We popped into the visitor center one final time to get recommendations for the day given the bad weather.  They pointed us in the direction of Emerald Pools (also highly recommended by our server at dinner the previous night) so we had a general idea of a plan.  We also realized how lucky we were to hike the Narrows the day before.  The river flow was too high from the rains and it was officially closed. 

Emerald Pools was wet, muddy and worth the hike to see the falls flowing. We started with the lower falls and then wound our way around to middle falls before heading back down completely covered in mud. 

Not willing to miss anything before we had to leave, we also took a quick detour to Weeping Rock and then the Museum before our final night at Zion.  Next stop, Bryce Canyon.