You are standing on the canyon floor, catching your breath in the shade of a ponderosa pine. Behind you, the tight switchbacks of the Navajo Loop have deposited you 550 feet below the rim, past 200-foot rock walls, past Douglas firs growing from the floor of a slot canyon, past Thor's Hammer balanced on its impossible pedestal. Ahead of you, the trail flattens through a quiet pine forest before climbing into a garden of hoodoos and emerging at a second viewpoint on the rim. The whole thing is 2.9 miles. The National Park Service calls it the hike they most recommend to first-time visitors. A park ranger once called it the best three-mile hike in the world. Both descriptions are accurate.
The Navajo Loop and Queen's Garden combination is the consensus must-do hike at Bryce Canyon, and this guide walks through it section by section, counterclockwise, from Sunset Point to Sunrise Point. Allow two to three hours. Bring more water than you think you need.
Sunset Point to the canyon floor: the Navajo Loop descent
The combo begins at Sunset Point, roughly 8,000 feet above sea level. From the overlook, the trail drops immediately via steep switchbacks into the Bryce Amphitheater. You have a choice of two arms: Wall Street to the right and Two Bridges to the left. If Wall Street is open (typically late May through October), take it. The decision is not close.
Wall Street is a narrow passage where limestone walls rise more than 200 feet on either side and the trail narrows to 25 inches at its tightest point. The switchbacks are steep, hitting a 30 percent maximum grade, but going down them is manageable if you watch your footing. Near the bottom, two Douglas fir trees estimated at 500 years old grow from the canyon floor, their trunks reaching 70-plus feet toward a thin strip of sky. This is the most photographed section of any trail in the park, and for good reason. The scale of it is difficult to convey until you are standing between those walls looking up.
When Wall Street is closed, which it is every winter and was still closed at the time of this writing in late March 2026, the Two Bridges arm is the alternate. It is slightly shorter and wider, with views of Thor's Hammer and two natural rock bridges. Both arms meet at the canyon floor about 0.6 to 0.7 miles from the rim.
A quick note on direction: the NPS officially recommends the combo clockwise, descending Queen's Garden first and ascending Navajo Loop. Their reasoning is solid. Queen's Garden's gentler grade (11 percent versus Navajo's 14 percent) makes it the safer descent, and most injuries happen on the way down. We are recommending counterclockwise here because descending Wall Street puts the trail's most dramatic section in front of you rather than behind you, and the gentler Queen's Garden ascent is kinder on your legs and lungs at 8,000 feet. If you are hiking with young children or are concerned about knee strain on steep descents, follow the NPS direction. Both work. Our individual Navajo Loop Trail guide covers the direction question in full detail.
The canyon floor: the quiet stretch nobody expects
Once both arms of the Navajo Loop converge at the bottom, the trail levels out and enters a different world. For roughly 0.7 miles, you walk through a ponderosa pine forest along a dry wash. The hoodoos recede behind the tree canopy. The switchbacks are behind you. The air is warmer down here, and the pine shade is a relief if you started the hike in direct sun.
This section is easy walking on packed dirt, and it is the part of the combo that surprises people. After the vertical drama of the Navajo descent, the flat forest trail feels almost out of place. A four-way junction marks the intersection with the Peekaboo Loop connector (a strong option for hikers wanting a longer day; our Hiking guides cover that route separately). Stay straight, and the trail begins a gentle rise as the pines thin out and the hoodoos close back in.
This is also the section where the crowd dynamics shift. If you started counterclockwise at sunrise, most of the traffic you encounter from this point forward will be clockwise hikers descending Queen's Garden. The trail is wide enough here that passing is not an issue.
Queen's Garden to Sunrise Point: hoodoos, tunnels, and the climb out
The Queen's Garden ascent is the gentlest way back to the rim, which is exactly why we saved it for last. The trail gains roughly 320 feet over 0.9 miles at an 11 percent average grade, substantially easier than retracing the Navajo switchbacks. That said, "easier" at 8,000 feet is a relative term. The NPS notes that effective oxygen at this elevation is about 75 percent of sea level, and the climb will make you breathe harder than the distance suggests. Take breaks. Drink water. Nobody is timing you.
The trail passes through at least three tunnels carved through narrow rock fins, each framing a view of the hoodoo clusters on the far side. These are the moments that make the combo special. One minute you are in a shaded passage barely wider than your shoulders; the next you are looking out at a field of orange and cream spires stretching to the horizon. A signed spur trail leads to the Queen Victoria viewpoint, the namesake hoodoo that gives the trail its name. The formation resembles a seated figure with a crown (your imagination may need a minute).
Higher up, the trail follows a ridgeline with expanding views of the entire Bryce Amphitheater. If you started at sunrise and hiked counterclockwise, this ascent catches the amphitheater in warm morning light with the east-facing hoodoos glowing ahead of you. Near the top, a grove of bristlecone pines estimated at 1,600 years old flanks the path just before the trail crests the rim at Sunrise Point.
The Rim Trail finish and what it costs you
From Sunrise Point, a flat, paved 0.5-mile section of the Rim Trail connects back to Sunset Point where you started. This stretch takes 10 to 15 minutes, gains a negligible 34 feet of elevation, and offers continuous views into the amphitheater from above. It is the satisfying coda to the hike, and it is where the shuttle becomes useful if you prefer not to walk. Sunrise Point is Shuttle Stop 13; Sunset Point is Stop 11. The shuttle is free and voluntary (unlike Zion's mandatory system), running every 15 minutes from April through October.
Distance: 2.9 miles (NPS), approximately 3.0 miles with Rim Trail return
Elevation gain: 625 feet (NPS)
Difficulty: Moderate
Time: 2 to 3 hours (NPS estimate; plan 2 to 2.5 hours realistically)
Trailheads: Sunset Point (Stop 11) and Sunrise Point (Stop 13)
Best season: Late May through October for the full loop with Wall Street
Park entrance is $35 per vehicle, valid for seven days. A $100 per-person surcharge for non-U.S. residents 16 and older took effect in January 2026. Confirm current fees and trail conditions at NPS.gov/brca before your visit.
The entire Navajo Loop Trail can be seasonally closed due to mudslides and the Wall Street winter closures. The combo cannot be completed unless the Navajo Loop is open. Queen's Garden remains open as a standalone out-and-back from Sunrise Point.
If the combo is on your list, browse our Hiking section for the individual Navajo Loop and Queen's Garden trail guides, gear advice for hiking at 8,000 feet, and seasonal conditions that determine when Wall Street opens each year.
