Navajo Loop is probably the most popular trail in Bryce Canyon National Park. This one is popular for good reason, however the trailhead is super central and many other popular hikes and viewpoints all converge at the same spot. This means your experience is pretty strongly correlated to how many times you decide to hit the snooze button. Nevertheless, In our opinion, Navajo Loop to Peek-A-Boo Loop is the best trail in the park. So many cool views densely packed into a relatively short trail. There is still a bit of elevation to this trail and you start off going downhill, so the switchbacks are a bit of a leg burner coming back up. Don't say we didn't warn ya!
Even in the offseason, the difference between this trail at 7am versus 9am is pretty shocking. All the pictures above were taken when we started the trail at around 7am, when only one or two groups would roll through every 10-15 min. On our way back up at 9am, after hiking the Navajo Loop to Peek-A-Boo Loop, the switchback section "Wall Street" was crawling with hikers. You'd be in photoshop for hours, even with generative fill, if you wanted to try and get rid of that many people out of your shots. If you have been following us for a bit, you've probably heard us preach getting up early a million times by now, but for this trail it is particularly relevant. When you start out at the top of the loop, we strongly recommend going to the right and hitting "Wall Street" (the most popular section) first.
Bryce Canyon is a bit higher elevation than it's neighbor Zion, so its usually around 10 degrees cooler and tends to get a bit more snow. If you are considering visiting anytime between December and March, you'd be rolling the dice. This trail does get shut down when there is too much snow and ice. Last time we visited, it was in late November and even then, there were some pretty wild stretches of ice that were pretty tough to navigate so we probably just made it before that winter's closure.
Bryce Canyon National Park is a pretty small national park and can pretty easily be knocked out in just a weekend. While there is a surprising amount of variety to a sea of hoodoos, there are really just a few headliners. If you have extra time on your hands, we strongly recommend driving just an hour and a half south west to Zion National Park. Both parks are on the smaller side compared to other national parks, so if you have a week, split it between the two and you can knock out all the best spots at both.
The start of our favorite hike in Bryce Canyon National Park, Navajo Loop to Peek-A-Boo Loop. Most of the photos you've seen of Bryce are along this trail. Since this hike is jam packed with crazy views, naturally everyone else wants to see it too. Get up and out as early as you can. The lighting is better and you won't have to fight the crowd until you're climbing back up. The elevation here is sneaky. I was mouth breathing pretty hard back up the switchbacks so bring plenty of water if you're here in summer.