#10 of 24 trails in Bryce Canyon
Bryce Canyon National Park, UT
A hoodoo descent, a clockwise trail stretch, and a steep rim climb.
Overview
Map & elevation
Plan your hike
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Bryce Canyon Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Bryce Canyon National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this trailhead
Bryce Point: The Whole Amphitheater“You're approaching Bryce Point, where you can look across the whole hoodoo-filled amphitheater. Keep this stop if you want to see how the rows of towers fit together.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Bryce Canyon Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“Super fun and useful app! We especially enjoyed the guide as we drove through Bryce Canyon National Park.”
Trail guide
The Bryce Amphitheater Traverse is a 4.7-mile point-to-point hike from Bryce Point to Sunrise Point. It drops into the hoodoo amphitheater, follows the clockwise portion of Peekaboo Loop, then climbs Queen’s Garden back to the rim. It suits a longer half-day when you want to walk among the formations and can plan a one-way finish. Allow 3–4 hours; treat it as strenuous, with 1,145 feet of ascent. No hiking reservation or activity fee is listed; park entrance fees may apply.
Take the descent from Bryce Point; when it reaches Peekaboo Loop, turn left and go clockwise. The route moves among the hoodoo walls and passes the Wall of Windows, where you can frame a bend of trail with the rock openings for scale. The tread is firm native sediment, but the grades are sharp: Peekaboo reaches a listed maximum of 27%. Horses and mules use this section, so give riders the right-of-way. Summer-only pit toilets are on Peekaboo’s west side; the route’s listed services do not include drinking water.
A connector leads from Peekaboo to Queen’s Garden, then the trail climbs to Sunrise Point. Queen’s Garden reaches a listed maximum grade of 25%, so save some strength for the climb after the descent and loop. Queen Victoria is reached by a short side spur; it is an optional detour and is not included in the mapped traverse. Sunrise Point is the finish, not a return to Bryce Point.
Bryce Point parking is at the start. The amphitheater shuttle links the start and finish during its April–October season; outside that season, arrange another vehicle or add the 3.2-mile Rim Trail return from Sunrise to Bryce Point; that walk is extra. Oversized vehicles cannot park at Bryce Point while the shuttle operates. Midwinter snow can make the traverse inaccessible, so check park conditions before a winter hike.
The rock layers that weather into Bryce’s hoodoos began collecting in an ancient lake and floodplain basin about 50 million years ago. Later uplift and erosion, especially from ice and rain, carved the spires and the amphitheater. This route gives you both the overlook scale from the rim and close views from inside the formations.
Wildlife
15 sightingsWapitiMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
50 sightingsUtah Prairie DogMost seen around 9 AMSighting map
331 sightingsMule DeerMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
118 sightingsPronghornMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
41 sightingsTurkey VultureMost seen around noonSighting map
44 sightingsWild TurkeyMost seen around 7 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Bryce Canyon. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
ChallengingHat Shop Trail4 mi · 3.5 hr · At the trailheadA steep descent to gray-capped hoodoos, then the climb back.
ModerateThe Rim Trail5.5 mi · 3.5 hr · At the trailheadFive and a half rim miles link Bryce Amphitheater’s big overlooks.
ChallengingPeekaboo Loop Trail5.5 mi · 3.5 hr · At the trailheadWall of Windows close up; a 1,560-foot climb back to the rim.
ModerateNavajo Loop Trail1.3 mi · 1.5 hr · 1.4 mi awayA steep descent to Thor’s Hammer, then a climb back out.
ChallengingNavajo/Peekaboo Combination Loop4.9 mi · 3.5 hr · 1.4 mi awayLink Navajo’s steep switchbacks to a clockwise lap around Peekaboo.
EasySunset Point to Sunrise Point Hike1 mi · 1 hr · 1.4 mi awayA paved half-mile rim walk with Bryce’s classic hoodoo view.
ModerateTropic Trail3.5 mi · 2 hr · 1.4 mi awayA quieter, below-rim way into the amphitheater.
ChallengingFigure-8 Combination6.4 mi · 4.5 hr · 1.7 mi awayA long loop links Queen’s Garden, Peekaboo, Navajo, and the rim.
Sight · 0.1 mi awayBryce PointA sweeping view across the hoodoo amphitheater from its southern rim.
Restroom · 0.3 mi awayPeekaboo Loop RestroomA seasonal pit toilet on the west side of Peekaboo Loop.
Sight · 0.4 mi awayWall of WindowsA close-up of this limestone fin comes with a full hike.
Sight · 1 mi awayParia ViewA quieter overlook above Yellow Creek’s 500-foot amphitheater
Sight · 1.1 mi awayInspiration PointThree levels offer different angles over the hoodoo amphitheater.
Sight · 1.1 mi awayHat ShopA demanding hike ends at strangely capped orange hoodoos.
Sight · 1.2 mi awayTwo BridgesTwo rock spans tuck into a narrow, red-walled Navajo Loop canyon.
Sight · 1.3 mi awayWall StreetA tight-walled walk through hoodoos and towering Douglas-firs.Parkwolf’s Bryce Canyon ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
