Figure-8 Combination

This 6.4-mile loop links Queen’s Garden, the clockwise Peekaboo Loop, Navajo’s Two Bridges side, and the Rim Trail back to Sunrise Point. It is the long way to see several very different parts of the Bryce Amphitheater in one outing: allow 4–5 hours for 1,575 feet of climbing at about 8,000 feet above sea level. The park rates it strenuous, and the repeated descents and climbs make that rating fair. If you want a shorter day, the 2.9-mile Queen’s Garden and Navajo combination still reaches the amphitheater floor and Thor’s Hammer.

From Sunrise Point, follow Queen’s Garden down into the hoodoos. The open rim view quickly gives way to a close walk among narrow rock spires, with Queen Victoria as the named formation near the lower end. At the junction, follow the connector toward Peekaboo; don’t turn uphill onto Navajo yet. This descent is a good warm-up, but remember that every foot you lose here has to be climbed back out later.

Turn onto Peekaboo and follow it clockwise. The loop rolls through a dense field of hoodoos, dropping into small drainages and climbing back to the next rise, so the effort comes in repeated waves rather than one final ascent. The close-up rock views are the reward for this middle section. Horses and mules also use the trail; move aside and give riders the right of way. The Figure-8 retraces the short Queen’s Garden connector to reach the Navajo junction, so expect a little shared tread.

Take Two Bridges up Navajo. Switchbacks climb between steep, colorful walls; look across the trees and rock towers for Thor’s Hammer, the tall block-topped hoodoo near the upper amphitheater. Two natural bridges give this branch its name. At the rim, turn onto the Rim Trail and follow it from Sunset Point back to Sunrise Point to close the loop. That final stretch is a useful breather after the canyon climbs, with broad views back over the formations you just crossed.

The rocks preserve sediments laid down roughly 50 million years ago in an ancient lake and floodplain basin. The spires are still being carved: water seeps into cracks, freezes, and expands by about nine percent, prying pieces loose. More than 170 nights in a typical year cross the freezing point here. Over time, erosion cuts a plateau into a wall, then windows, then the isolated columns called hoodoos. Walking from the rim among those columns makes that slow sequence unusually easy to see.

Use the Sunrise Point lot for this version. Sunrise and Sunset parking can fill quickly; the free park shuttle runs April through October, and vehicles longer than 20 feet cannot use the amphitheater lots while shuttle service is operating. Sunset Point has year-round restrooms and a water-fill station; Sunrise services are seasonal. Fill water before descending, since the summer-only pit toilet on Peekaboo’s west side is not a water stop.

Deep midwinter snow can make the route inaccessible; check trail conditions before setting out. Two Bridges is the Navajo branch used for this route. Pets are not allowed, though service animals are permitted. The trail is not a gentle rim stroll: expect steep switchbacks, uneven tread, and strenuous climbing at high elevation. Budget time for the full circuit and carry enough water for several hours.