Hike Bryce Canyon with Kids

Bryce Canyon National Park in central Utah is beautiful year round. I’ve hiked Bryce Canyon in the winter and braved the trails in the heat of the summer. Hike Bryce Canyon and enjoy its several trails that are great for kids – not too long and with great points of interest.

Explore these trails in Bryce Canyon that are perfect for families with kids. If you’re looking for bigger hikes in the park, check out the last hike listed in this article.

After a day exploring Bryce Canyon National Park, we enjoyed a short 15-minute drive to Tropic for a delicious pizza from The Pizza Place at Bryce Canyon Inn. Definitely worth a stop to refuel.

NOTE: Bring plenty of water with you on the hike. Each person should have 1-2 liters of water, based on the time of year you’re visiting. Summer temperatures can reach 90 and 100+ degrees. Be prepared with water, sunscreen and snacks.

Navajo Loop and Wall Street Trail

This is probably the most popular trail in Bryce Canyon National Park. Thor’s Hammer, the tall rock formation just behind us in the photo above, is the iconic formation of the park. Start at Sunset point and descend down the Navajo Loop Trail. When you get to the crossroads at the bottom, follow the trail to Wall Street, which takes you right back up to Sunset Point.

However, Wall Street is a narrow canyon portion of the trail with many switchbacks. They can sometimes seem never-ending.

DISTANCE: A 1.3 mile loop trail
TIME: 1-2 hours
CATEGORY: Moderate (namely because of the Wall Street portion)
ELEVATION CHANGE: 550 feet

Hike to the Queen’s Garden

Another very popular trail for families is the Queen’s Garden trail. The trailhead is at Sunrise Point (a little north of Sunset Point). There is a rim trail that connects Sunrise and Sunset point, so you really can park at either “point”.

The trail descends on a few switchbacks and through a couple of carved out tunnels. When you arrive at the Queen’s Garden, you can quickly learn why they call it Queen’s Garden. A rock formation looks similar to a statue in London of Queen Victoria.

After a stop in the Queen’s Garden, continue down the trail and connect into the Navajo Loop and/or Wall Street. But if your kids are done, you can just head back up to Sunrise Point.

DISTANCE: 1.8-miles round trip to Queen’s Garden. 2.9 miles if you connect into the Navajo Loop
TIME: 1-2 hours
CATEGORY: Easy (Moderate if you continue up Navajo Loop)
ELEVATION CHANGE: 357 feet (600 if you do the Navajo Loop)

Enjoy the Rim Trail

There are many points where you can connect in to the Rim Trail. Overall, the trail stretches from Bryce Point to Fairyland Point – a total of 11 miles. The rim trail connects Sunrise and Sunset Point, and that portion is only 1 mile long with very little elevation change.

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If you have young kids or just want to spend a few minutes in the park as you travel along Utah’s Scenic Byway 12, a short hike in the Rim Trail will give you a small taste of what Bryce Canyon has to offer. Then you can come back later and more fully enjoy the hoodoos and forest trails.

Tower Bridge Trail

The trail to Tower Bridge starts descends from the Rim Trail a little north of Sunrise Point. It’s also the start of the Fairyland Loop trail, which I share a little later in this article.

Tower Bridge Trail winds its way down through numerous rock formations. You can see the Chinese Wall as you work your way downhill to Tower Bridge. Pay attention to the sign, as Tower Bridge is a short off-shoot trail. If you miss the sign, you’ll find yourself hiking a very long loop to Fairyland Point.

After spending a few minutes taking in Tower Bridge – and drinking some water and eating some snacks – you can start the ascent back to the trailhead. While it was great to hike downhill for 1.5 miles, now you have to hike 1.5 miles uphill. Take it slow. Here are 7 ways to make hiking fun for kids.

DISTANCE: 3 miles round trip
TIME: 2 hours
CATEGORY: Moderate, mainly because of the elevation change
ELEVATION CHANGE: 802 feet

Hike to Mossy Cave and the Waterfall

One of the best parts about hiking to Mossy Cave is that you don’t even have to enter Bryce Canyon National Park. It’s along the road, roughly 4 miles east of the main park entrance. However, the parking lot is small and can fill up quickly in the summer. PLEASE – don’t park illegally.

Mossy Cave is an easy and short hike. The trail is easy to follow and bridges help you cross the creek. The trail to the cave is .8 miles round trip, so it’s pretty short. But don’t expect to go in and explore the cave. It’s more of an alcove with water dripping from the ceiling. Patches of moss cling to the ceiling as well, and in the colder months, icicles are seen hanging from it as well.

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The trail to Mossy Cave has another feature I wasn’t familiar with until this most recent hike. There’s a small waterfall you can explore from above and below. As you approach the second bridge, head down the creek-bed and hike the trail up to the waterfall. If you cross the bridge and head up the switchback, the trail splits. Mossy Cave is to the left, and the top of the waterfall is to the right.

DISTANCE: 0.8-miles round trip to Mossy Cave (visiting the waterfall adds about .25 miles – but it’s totally worth it)
TIME: 1 hour
CATEGORY: Easy
ELEVATION CHANGE: 200 feet

Quick Hike Along Bristlecone Loop

Our youngest isn’t a big hiker. After hiking to Queen’s Garden and then up Wall Street, we took an easy one-mile roundtrip hike. Bristlecone Trail is located at the southern-most viewpoint in the park. Rainbow Point is 18 miles into Bryce Canyon National Park.

Elevation changes are minimal. The trail winds through a thin forest to an overlook of orange rock formations, contrasted with green trees and blue skies. At the point where the trail loops back, there are great views of the beautiful Utah landscape.

DISTANCE: 1 mile round trip
TIME: 1 hour
CATEGORY: Easy
ELEVATION CHANGE: 200 feet

Long Hike on Fairyland Loop Trail

The Fairyland Loop Trail in Bryce Canyon is my favorite trail in the park. It’s also the longest one I’ve ever done in the park. It’s a longer trail with more than 1,700 feet of elevation chance. So it’s not one for the faint of heart or really young children – unless they are great hikers already.

Since it’s an 8-mile loop trail, you can park at Sunrise Point or Fairyland Point to start the loop.

Initially, the trail will descend into the canyon for about 1 to 1.5 miles. Then you’ll find it ascending and descending as you make your way around the mountain and hoodoos. At one point, there is a fairly narrow trail with steep sides (so you’ve got to be careful). That only lasts about 20 yards.

I love the variety of landscapes seen on this trail. White sandy areas. Orange towering hoodoos and rock walls. Bristlecone Pine forests. Dry creek beds. It’s a photographer’s dream, but the more photos you plan to capture, the longer your hike will take.

My boys (ages 11 and 17) and I completed the entire 8-mile trek in 2 hours and 45 minutes. The Bryce Canyon Day Hike guide says you should plan on 4-5 hours. We kept up a good pace, and the high temperature for the day was only 75 degrees (we were there in May). We found ourselves running on certain portions of the loop trail, with my 17-year-old son running a good portion of the 2.5-mile section along the rim between Fairyland Point and Sunrise point.

DISTANCE: 8-mile loop
TIME: 4-5 hours
CATEGORY: Strenuous
ELEVATION CHANGE: 1,715 feet

The Details:

Address: Bryce Canyon National Park, P.O Box 640201, Bryce, UT 84764

Parking: There are parking lots at each major trailhead. There’s also parking at the lodging options. There is no shuttle bus into the park during the winter months.

Cost: Free with Annual National Parks Pass. A seven-day pass can be purchased: Private Vehicle: $35; Motorcycle: $30; Individuals: $20.

Hours: The park is open year round. The visitor center is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. from November to March.

Website:https://www.nps.gov/brca/index.htm

Phone: (435) 834-5322

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