Embark on the Queens Garden Trail to explore the natural splendor of Bryce Canyon National Park. With a bit of imagination, you may even see Queen Victoria in the form of a towering hoodoo presiding over the garden of rocks below her.
At 1.8 miles (2.9 kilometers) long and descending 320 feet (98 meters), Queens Garden Trail is considered one of the least strenuous routes into the canyon. Begin at the trailhead near Sunrise Point at the northern end of the plateau. Pass a multitude of distinctive rock hoodoos jutting up into the sky. Follow the trail’s steep drop along the ridge and into a forested basin surrounded by more hoodoos. Continue to an intersection at the far end of the Navajo Loop Trail, and soon thereafter, the beginning of the Peekaboo Loop Trail. Extend your outing and take a beautiful detour along either of these hiking paths. Horses are allowed on the Peekaboo Trail.
Admire the iconic beauty of Queens Garden. It is not a garden in the traditional sense rather, it is a conglomeration of colorful rock formations. Pick out yellow, orange, pink, brown and white spires rising like geological flowers. One unique rock resembles Queen Victoria, standing at the very center of the garden and giving the spot its name. Read the nearby plaque noting that erosion will eventually make this figure unrecognizable.
Visit Bryce Canyon National Park in any season. Although the park is open every day of the year, plan on accessing Queens Garden Trail between April and November. With its exposure to full sun, the snow melts along Queens Garden Trail rather quickly in the spring.
While you cannot drive right up to Queens Garden Trail, parking is relatively close. Drive along the loop road to Sunrise Point and Bryce Canyon Lodge and then walk a short distance along the paved path to the beginning of the trail.
