How Utah was blessed with this many diverse environments I’ll never understand, but Bryce Canyon NP is a standout amongst giants. Situated in southern Utah on the set of slowlydescending plateaus from the Rocky Mountains south towards the Grand Canyon, this alien terrain is punctuated by distinct colourful pinnacles called hoodoos. Mormon settlers Ebenezer Bryce(helluva name) and his wife Mary settled the land around the hoodoo amphitheatre around 1873. Bryce grazed his cattle inside what are now park borders, and supposedly commented on the natural maze of spires and valleys as “a helluva place to lose a cow”. We set off on the 12.9km Fairyland Loop mid-morning, which in summer is a good bet as there is limited sun cover once down in the amphitheater.

The loop starts from the Fairyland Point, at the end of the first left after entering the National Park gates. As the walk takes about 4-5 hours, make sure you bring enough water as there is none once you descend. The loop starts with a section of the Rim Trail, heading towards Sunset Point counter-clockwise. A Ranger suggested this as the ascent toward Fairyland Point as it’s more gradual and a bit more sheltered from the afternoon sun.

The views of the amphitheatre provide a great perspective over the edge of the plateau, which you descend into once reaching Sunset Point. As you descend, you’ll pass China Wall, a row of level hoodoos to your right. From here its a slow wind between the unique rock formations, with arches and windows framing the greater landscape. Once you reach the flat, just before the turn off to see another formation, Tower Bridge, is a shady place to stop and have a snack. Be aware that you may get a couple of unwanted guests, as the local squirrels and bluejays will come to inspect you’re goods.

Worth a little side trip is to see the previously mentioned geological marvel of Tower Bridge.! !From here is more winding, this time gradually upwards. More strange and captivating structures and viewpoints await, and you start to understand the cutsie “Fairyland” name, as everything is a bit dreamlike and unreal. The hoodoos are incredibly formed by erosion caused by the continual freezing and thawing of snow every winter, and snow capped hoodoos are a great reason to visit in the shoulder seasons. As this is one of the quieter hikes in the park you often get a lot of time in the eerily silent backdrop. Whether its the heat, dehydration or something else, by the time you return to the start at Fairyland Point, you’ll be seeing all sorts of storybook characters in the rocks.

By Joe Byrne

2018

Info here

info

prev / next

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·