Hiking Peek-A-Boo Loop Trail in Bryce Canyon National Park

While the view from the rim of Bryce Amphitheater is spectacular.  It is best to view the hoodoos from the canyon rim and then below the rim.  The Peekaboo loop trail leads down below the canyon rim and into the world of hoodoos.  The trail whines up and down and allows for close up views.  The Peek-A-Boo Loop Trail provides some of the best views of the hoodoos in Bryce Canyon National Park.

Peek-A-Boo Loop Hike Details

Starting Location

There are a couple of options for hiking the Peek a Boo loop trail.  The trailhead starts at Bryce Point.  There is a 1.1-mile hike into the canyon here the loop will start. This trail is shared with pack animals and it is recommended that the trail is hiked in a clockwise direction.

The Peek-a-Boo loop hike can be combined with the Navajo Loop to create a 4.9 loop. The Navajo / Peekaboo Combination Loop starts at Sunset Point

 The other option is the Figure-8 Combination.  The Figure 8 Combination combines the  Navajo Loop with the Queen’s Garden for 6.4-mile loop.  This combination can start at either Sunrise Point or Sunset Point.

Parking at all Bryce Canyon Trailheads is limited.  Consider using the Bryce Canyon Shuttle bus to access the trailheads.

When to go

Peek a Boo loop trail is open year around.  It is best to hike this trail during the Spring and Fall.  There is a little shade of the trail so a summer hike can be really hot.  It is possible to hike the trail during the winter but be ready to hike in snow and having to do some route finding.

The Peek-a-Boo loop hike is a perfect addition to a Utah National Park Road Trip.

What time of day to hike

The loop is best hiked in the early morning or late afternoon. Peek-a-Boo isn’t the most popular trail in the park.  Access to the main part of the loop requires a 1-mile hike into the canyon and as one of the longer loop trails in the park.   No matter the season, I would do this hike either in the morning or the afternoon.  A good way to do it is to watch the sunrise from Bryce Point and then head off on the hike.

Packing List

Things to Know

• Most of the trail is in the sun.  Be prepared for this.  Hike with plenty of water, sunscreen, and a hat.
• Hike clockwise
• Safety First.
  • Do not hike during thunderstorms.  Lighting strikes can occur in the park.
  • Trail can be slick during rain.
  • Watch for the horseback riders.  Don’t get to close to the horses.
• Watch for horse dung on the trail.
• There isn’t a bathroom at Bryce Point but during the summer there is a bathroom about a mile and a half from Bryce Point.  This is a vault toilet.

Peek-a-Boo loop Hike

The trail starts at Bryce Point.  Bryce Point provides an epic view of the Bryce Amphitheatre. One can see Sunrise and Sunset Point to the northwest and Fairyland Point to the north of Bryce Point.  The trail starts at the point and follows the ridge below Bryce Point.

The trail works northeast crisscrossing across the saddle with views of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.  When you seeing a cluster of hoodoos that look like an alligator, you will start down a series of switchbacks.  You will have to come back up these switchbacks.

Enjoy the views of the Bryce Amphitheater while you work your way down.  At the bottom is a junction, you are welcome to hike the trail in either direction but personally, I think the views are the best hiking clockwise.

Assuming you headed clockwise, you will reach the vault toilets within about a quarter mile.  The trail takes one deeper into the Amphitheater and to the Wall of Windows.

Enjoy these spectacular formations as you hike to the Cathedral.  These are my favorite hoodoos in the park.  You will hike thru several tunnels.

After the Cathedral, you will reach the Navajo Loop junction. If you are combing this trail with another loop take the junction towards Sunrise and Sunset Point.

If not keep hiking around the loop.  On this side of the loop, you will pass a few stands of pines and an old sand dune.  Enjoy the slow elevation gain on the way back to the alligator.

Now for the best part of the hike.  The 500 ft uphill climb back to Bryce Point.

Are you planning on hiking Peek-A-Boo Loop Trail?  Do you have any advice for your fellow hikers?

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Jennifer Melroy

Jennifer has been obsessed with national parks as a child.  This Tennessee native spent her childhood exploring the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and traveling with her parents to National Parks and around the Caribbean.  She is always planning her next adventure and is ready to see the world while trying to visit all 59 National Park (*She is ignoring the hunk of concrete that just became a national park).