Bryce
Canyon Area Hiking
| Bryce
Canyon Area Hiking - Fairyland Loop |
 Distance:
8.6 miles
Walking
time: 5 1/4 hours
Elevations:
950 ft. loss/gain
Fairyland Trailhead (start): 7,760 ft.
Fairyland Canyon: 7,150 ft.
Rim Trail: 8,100 ft.
Trail:
Excellent, well marked trail
Season:
Summer to mid-fall. The trail is covered with snow
during the winter months. Also the road to Fairyland
Point is used as a cross-country ski trail in the
winter. For current conditions call the Visitor Center,
Bryce Canyon National Park, at (435) 834-5322.
Vicinity:
Bryce Canyon National Park
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The
area below the rim of Bryce Canyon National Park is a
fantasyland of strange and wonderful geologic formations.
Stone spires and pinnacles with fanciful names like the
“Chinese Wall” and “Seal Castle” surround
the trails, making them delightful places to hike. The
Fairyland Loop Trail provides a particularly fine opportunity
to examine some of these natural sculptures and, as it
is somewhat of the beaten path, it is not as crowded as
other trails in the park.
The stone sculptures of Bryce Canyon, whimsically called
“hoodoos”, have been eroded from a thick layer
of soft sedimentary rock called the Claron Formation that
was deposited in Utah some 60 million years ago. As the
canyon rim erodes, new hoodoos are formed. They begin
first as tall thin fins, then serrate to form pinnacles
and spires. The colors are caused primarily by iron and
manganese impurities in the rock that oxidize into colorful
hues of red, pink, orange, yellow, and purple. The carving
action is still continuing, and it is estimated that today
the rim of Bryce Canyon is receding at the rate of about
one foot in 65 years. In another hundred thousand years
it will have receded by a third of a mile, and a whole
new display of artwork will be ready for viewing in nature’s
gallery.
The trail descends immediately from Fairyland Point, winding
down the north side of Boat Mesa for a distance of 1.5
miles to Fairyland Canyon, the lowest point on the hike.
From there the trail turns south and west, following the
contour of the land and climbing slightly for another
2.5 miles until it reaches the Tower Bridge trail junction.
Tower Bridge is at the end of a short, well marked trail
that branches off to the left. It is only 0.2 miles from
the main trail, and it makes a nice lunch stop. From the
Tower Bridge trail junction the path starts its climb
back to the canyon rim. It winds to the west, with Campbell
Canyon on the right and the Chinese Wall on the left,
finally arriving at the canyon rim 1.5 miles later after
a climb of 770 feet.
At the top of the rim the trail intersects the Rim Trail.
Turn right here and walk along the rim for 2.7 miles back
to the Fairyland Point parking lot. |
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Content
from the book
Utah's Favorite
Hiking Trails
by David Day |
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Utah's
Favorite Hiking Trails
access
info for 113 trailheads
75
detailed trail maps
250
photographs
loads
of hiking tips
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Need
more information?
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$11.95
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| Bryce
Canyon Area Hiking Trails |
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