Old Bryce TownRuby’s Inn
Bryce Canyon National Park
The world’s largest concentration
of hoodoos: /natural rock spires/
Terrain model · Sources & methods
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A whole park to explore.
Explore viewpoints, trailheads and the scenic drive.
Open the complete park guide →01A hoodoo
Thor’s Hammer
The park’s most famous hoodoo stands nearly below Sunset Point. This model is built from the laser returns of a 2018 U.S. Geological Survey flight, with the neck under the cap traced from a Park Service photograph.
Measurements & field sketch
- Top
- 2,401 m 7,878 ft
- Height
- About 28 m 90 ft above its uphill foot, 140 ft on the downhill side
- Cap
- About 3 m across on a neck about 1.3 m (4 ft) wide
- Measured
- About 3,500 laser returns on the pillar
Derived Cross-section along the line from Sunset Point, true scale. Outline and ground: USGS 3DEP lidar (2018) and the 1 m USGS elevation model; neck traced from an NPS photograph. Beds are read from where the outline juts out or pinches in; they are assumed flat-lying beyond the pillar, and no rock was sampled.
Derived
Shape from USGS 3DEP lidar, 2018; the aircraft could not see under the cap, so the neck is traced from an NPS photograph taken from the west. Ground from the same lidar, trees left out. Colours and fine texture are drawn, not measured.
Cut along the line from Sunset Point. Pale bands are harder beds, where the pillar juts out; red bands are softer beds, where it pinches in. The beds follow the measured outline; no rock was sampled.
Each dot is one laser return from the 2018 USGS flight: rust on the pillar, grey on the ground, green on trees and small mounds. The aircraft saw the tops of ledges best and almost nothing under the cap.
How the model was built · Full-size still, 2,400 × 3,000
02An arch
Natural Bridge
No stream ever ran through it. The Park Service calls it an arch, or window: frost, rain and gravity opened it in a wall of rock. This model is built from the same 2018 laser survey, with the opening traced from a U.S. Geological Survey photograph taken at the overlook.
Measurements & field sketch
- Top
- 2,632 m 8,635 ft, the top of the span
- Opening
- About 33 m tall 109 ft from the ground beneath to the underside of the span; about 19 m wide halfway up
- Span
- 85 ft 26 m across, the Park Service’s figure; about 16 m of rock over the opening
- Measured
- About 14,000 laser returns on the span
Derived Face on along the opening, true scale. Top of the rock and the ground: USGS 3DEP lidar (2018); the opening from the USGS photograph (2014) and the laser’s paths under the span, carried straight through the rock. Bands are drawn, not sampled. Bridge or arch: after the Park Service, “Bridges are carved by flowing water, whereas arches can be carved by everything else except flowing water.” Not to scale.
Derived
Top of the rock from USGS 3DEP lidar, 2018. The aircraft could not see under the span, so the opening is traced from a USGS photograph taken at the overlook, where the laser’s slanted paths agree with it, and carried straight through the rock. Trees left out. Colours and fine texture are drawn, not measured.
A fin. The window began in a solid wall. Water seeps into cracks and freezes at night; ice takes up almost 10 percent more room than water, and forces the cracks wider.
A window opens. Rainwater dissolves the rock at the top and sides of the wall, and gravity pulls loose the weakened pockets at the center, opening the hole.
Today. The arch looks solid and enduring, but weather is constantly chipping away at the opening.
When the span falls. A window that grows too large to hold up its roof collapses, and a leg left standing becomes a hoodoo. The Park Service says this one may last hundreds or thousands of years, or could collapse tomorrow.
Stages follow the Park Service’s account, drawn by shrinking or raising today’s opening. They are not dated shapes or a forecast.
Each dot is one laser return from the 2018 USGS flight: rust on the fin, grey on the slopes, green on trees. Slanted pulses reached under the span from both sides; none could see its underside.
How the model was built · Full-size still, 2,400 × 3,000
03A trail
Queen’s Garden
The least difficult trail into the Bryce Amphitheater leaves Sunrise Point and winds down through a garden of hoodoos to one said to resemble Queen Victoria. This model is the same 2018 laser survey, about 430 m across, with the trail as mapped by OpenStreetMap volunteers.
Measurements & field sketch
- Trail
- 1.8 mi round trip 2.9 km, the Park Service’s figure; 1.4 km each way on the mapped trail
- Down
- About 113 m 370 ft from the trailhead at Sunrise Point to Queen Victoria
- The climb back
- About 140 m 460 ft of climbing on the return, counting every rise; the Park Service lists 450 ft
- Measured
- About 6.5 million laser returns in the model
Derived From above: USGS 3DEP lidar (2018) with the trees left out; tree cover where the laser found crowns; trail © OpenStreetMap contributors. The walk: the lidar ground under the mapped trail, every metre. The Park Service gives the trail as 1.8 miles round trip.
Derived
Rock and ground from USGS 3DEP lidar, 2018, every 40 cm, with the trees left out; green marks where the laser found tree crowns. The trail is OpenStreetMap’s, set on the lidar ground. Colours and fine texture are drawn, not measured.
The hiker follows the mapped trail from the Sunrise Point trailhead to the Queen Victoria viewpoint, 1.4 km; heights come from the lidar ground under the path. Drag to look around while you walk. Where the line meets rock overhead, the path passes beneath it in the model; positions are as mapped and may be off by a few metres.
Each dot is one laser return from the 2018 USGS flight, a sample of 60,000 of the 6.5 million in the model: rust on rock and other surfaces, grey on the ground, green on trees.
How the model was built · Full-size still, 2,400 × 3,000
Make room for the view
How much time do you have?
A few hours on the rim.
Check your approach, choose a viewpoint, then leave room for a short walk. Start with Sunrise and Sunset; decide on a descent after checking the weather and trail notices.
Build a half-day plan →Only two hours?Stay for a changing landscape.
Give the amphitheater a day. Add the southern overlooks, a longer walk or a night under the stars when conditions allow. Use seasonal guidance now; check the forecast near your visit.
Build a two-day plan →Airports & the regional mapChoose your own pace
At the rim. Below the rim.
| Walk | Distance / climb | Allow | What to expect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunrise to Sunset | 1.0 mi return 40 ft gain | 1 hour | Easy; paved rim section. Ice, snow and grades still matter for access. |
| Mossy Cave | 0.8 mi return 150 ft gain | 1 hour | Easy; a separate SR-12 stop. Uphill first, downhill on return. |
| Queen’s Garden | 1.8 mi return 450 ft gain | 1–2 hours | Moderate; a descent among hoodoos, with the climb on your way back. |
NPS trail guide ↗ · Detailed access information ↗ · Compare the complete trail collection →. A short distance does not guarantee an easy or accessible trip.
Plan beyond the forecast
A high plateau, in every season.
Spring
Build flexibility around lingering snow and changing trail access. A warm valley day does not describe the rim.
Summer
Plan walks around heat and thunderstorms. Leave time to reach shelter; exposed viewpoints are not storm shelters.
Autumn
Expect shorter days and colder nights. Recheck seasonal shuttle service and prepare for a change in weather.
Winter
Plan around ice, snow and seasonal road closures. Use the park’s current winter guidance before selecting a trail.
Seasonal planning guidance, not a forecast. Compare monthly climate normals; for a trip within the forecast window, use the location-specific NWS outlook.
How the rim turns into hoodoos
The Park Service’s exhibit at Sunrise Point breaks it into four stages. Look for fins, windows and columns as you explore the landscape.
- 1
The rim wears back
Rain and snowmelt cut gullies into the edge of the plateau.
- 2
Fins
Harder caprock shields the softer rock beneath it, leaving narrow walls.
- 3
Windows
Water seeps into cracks and freezes. The ice expands, pries the rock apart and opens holes through the fins.
- 4
Hoodoos
As windows grow, their tops collapse. The columns left standing are hoodoos, and they keep changing.
Stages from the NPS “Life of Hoodoos” exhibit and hoodoo guide. Drawings are simplified, not to scale.
Field notes
More in Learn
How a hoodoo formsRain, ice and gravity at the rim
The Claron FormationAncient lakes, rivers and soils
The Grand StaircaseCliffs stepping down to the Grand Canyon
Geology and careWhy the trail protects the hoodoos
Photographs: NPS (Peter Densmore, Heather Williamson).
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