Hi there!
Sunset Point is one of the most popular viewpoints in Bryce Canyon National Park, no matter the season.
You will get grand views of the hoodoos that make Bryce Canyon famous.
As described by the National Park Service:
Nowhere are the colors of Bryce Canyon’s rock better displayed than from Sunset Point.
Called the Claron Formation, this unique rock is primarily composed of limestone deposited approximately 50 million years ago in a large freshwater lake
In winter, the Sunset Point viewpoint can also be a GREAT choice to be able to see some of those epic “very Bryce Canyon” winter scenes!
So don’t miss this Bryce Canyon viewpoint!
There’s also a popular hiking trail that starts from Sunset Point, and even going down this trail a short distance can offer you some more stunning views, and some more great photo opportunities.
From Sunset Point (and on the trail starting at Sunset Point) is also where you can get a good view of the iconic “Thor’s Hammer” of Bryce Canyon.
This viewpoint is also easy to access. There’s a parking lot here. When you’re driving through the park, you’ll see a sign for Sunset Point.
The elevation at Sunset Point is around 8,000 feet (2,440m).
There are few things you can do at/from the Sunset Point parking lot
1. Take in the views from Sunset Point!
2. Start hiking on the Navajo Loop Trail
The trailhead for the Navajo Loop Trail is at Sunset Point. This hike takes you down into the canyon, which also means that it can be rather steep.
This is one of the more popular trails at Bryce Canyon.
In winter, the section called “Wall Street” is closed on the Navajo Loop Trail, so doing this trail would be an out-and-back. This might take 1-2 hours. Even if you’re not interested in doing the whole trail, it can be worth it to go down a little bit on this trail to get some different angles of the hoodoos, making for some good photo spots!
Navajo Loop Trail + Queens Garden Loop
Navajo Loop connects to the other popular trail in Bryce Canyon, the Queens Garden Trail. So instead of making it an out-and-back, you can can instead take the Queens Garden Trail to get back up to the top of the canyon. Once you’re at the top, you’ll walk a half a mile on the Rim Trail to get back to Sunset Point. This is a popular way to hike at Bryce Canyon. You also have the option of doing this loop in the opposite direction. This might take 2-3 hours.
Navajo Loop Trail + Peekaboo Loop Trail
Navajo Loop also connects to Peekaboo Loop. So if you are looking for a longer hike than just an out-and-back on the Navajo Loop Trail, you can add in all or part of the Peekaboo Loop too. This might take 3-4 hours.
Navajo Loop Trail + Peekaboo Loop Trail + Queens Garden Trail
And if you’re looking for an even longer hike… Since you can do the Peekaboo Loop to loop back around to the Navajo Loop Trail, instead of taking the Navajo Loop Trail back up to the top, you can go on a different trail to get back up to the top. This might take 4-5 hours.
3. Walk on the Rim Trail as an out-and-back
The Rim Trail is the trail that runs all along the “top” of the canyon. So you’ll get frequent views of the hoodoos in the canyon as you’re walking along this trail. You can go in either direction from Sunset Point for a short or longer winter hike.
Sunset Point to Sunrise Point (and back)
In one direction on the Rim Trail, you can walk from Sunset Point to Sunrise Point and back. This is the most popular option, likely because it’s also the shortest, and there’s also a parking lot at both viewpoints. This is pretty flat and it will be around a 30 minute walk round-trip.
Sunset Point to Fairyland Point (and back)
You can also keep going past Sunrise Point to continue onwards to Fairyland Point before turning around. You’ll encounter some hills. This is far less explored in the winter and you will likely see few people. You might give yourself 2-3 hours.
Sunset Point to Inspiration Point (and back)
In the other direction, you can walk from Sunset Point to Inspiration Point and back. You might give yourself around 1 hour for this. In winter, the trail is closed past Inspiration Point, so this is as far as you can go on the Rim Trail.
Map of Sunset Point
If you play around with the map below, or view it on google maps, you’ll see the other viewpoints and trails too for a better idea of the visual.
What to wear for a visit to Sunset Point in winter
Possibly the #1 thing that can be VERY helpful when visiting Bryce Canyon in winter is ice traction devices that you can slip on over your shoes!
And this includes a visit to Sunset Point!
From the parking lot, the path to the overlook can have icy patches. This also includes a short but steep incline that could make it easier to slip if there’s ice.
It could be possible for there to be icy spots on the overlook platform too, although on the day I went there was no snow on the ground.
There are also some spots on the Rim Trail leading away from Sunset Point that can be icy.
At a minimum, you can look to bring (and wear) yaktrax or nanospikes. As long as there’s snow, I say you might as well wear them! Another option is microspikes which will grip the snow and ice better.
And a hiking pole might also be nice so you can catch yourself in case you do slip on ice a little bit.
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And now…
A bit of what you’ll see with a visit to Sunset Point in winter!
aka… PHOTOS!
I was at this viewpoint in December 2019.
And that’s a bit of what you’ll see at Sunset Point!
HAPPY VISIT TO SUNSET POINT VIEWPOINT IN WINTER!
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