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The Horseshoe Bend is one of the famous icons of Arizona and the American Southwest.

 

Horseshoe Bend overlook trail: Best hikes in Page AZ. Best hiking trails in Arizona. southwest national parks travel blog

 

You can make it a shorter trip by simply going to the overlook and getting a glimpse of the famous “horseshoe” from the main overlook.

 

Horseshoe Bend overlook trail: Best hikes in Page AZ. Best hiking trails in Arizona. southwest national parks travel blog

 

Or, you can stay longer to walk around a bit!

 

Horseshoe Bend overlook trail: Best hikes in Page AZ. Best hiking trails in Arizona. glen canyon national recreation area. southwest national parks travel blog

Horseshoe Bend overlook trail: Best hikes in Page AZ. Best hiking trails in Arizona. glen canyon national recreation area. southwest national parks travel blog

Horseshoe Bend overlook trail: Best hikes in Page AZ. Best hiking trails in Arizona. glen canyon national recreation area. southwest national parks travel blog

Horseshoe Bend overlook trail: Best hikes in Page AZ. Best hiking trails in Arizona. glen canyon national recreation area. southwest national parks travel blog

Horseshoe Bend overlook trail: Best hikes in Page AZ. Best hiking trails in Arizona. glen canyon national recreation area. southwest national parks travel blog

Horseshoe Bend overlook trail: Best hikes in Page AZ. Best hiking trails in Arizona. glen canyon national recreation area. southwest national parks travel blog

Horseshoe Bend overlook trail: Best hikes in Page AZ. Best hiking trails in Arizona. glen canyon national recreation area. southwest national parks travel blog

Horseshoe Bend overlook trail: Best hikes in Page AZ. Best hiking trails in Arizona. glen canyon national recreation area. southwest national parks travel blog

Horseshoe Bend overlook trail: Best hikes in Page AZ. Best hiking trails in Arizona. glen canyon national recreation area. southwest national parks travel blog

Horseshoe Bend overlook trail: Best hikes in Page AZ. Best hiking trails in Arizona. glen canyon national recreation area. southwest national parks travel blog

Horseshoe Bend overlook trail: Best hikes in Page AZ. Best hiking trails in Arizona. glen canyon national recreation area. southwest national parks travel blog

Horseshoe Bend overlook trail: Best hikes in Page AZ. Best hiking trails in Arizona. southwest national parks travel blog

Horseshoe Bend overlook trail: Best hikes in Page AZ. Best hiking trails in Arizona. southwest national parks travel blog

 

 

 

 

Horseshoe Bend is a part of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

Horseshoe Bend entry, Page AZ. glen canyon national recreation area park. arizona travel blog

 

Horseshoe Bend and the Colorado River you see from here is a part of the National Park Service. The Horseshoe Bend overlook is part of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.

 

 

So then…

Can you use your national park pass to avoid fees at Horseshoe Bend?!

In short, no.

The America the Beautiful pass is the annual national park pass. This will generally be worth it if you are planning on visiting at least 3 national parks in one year. Of course this will vary based on which national parks you visit, but national park entry fees are generally around $30 each, if there is a fee.

That said, there is no National Park Service fee to enter Glen Canyon National Recreation Area here.

BUT…

There is a fee for PARKING at the Horseshoe Bend parking lot

Horseshoe Bend entry - parking for Page AZ. glen canyon national recreation area park. arizona travel blog

 

 And the parking is managed by the city of Page AZ, not the National Park Service. And there is a fee charged by the city for parking.

And so, you can’t use your national park pass for the “entry fee” at Horseshoe Bend.

 

Horseshoe Bend entry fee - parking fees for Page AZ. glen canyon national recreation area park. arizona travel blog
Photo from 2019. See current parking fees. It also notes what to do if the parking lot is full.

 

 

How much time do you need at Horseshoe Bend?

The trail to Horseshoe Bend is officially listed as 1.5 miles round trip.

To hike from the parking lot to the main Horseshoe Bend overlook will likely take you around 10-15 minutes. You’ll probably want at least 10-20 minutes at the overlook itself.

So if you wanted to make Horseshoe Bend a super quick stop as a part of your greater Southwest road trip, then you can likely do it in around 30 minutes.

But if you don’t want to rush yourself, it’ll be good to give yourself around an hour at Horseshoe Bend. 

And if you want to explore further, you can even keep walking further along! You can climb up to get a higher viewpoint of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.

 

Horseshoe Bend overlook trail: how much time hiking. page az travel blog

 

And you can also keep walking for what can feel like a nice quiet hike… if you don’t get freaked out by animal tracks you see. 😜 (Umm… were those footprints I saw from a mountain lion?!)

 

Horseshoe Bend overlook trail: how much time hiking glen canyon national park. page az travel blog

 

If you do go further than the overlook, you could also easily spend 1.5-2 hours at Horseshoe Bend.

 

 

How far is Horseshoe Bend from…?

The trail to the Horseshoe Bend overlook is in Page AZ. And it’s possible to make it a fine breakup point if you’re driving from the Grand Canyon to Utah national parks, like if you are doing something like an Arizona Utah national parks road trip.

Here are some estimated drive times from neighboring areas based on good road conditions:

 

 

And now…

More PHOTOS from hiking to Horseshoe Bend overlook… and beyond!

Horseshoe Bend AZ Arizona. overlook trail in glen canyon national recreation area park. Best hikes in Page AZ. Best hiking trails in Arizona. southwest national parks travel blog

 

I was here in December 2019, and pictures are from that time. A gloomy Christmas Eve in Page. There was a light dusting of snow on some parts of the trail.

 

So from the parking lot, you’ll see the start of the trail. Especially if you’re hiking in summer, bring WATER, even if you think it’s going to be a short hike! You never know, once you’re there, you might want to walk around longer than you were thinking! It can be HOT. Better safe than sorry!

 

Horseshoe Bend overlook trail. page az travel blog

What to pack for hiking Horseshoe Bend overlook trail. page az travel blog

Horseshoe Bend overlook trail. page az travel blog

Horseshoe Bend overlook trail. page az travel blog

Horseshoe Bend overlook trail. page az travel blog

Horseshoe Bend overlook trail. page az travel blog

Horseshoe Bend overlook trail. page az travel blog

Horseshoe Bend overlook trail. page az travel blog

Horseshoe Bend overlook trail. page az travel blog

 

You’ve made it to the Horseshoe Bend overlook!

 

Horseshoe Bend overlook trail. page az travel blog

Trail to Horseshoe Bend overlook. page az travel blog

Trail to Horseshoe Bend overlook. page az travel blog

Trail to Horseshoe Bend overlook. page az travel blog

 

Once you’ve taken in the views from the main overlook, you can head back, or continue walking around. There are more spots from which you can see down below to the Colorado River.

 

Horseshoe bend trail: best hikes in page az. glen canyon recreation area park. arizona travel blog

Horseshoe bend trail: best hikes in page az. glen canyon recreation area park. arizona travel blog

Horseshoe bend trail: best hikes in page az. glen canyon recreation area park. arizona travel blog

Horseshoe bend trail: best hikes in page az. glen canyon recreation area park. arizona travel blog

Horseshoe bend trail: best hikes in page az. glen canyon recreation area park. arizona travel blog

Horseshoe bend trail: best hikes in page az. glen canyon recreation area park. arizona travel blog

Horseshoe bend trail: best hikes in page az. glen canyon recreation area park. arizona travel blog

Horseshoe bend trail: best hikes in page az. glen canyon recreation area park. arizona travel blog

Horseshoe bend trail: best hikes in page az. glen canyon recreation area park. arizona travel blog

Horseshoe bend trail: best hikes in page az. glen canyon recreation area park. arizona travel blog

Horseshoe bend trail: best hikes in page az. glen canyon recreation area park. arizona travel blog

Horseshoe bend trail: best hikes in page az. glen canyon recreation area park. arizona travel blog

Horseshoe bend trail: best hikes in page az. glen canyon recreation area park. arizona travel blog

Horseshoe bend trail: best hikes in page az. glen canyon recreation area park. arizona travel blog

Horseshoe bend trail: best hikes in page az. glen canyon recreation area park. arizona travel blog

Horseshoe bend trail: best hikes in page az. glen canyon recreation area park. arizona travel blog

Horseshoe bend trail: best hikes in page az. glen canyon recreation area park. arizona travel blog

Horseshoe bend trail: best hikes in page az. glen canyon recreation area park. arizona travel blog

Horseshoe bend trail: best hikes in page az. glen canyon recreation area park. arizona travel blog

Horseshoe bend trail: best hikes in page az. glen canyon recreation area park. arizona travel blog

Horseshoe bend trail: best hikes in page az. glen canyon recreation area park. arizona travel blog

Horseshoe bend trail: best hikes in page az. glen canyon recreation area park. arizona travel blog

 

And then, you can continue hiking even further onward!

 

hiking glen canyon national park from horseshoe bend overlook trail. page az travel blog

hiking glen canyon national park from horseshoe bend overlook trail. page az travel blog

hiking glen canyon national park from horseshoe bend overlook trail. page az travel blog

hiking glen canyon national park from horseshoe bend overlook trail. page az travel blog

 

It was around here that we started seeing some sort of animal tracks in the dirt. We didn’t know what they were from. There was only one way to go (aka it wasn’t like an open plain), and we couldn’t see far ahead. We did not want to run into a mountain lion with no exit plan at all, since we were basically walled in here. And also not knowing what was ahead in terms of a “destination” we turned around!

 

hiking glen canyon national recreation area park from horseshoe bend overlook trail. page az travel blog

Horseshoe bend trail: best hikes in page az. glen canyon recreation area park. arizona travel blog

 

 

And that’s a bit about Horseshoe Bend and hiking to see the Colorado River in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area!

Plan more of your southwest national parks vacation:

 

HAPPY HIKING AROUND HORSESHOE BEND IN PAGE AZ!

 

Horseshoe Bend AZ Arizona. overlook trail in glen canyon national recreation area park. Best hikes in Page AZ. Best hiking trails in Arizona. southwest national parks travel blog

 

 



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