My Top 10 National Park Hikes (over 6 miles)
I completed the list of my Top 10 Short National Park Hikes over a month ago, so I guess it’s about time I start the list of my favorite longer hikes. This list will focus on hikes over six miles long.
You probably noticed by now that I love the National Parks and like making lists. In addition to the list of my favorite shorter National Park hikes, I have previously made lists of my Top Ten National Parks, Top 20 Things to See in the National Parks, Top Ten Waterfalls, My Bucket List, and Ten Places You Should Visit Before You Die. So yeah, I enjoy writing these blog posts. I hope you enjoy them, too.
Let me know if you agree with me, want to add other hikes, or want to try some of these out.
My list so far…
10. Mount LeConte – Great Smoky Mountains National Park
9. Cape Alava – Olympic National Park
8. Half Dome – Yosemite National Park
7. Siyeh Pass – Glacier National Park
6. Cascade Canyon – Grant Teton National Park
5. Plateau Point – Grand Canyon National Park
4. Highline Trail – Glacier National Park
3. Mist Trail (to Nevada Fall) – Yosemite National Park
2. The Figure 8 – Bryce Canyon National Park
Location: Bryce Canyon National Park in southern Utah.
Distance: It is about 6.5 miles total.
Elevation change: 1,600 feet.
Difficulty: On my totally subjective scale from a 1-10 (10 being the hardest) I would give it a 6 or 7.
Brief Description: This is actually a combination of four different trails. I hiked it the way the park recommends. I started at Sunrise Point and descended into Bryce Amphitheater on the Queen’s Garden Trail. I then connected that to the 4-mile Peekaboo Loop, which gains and then loses a lot of elevation. At the end of the loop I joined the Navajo Loop Trail. I took the Wall Street option up and out of the Amphitheater to Sunset Point. From there it was a short half mile walk along the Rim Trail back to my starting point at Sunrise Point. It might sound confusing, but it’s actually quite simple to follow the route. You pass between hoodoos for much of the journey.
Highlight of the hike: Simply walking among the hoodoos is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but the short Wall Street section is definitely the best part of the hike.
Tips: The Two Bridges side of the Navajo Loop, but if Wall Street is open, definitely choose that option. Watch out for manure, horses and mules are allowed on the Peekaboo loop.
I have written about a few different parts of this hike. This blog post focused on Wall Street. This is about the Queen’s Garden and Navajo Loop portion. This is about Sunset Point.
The Adventures of a Day Hiker 
We didn’t do the Peekaboo Loop part of this hike, but I remember the rest being a unique and beautiful hike. The weather in early fall when we were there was cool and crisp in the morning and not too hot in the afternoon when hiking up the Wall Street. The orange glow of the hoodoos and rocks along the trails was mesmerizing.
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