Round Trip Distance: 1-11 miles
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
Elevation: 4679 - 5466 feet
Cellphone: 1-5 bars
Time: 30 mins. plus
Trailhead: Sunset (or anywhere along rim)
Fee: $15 individual, $30/vehicle, $35/annual pass
Attractions: Scenic overlooks
The Rim trail is located in Bryce Canyon National Park. The Rim trail stretches for 5.2 miles between Fairyland Point and Bryce Point. A backpacking trail continues on from Bryce Point as the Under the Rim trail for another 11.5 miles to Rainbow Point. The Rim trail can be accessed from any trailhead along the rim as well as from the area around the lodge and campgrounds. Visitors can choose just how much of the trail they would like to hike and whether to turn around and hike back the same way they came or to make use of the free shuttle bus service.
This post describes hiking the Rim trail between Sunset Point and Inspiration Point. The half mile paved section is covered in the Sunset to Sunrise post and another 2.5 miles section can be found in the Fairyland Loop post.
The Rim trail is a broad, well groomed, path that follows along the edge of the canyon for the most part with the section between Sunset and Sunrise Points being paved and mostly flat. Small children will need to be kept close and under control near the many exposed sections of the trail.
The Rim trail is anything but flat with its over 1100 feet of elevation change. The trail tends to run downhill for the most part in the direction from Bryce Point to Fairyland Point but there are still a few uphill sections to hike. A person could take the shuttle bus to Bryce Point and hike back to at least Inspiration Point which is the next bus stop.
Portions of the Peekaboo Trail are visible peering down into the canyon below Inspiration Point.
Inspiration Point is the turnaround spot for this post. It is another 1.5 miles to Bryce Point from here.
The views of the Bryce Canyon Amphitheater are quite spectacular from the Rim trail.
Those that hike the Fairyland Loop and the Queens/Navajo Loop will end up having hiked over half of the Rim trail in doing so. To hike the rest would only require completing the portion of the trail between Bryce Point and Sunset Point a distance of about 2 miles one-way. There are amazing views of Bryce Canyon from all areas of the Rim trail so whatever you choose you won't be disappointed. If you would like to see it for yourself then all you have to do is 'Take a hike'.
