Sunset Point offers vistas of some of the most famous and breathtaking of Bryce Canyon's hoodoos. Directly below the point and to the south, the Silent City rises from the canyon floor, a maze of hoodoos and fins packed in tight formation.
The Navajo Loop is the most popular trail in the park, and is often combined with the Queen's Garden Trail to form a longer loop that passes through the Queen's Garden and emerges onto the rim at Sunrise Point. From here two very scenic and easy strolls can be taken as part of the Rim Trail.
Just below the overlook on the northern edge, Thor's Hammer stands alone. Striking in form due to its isolation from other hoodoos, Thor's Hammer is a favorite among visitors. Nowhere are the colors of Bryce Canyon's rock better displayed than from Sunset Point.
Cascade Canyon Trail is 4.4 miles (7.2 km ) one way with a 991 ft total elevation gain from the West Boat Dock of Jenny Lake. The hike to the first bridge with a view of Cascade Creek and its cascading waterfalls is fairly level with a set of stone steps gaining 65 ft over 0.2 miles (0.3 km).
Cascade Canyon, a glacially carved u-shaped canyon, passes between Teewinot and Mount St. John to provide easy access into the Teton backcountry. This out-and-back trail is a popular option with visitors who want to get into the mountains without gaining a significant amount of elevation.
The Cascade Range may have been named for its countless waterfalls, but its true calling card has to be its rugged, crumpled peaks—the Liberty Bells, the Seven-Fingered Jacks, the Steamboat Prows—all rising abruptly from deeply carved valleys and cleaving the Far West into Farther and Farthest.
And though the Cascades technically and geologically start in Northern California and extend north to southern British Columbia, it’s in Washington that the granite swath reaches its climax. Here’s the gracefully hulking volcanic cone of Mt. Rainier. The alpine lakes that glitter sapphire, turquoise, and aquamarine.
A hybrid of rustic glamping and high design , this sleek herd of modern steel-wheeled cottages —arranged in a sweeping grassy meadow that was once an RV park—has floor-to-ceiling views of the foothills, sleeping platforms and clever modular furniture, cozy woodstoves, and, unlike your typical tent, Wi-Fi. Each hut also has an adjacent portable toilet. The Methow River is a stone’s throw from the sunny decks, and some of Washington State’s best hiking and fishing aren’t much farther. $135; sleeps 4; 2-night min.; rollinghuts.com.
Cascade Canyon Trail, Grand Teton National Park. Right at the center of the Teton Range, Cascade Canyon is a textbook example of a U-shaped glacial ravine, surrounded on both sides by the jagged, snow-bound peaks that characterize these mountains, and providing excellent hiking to a variety of destinations, near and far.
The Teton Crest Trail follows the south fork of the canyon to Hurricane Pass on the national park boundary, while the main route heads up the north fork, still through woodland for a short distance, until the trees give way to bushes, grassland and wildflowers, mixed with boulder piles and scree slopes.