Park Avenue to Courthouse Towers

The trail starts at the Park Avenue viewpoint, the first stop on the park road. Steps lead down into a wide, flat-floored canyon between walls of red sandstone that early visitors likened to a city street. Rock figures stand along the skyline, among them Queen Nefertiti and Sausage Rock. The path follows the wash downhill for a mile and comes out at the Courthouse Towers viewpoint, facing the Three Gossips, Sheep Rock, the Organ and the Tower of Babel. Turn round and walk back up the canyon.

It is 2 miles (3.2 km) round trip with 310 feet (95 m) of climbing; allow about an hour. The grade is Easy: it is short, with a climb and a flight of steps at the end.

For the round trip the park asks you to retrace your steps and not to walk back along the road. To avoid the steps, start from the Courthouse Towers end. There is no water or toilet at either end, and little shade: summer afternoons pass 100°F. No timed-entry reservation is needed in 2026, but expect a queue at the park entrance between March and October. Dogs are not allowed on the trail. The park entrance fee is $30 a vehicle.

Route drawn by Global Adventurer along OpenStreetMap paths (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), with figures worked out from it. Check the forecast and the ground on the day: paths change.