Grand Canyon National Park is one of the top visited national parks in the United States. And with good reason! From its sweeping views and amazing hikes, it’s accessible to people of all ages and fitness levels, and is one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World.
You can visit the North Rim, open between May 15th to October 15th, or the South Rim, which is open all year round. The South Rim is the most popular side of the canyon to due its accessibility, and is where we visited. The fee to enter the park is $35 per vehicle for seven days, or you can purchase an America the Beautiful Annual Pass for $80, which covers entrance fees at national parks and wildlife refuges. So if you’re planning on visiting more than one national park in a full calendar year, you might want to consider this pass.
Parking can be pretty limited during the peak season, but the park provides numerous shuttle services, so if you have to park further away than you’d like, you can easily hop on a shuttle and get where you need to go without any extra walking.
We visited the South Rim, so I’ll speak to the hikes available on this side of the canyon. The three most popular trails are the Rim Trail, South Kaibab Trail, and the Bright Angel Trail.
– THE RIM TRAIL is great for all skills levels as it is relatively flat and is fully paved. It’s accessible to several lookouts to stop, relax, and take in the views.
– SOUTH KAIBAB TRAIL is considered a moderate-to-strenuous hike due to its steepness, lack of shade and bathrooms, and no water. But it also has the best panoramic views of the entire canyon. Day hikers should consider hiking to Ooh Ah Point (1.5 miles round trip), or Cedar Ridge (3 miles round trip), which is the hike we did.
– BRIGHT ANGEL TRAIL is similar to South Kaibab in difficulty level as it is also steep, but has some shade and drinking water along the trail. Day hikers can hike to the 1.5 Mile Resthouse, or the 3 Mile Resthouse.
View from the Rim Trail
We decided to hike South Kaibab after speaking with an Adventures Concierge at Under Canvas. We parked in a parking lot right near the Visitor’s Center (honestly, we were so lucky to find this spot), and walked the Rim Trail to the South Kaibab Trailhead. After navigating a series of tight switchbacks, we took a break at Ooh Aah Point, a very accurate name if you ask me (and yes, we did ooh and aah).
South Kaibab Switchbacks
Ooh Aah Point
View from South Kaibab Switchbacks
From Ooh Aah Point, we continued to Cedar Ridge, which would make our hike round trip 3 miles from the top. We were very much inside the canyon at this point, and it was so cool to look up and see how far we had hiked in.
View from Cedar Ridge
View from Cedar Ridge
View of the South Kaibab Trail from Cedar Ridge
*IMPORTANT*
Make sure you bring plenty of water! Seriously. We had about 2 gallons per person on us and it still didn’t feel like enough. We also ran into a Park Ranger on our way down into the canyon, and she said she had just encountered two people who had nothing with them but two cans of Coca-Cola and some cigarettes. WHAT?!? We also learned a valuable lesson from her too. We had casually mentioned we had enough water to share with anyone who might really need it, and she was quick to tell us to not share our water because we have to look out for ourselves first and foremost. So again, bring plenty of water with you. Think of it this way, if you don’t and you get severely dehydrated, it’s likely that no one is going to share any of their water with you.
Under Canvas Community Fire Pit
After a long day of hiking, we spent the rest of our evening at Under Canvas’s complimentary campfire, roasting marshmallows and eating s’mores. It’s no secret how much I L O V E campfires and s’mores, so this was an absolute perfect end to the day.
Leave a Reply