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Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona (View Photos):
The Colorado Plateau contains an embarassment of scenic riches, but perhaps the most mind-blowing of these gems (and certainly the most famous) is the Grand Canyon. Here, the Colorado River has carved a massive gorge beyond reckoning where millions of years of geologic history lie exposed before the naked eye. Some of the oldest rock in the world can be found at the base of the canyon. The varying ages and composition of the rocks creates a multi-colored geological layercake that stirs the imagination.
Away from the crowds on the rim, you can hike into the canyon on a number of trails. You will experience a different world whose scale is impossible to comprehend and where a profound, quasi-spiritual silence envelops you. Getting into the canyon is easy, but climbing out of it can be an ordeal if you are not prepared or if you are out of shape. On the way back to the rim, it is important to pace yourself and build in significantly more time than it took for you to make the descent into the canyon.
Back on the rim, a series of easily accessible viewpoints offer up exceptional panoramas of the main gorge and its subsidiary canyons carved out by tributaries of the Colorado River. The South Rim and the North Rim have their own unique qualities. The South Rim is by far the most visited of the two and is very crowded during the summer. It reaches a peak elevation of 7399 ft at Grandview Point. The environment is dry and arid with vegetation consisting of cactus, agave, yucca, Utah juniper, and Pinon pine among others.
The North rim is 1000 ft higher and has a cooler climate with significantly more precipitation. Here, the landscape is characterized by alpine vegetation including conifers such as Douglas fir and Ponderosa pines and deciduous trees like aspen and birch. The North Rim features a number of amazing overlooks that are accessed by paved road. You can relax and spread out your wings here without bumping into hordes of tourists and traffic typical of the South Rim. Winter casts a spell on the North Rim as heavy snows close down the roads and an eerie silence descends on the land.
Recommended Day Hikes:
Grandview Trail (to Horseshoe Mesa)
Round Trip Length: 8.0 miles
Trailhead location: Grandview Point, located off the Desert View Drive (South Rim)
Level of Difficulty: Strenuous
Attractions: Amazing and intimate views of the Grand Canyon from a perch located about halfway down from the rim
Cape Final
Round Trip Length: 4.0 miles
Trailhead location: from the intersection of Arizona State Route 67 and Cape Royal/Point Imperial park
road, drive about 20.5 miles (heading towards Cape Royal). The trailhead is located on the left side of the road
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Attractions: Solitude; sweeping views of the Eastern section of the Grand Canyon
Rim Trail
Round Trip Length: 11 miles (one-way); a shuttle bus can take you back to your starting point
Trailhead location: Mather Point, directly accessible from the Village Route (South Rim)
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Attractions: This trail roughly parallels the Village and Hermits Rest Routes, providing spectacular views of the
canyon. Highlights include Mather Point, Bright Angel trailhead, Powell Point, and Hopi Point
Bright Angel Point Trail
Round Trip Length: 0.5 mile
Trailhead location: Parking area by Grand Canyon Lodge (North Rim)
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Attractions: One of the best viewpoints of the canyon on the North Rim
Recommended Points of Interest:
Point Imperial; Cape Royal; Bright Angel Point, Mather Point; Grandview Point; Vista Encantada; Moran Point; Lipan Point;
Hermits Rest Route bus tour (free)
Helpful travel tips and observations
From March through November a free shuttle bus takes visitors along the South Rim starting at the
Canyon View Information Center and ending up at Hermits Rest. In between, the shuttle stops at choice viewpoints which
give visitors an appreciation for the vastness and epic scale of the Grand Canyon. The North Rim only receives about 10
per cent of the crowds found on the South Rim, but the scenery is no less moving. Late September adds a streak of gold
to the North Rim with the changing of the aspen leaves
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Photos: Page 1 > Page 2 > Page 3
Grandview Point, (October 2006)
Grandview Trail, (October 2006)
Grandview Trail, (October 2006)
Grandview Trail, (October 2006)
Grandview Trail, (October 2006)
Horseshoe Mesa, (October 2006)
Horseshoe Mesa, (October 2006)
Horseshoe Mesa, (October 2006)
