Things to do in Grand Canyon National Park
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Deer Creek
If you're lucky enough to have joined a Grand Canyon rafting tour, Deer Creek Falls tumbles into the Colorado River downstream of Granite Narrows below Mile 136. From this welcoming trailhead you head 150m (500ft) up a steep, bushy slope to a stunning overlook. From here the trail leads into Deer Creek Narrows, an impressive slot canyon whose walls bear remarkable pictographs.
The narrows end in an inviting cascade. Above, lush vegetation lines the trail as it meanders along the cottonwood-shaded creek. The trail crosses the creek and ascends open, rocky slopes to Deer Creek Spring, the trail's second waterfall. From here retrace your steps back to the river. Despite havi…
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South Rim
About 90% of Grand Canyon national-park visitors head for the South Rim. Just north of Tusayan, Arizona is the park’s south entrance station. A short drive further ahead next to ever-crowded Mather Point is Canyon View Information Plaza to help you get oriented. After stretching your legs, continue north to Grand Canyon Village. Duck inside the 100-year-old Hopi House, one of the park’s many Native American–inspired designs by famed Western architect Mary Colter, and the equally historic El Tovar Hotel and cliffside Kolb Studio. At the northeastern end of the village, panoramic views of the canyon unfold at Yavapai Observation Station, which has an intriguing geolog…
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Marble View
Our favorite of the many Kaibab Forest overlooks, this viewpoint makes a spectacular picnic or camping spot. From the meadow, covered with Indian paintbrush and hiding Coconino sandstone fossils, views extend over the eastern edge of the canyon to the paper-flat expanse beyond.
This is not a quintessential Grand Canyon overlook that you see in postcards and books. Instead, you're looking down where the Colorado River first cuts into the rocks from Lees Ferry, at the point where it only hints at the rapids and canyon beyond.
Marble View is off Hwy 67, 13km (8mi) south of Kaibab Lodge. From Hwy 67, the road seems to end at an overlook; be sure to take the narrow road through…
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Havasu Canyon
One of the Grand Canyon's true treasures, this is a hidden valley with four stunning, spring-fed waterfalls and inviting azure swimming holes in the heart of the Havasupai Reservation. Because the falls lie 16km (10mi) below the rim, most trips are combined with a stay at either Havasu Lodge in Supai (the only village within the Grand Canyon) or at the nearby campground. For a spot at Havasu Campground you need to book six months to a year ahead.
Parts of the canyon floor, as well as the rock underneath the waterfalls and pools, are made up of limestone deposited by flowing water. These limestone deposits are known as travertine, which gives the famous blue-green water it…
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El Tovar
With its unusual spires and dark-wood beams rising behind the Rim Trail, elegant El Tovar remains a grande dame of national park lodges. Spacious rooms (many with sleigh beds and rim overlooks), a dining room with panoramic views, and wide, inviting porches with rocking chairs offer visitors a comfortable and elegant place to relax after a long journey to the park. You don't have to be a guest here to enjoy its old-world ambience.
El Tovar was built in 1905 for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway and designed by architect Charles Whittlesey as a blend between a Swiss chalet and the more rustic style that would come to define national park lodges in the 1920s.
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North Rim
On the Grand Canyon’s North Rim, more than 8000ft above sea level, solitude reigns supreme. Rugged and remote, it boasts meadows thick with wildflowers and dense clusters of willowy aspen and spruce trees. The air is often crisp, the skies vast and blue. If crowds make you cringe, this is where to head for wild isolation. There is only one road in, after all. It’s colder and wetter here, too, and the North Rim is only open for business from mid-May to mid-October. However, the views are spectacular and the lack of huge crowds makes visiting the North Rim a more peaceful, if more spartan, experience of the canyon’s majesty.
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Widforss Trail
Named after Gunnar Widforss, an early-20th-century artist who lived, worked, died and was buried at the Grand Canyon, the Widforss Trail meanders through stands of spruce, white fir, ponderosa pine and aspen to Widforss Point. Tall trees offer shade, fallen limbs provide pleasant spots to relax, and you likely won't see more than a few people along the trail.
Though the total elevation change is only 134m (440ft), rolling terrain makes the first couple of miles a moderate challenge. This is a particularly pretty hike in late September or early October when the leaves are golden, and the point makes an excellent backcountry campsite.
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Bright Angel Trail
The most popular of the corridor trails, the Bright Angel is wide, well graded and easy to follow. It's equally attractive to first-time canyon hikers and seasoned pros, as well as mule trains, making it a heavily trafficked route. But the din doesn't lessen the sheer beauty of it all.
The steep and scenic 12.5km (7.8mi) descent to the Colorado River is punctuated with four logical turnaround spots, including two well-appointed resthouses for opportunities to seek shade and hydrate: Mile-and-a-Half Resthouse and Three-Mile Resthouse. Even if you're wary of crowds, you won't regret taking a jaunt of some length on the Bright Angel.
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Lipan Point
One of the most spectacular viewpoints on the South Rim gives a panoramic eyeful of the canyon and makes a magnificent spot to watch the sunset. From here, you'll get an unobstructed view of Unkar Rapid just to the west. To the northeast, the sheer cliffs called the Palisades of the Desert define the southeastern wall of the Grand Canyon, beyond which the Echo and Vermilion Cliffs lie in the distance.
You can also catch glimpses of both 75-Mile Creek and Unkar Creek, which feed into either side of the Colorado; on the north bank, look for the gentle slopes of Unkar Delta at the sinuous kink in the river.
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Kolb Studio
Photographers Ellsworth and Emery Kolb arrived at the Grand Canyon from Pennsylvania in 1902 and made a living photographing parties going down the Bright Angel Trail. Because there was not enough water on the rim to process the film, they had to run 4.5 miles down the trail to a spring at Indian Garden, develop the film and race back up in order to have the pictures ready when the party returned. Eventually, they built a small studio on the edge of the rim, which has since been expanded and now holds a small bookstore and an art gallery with changing exhibits.
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45-minute Helicopter Flight Over the Grand Canyon from Tusayan, Arizona
45 minutes (Departs Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona)
by Viator
Your tour beings at the Grand Canyon airport in Tusayan, Arizona. Fly over the ponderosa pines of Kaibab National Forest on a 45-minute helicopter excursion fro…Not LP reviewed
from USD$234.99 -
Watchtower
Scramble to the top of Colter’s stone tower at Desert View and pat yourself on the back for having reached the highest spot on the rim (7522ft). Unparalleled views take in not only the canyon and the Colorado River but also the San Francisco Peaks, the Navajo Reservation and the Painted Desert. The Hopi Room has festive murals depicting the snake legend, a Hopi wedding and other scenes.
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Tusayan Ruins & Museum
Near the East Entrance, 22 miles east of the Village, you’ll come across what’s left of the nearly 900-year-old Ancestral Puebloan settlement of Tusayan. Only partially excavated to minimize erosion damage, it’s less impressive than other such ruins in the Southwest. A small museum displays pottery, jewelry and 4000-year-old twig animal figurines.
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El Tovar Dining Room
Set a stone's throw away from the canyon's edge, it has the best views of any restaurant of the state, if not the country. If you don't get a table with a view - you can request it in advance but it won't be guaranteed - the grand stone and dark oak dining room warms the soul like an upscale lodge of yore, and the food, especially the steaks, makes the trip worthwhile.
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25-minute Grand Canyon Dancer Helicopter Tour from Tusayan, Arizona
by Viator
Depart from the Grand Canyon airport in Tusayan, Arizona for an exhilarating 25-minute scenic flight out of the South Rim of the Grand Canyon over the Kaibab Na…Not LP reviewed
from USD$184.99 -
Canyon Trail Rides
Canyon Trail Rides offers one-hour mule trips ($40) along the rim and half- or full-day trips into the canyon. The full-day, seven-hour trip ($165, minimum age 12 years) departs at 7:30am. Lunch and water are provided. Half-day trips ($75, minimum age 10 years) leave at 7:30am and 12:30pm. Make arrangements at Grand Canyon Lodge.
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Open Road Tours
Most people arrive at the canyon in private vehicles or on a tour. Be advised that finding parking can be a chore in Grand Canyon Village. Open Road Tours runs shuttles from Flagstaff ($27, two daily) and Williams ($22, two daily). It can also arrange helicopter tours (from $145) over the canyon.
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Rough Rider Saloon
For a drink and browse of Teddy Roosevelt memorabilia, pop by this small saloon. Lug your beer to the stone patio behind the lodge, where rough-hewn rocking chairs face the rim and a blazing fire on chilly nights. Rangers offer talks. Espresso drinks and breakfast pastries are served in the early morning.
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Grand Canyon Lodge Dining Room
Some people get belligerent if they can’t get a window seat, but the canyon-view windows are so huge it really doesn’t matter where you sit. The menu includes buffalo steak and vegetarian options, but don’t expect any culinary memories. Reservations are not accepted.
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Arizona Room
Striking a wonderful balance between casual and upscale, this restaurant is a solid option. Antler chandeliers hang from the ceiling and picture windows overlook the canyon. Mains include steak, chicken and fish dishes. No reservations; there's often a wait.
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Bright Angel Restaurant
Families love this busy, down-home coffee shop for its casual vibe and kid-friendly menu. However, with no canyon views and only perfunctory service, it’s the least appealing of the rim’s three table-service restaurants.
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Rough Rider Saloon
Peruse Teddy Roosevelt memorabilia while the bartender pours your microbrew, then head over to the lodge’s back patio where rough-hewn rocking chairs face the canyon rim. The saloon also serves morning coffee and pastries.
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Arizona Room
Western steaks, barbecue dishes and homemade pies and tarts are worth the wait. Dining room is adorned with antler chandeliers and canyon-view windows, while the back porch is perfect for sunset margaritas.
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Grand Canyon Lodge Dining Room
Window tables enjoy panoramic views, while a menu of only average fare has vegetarian options. Dinner reservations required, or sign up for the nightly ‘Grand Cookout Experience’ by 3pm.
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Yavapai Observation Station
At the northeastern end of the village, panoramic views of the canyon unfold at Yavapai Observation Station, which has an intriguing geology museum.
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