Sights in South Rim
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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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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 Ruin & 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 but still interesting and worth a look. A small musuem displays pottery, jewelry and 4000-year-old twig animal figurines.
reviewed
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B
Yavapai Geology Museum & Observation Station
Views don't get much better than those unfolding behind the plate-glass windows of this little stone building at Yavapai Point, where handy panels identify and explain the various formations before you. Another reason to swing by is the superb geology display that'll deepen your understanding of the canyon's multilayered geological palimpsest. From here, check out the new Trail of Time exhibit just west of the Rim Trail. This interpretative display traces the history of the canyon's formation, and every meter equals one million years of geologic history.
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C
Lookout Studio
Like Mary Colter's other canyon buildings, Lookout Studio was modeled after stone dwellings of the Southwest Pueblo Native Americans. Made of rough-cut Kaibab limestone, with a roof that mirrors the lines of the rim, the studio blends into its natural surroundings. Inside, you'll find a small souvenir shop and a tiny back porch that offers spectacular canyon views. There's also a stone stairway snaking below Lookout Studio towards another terrace, which is the site of the popular ranger-led Condor Talks.
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Tusayan Route
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