Forged by millions of years of erosion by the Colorado River, the Grand Canyon captures the history, scale and beauty of the American West. Overlooks peer into deep gorges layered with the colors of time and geology, dusty trails meander through sagebrush and over coyote tracks, and pictographs etched into canyon walls hint at the lives of past cultures. Overlooks at the South Rim and rim-to-rim treks are the obvious highlights, but the backcountry is where the true adventure begins.