The Grand Canyon has been on my bucket list for a while and I’m glad I finally made it out here. The experience of descending through 5 thousand feet of desert, while at the same time traveling through millions of years of history (Grand Canyon is layer on layer of sedimentary rock) is unique. At times it felt like I was the only person in the planet. At times, I may as well have been.
The below itinerary took a fair amount of research and I believe gives you an experience which feels comprehensive, but will make you want to return for more (I'm certainly gearing up for a follow up). Finally, this itinerary can (and should) be broken up into 3 days. I did it in 2 days because… consultants be optimizing and I wanted the challenge :D
Let's get into it.
Grand Canyon overview:
You can either visit the North Rim (remote) or the South Rim (more developed and accessible; I did the South)
There are 4 major trails: Bright Angel (most popular; covered here), South Kaibab (more epic and steep/painful; covered here), Hermit Trail and Grandview Trail. Wikitravel does a great job of outlining these https://wikitravel.org/en/Grand_Canyon
Park life centers around the “Visitors Center” which is where you’ll find all park news of the day (e.g. trail status, weather, events), where you can park your car, and where shuttles depart. Trails are accessible via the park Shuttle system (included in your $20 entrance).
It mostly makes sense to use the shuttle, sometimes it makes sense to drive (I'll call this out below).
Where to stay
Tusayan. Tusayan is a cute little town which is 15 minutes (7 miles) from the Visitor’s center. It’s the closest town.
Yes, there’s a series of Lodges at the base of the Southern Rim, but these are often booked out months in advance. Also, they don’t seem super great. The 6 or so southern Rim lodges are mostly 2 star level with the exception of the “El Tovar Hotel” which is synonymous with extravagance @ the Canyon… with that said unless you’re on honey moon, you will mostly be outdoors. (Btw, I had lunch at one of the Lodges and confirmed the above).
There’s a single lodge at the base of the Canyon, which I also visited and cover below.
I stayed at the Best Western in Tusayan.
I'm normally an IHG or Marriot person. I’ve since learned that Best Westerns feature great locations near USA’s national parks, which are mostly.. West. (go figure). I’m now a proud rewards member :D The Best Western at Tusayan is a “Premier” series and it was solid. They have a full bar and a la carte restaurant (this is a luxury near the national parks) and actually a pretty good dinner buffet which is just $20! After a full day of hiking... you’ll want this. If/when I return to GC I will stay here again.
Useful Fact: A common practice at hotels near national parks is to offer a “boxed lunch” or “boxed breakfast” option for those who want to do am hikes. Coffee on tap also seems mandatory 😊
Day 1 (Orientation and mini-hike)
Get into the Visitor’s Center and chat with a Park Ranger. There’s literally a table full of them and they’re raison d’etre is to chat with you about how awesome the Park is, which it is. Get familiar with the park – e.g. upcoming forecasts, events, the shuttle system…
Walk the Southern Rim, along the Rim. This is an easy paved trail which gives you epic top-down views. Take the shuttle from the Visitor’s Center to “Hermit Ridge / Red Line. Walk towards “Mather viewpoint” which places you right back at the Visitor’s center. This will take you ~2 hours with all the picture taking.
Have lunch/coffee and talk about your pictures
Watch the 30 min film about the Grand Canyon which is shown at the visitor center
Drive or Take the shuttle to “Dessert Point”, the farthest viewpoint (30-45 min drive) from the Park to get another viewpoint of the Canyon + some cool history about the area
Grab a light dinner, prep gear and sleep early (tomorrow it gets real)
Day 2 (Hike to the Colorado River)
This is a hike to the Base of the Canyon (Colorado River) and back. Total time: 10 hours, length 17 miles, elevation change ~10,000 feet (-5k down, +5 back *ahhh*). You can get many of the epic views by going only part of the way and I’ll call this out below.
DISCLAIMER: The park strongly recommends that you NOT try this as several rescues a year are required for folks who overestimate their level of fitness. Some folks are affected by the length of the hike, others by the rapid altitude change (which can altitude sickness). There are also hilarious signs (one example below) to make the point.
I chose to take this hike after CAREFULLY considering the following:
Fitness: There are many folks who made the trip and wrote about it on the web. To give you a benchmark, I’ve run several half-marathons (e.g. fair amount of endurance). I’ve also done trips to high altitude places (e.g. Bolivia, Chile, USA/Colorado) and found I can manage altitudes up to 14k ft. (Fun Fact: I used to get awful altitude sickness when young, less so as an adult).
Timing: I went during the Fall which features moderate-ish temperatures, I WOULD NOT recommend this in the Spring/Summer. Even in late September (the date of this hike) temperatures fluctuated from a brisk ~7C (45F) at the top to a steamy ~30C (86F) at Canyon Base.
The Start
I took South Kaibab trail down to the river because it’s steeper than Bright Angel (I rather do this downhill) and it has NO watering stations unlike Bright Angel which has many. The start was right after Sunrise (~6:30 am) to ensure I would have have enough time to do the round-trip with sunlight. You can always bring a headlight if you’re worried about running out of sunlight (the park is open 24/7). The start is totally epic and you’re treated to top-down views in a portion of the Canyon that features plant-life (in limited amounts).
During the first mile you’ll traverse a series of switchbacks for ~1 mile until you get to “Ooh Aah” point.
This is aptly named as it servers up some of the best (if not the best) top-down views of the Canyon, both here and a few meters below. Note, this is probably the most value you’ll get out of a hike (where value is defined as quality-of-view / effort-to-get-there) in the park. Many end their hike here, which equates to 2 miles round-trip / ~1-2 hours.
The Rest
I kept going through the following milestones --> Cedar Ridge (1.5 miles in), Skeleton Point (3 miles in). The Tipoff (4.4 miles in), Bright Angel Campground (7 miles in / Colorado River).
As you pass Skeleton point, you'll notice the amount of hikers start to thin out until it's maybe you, another person and the occasional mule. You'll also enter a region where you can hear things echo... echo... echo... try whistling :)
Between Tipoff and the Colorado River, I noticed the rock turn a deep red color due to the high iron content. It was otherworldly and there's only one other place I've seen which looks more alien than this geography, the Atacama desert of Chile (for another post).
After another half mile or so (~7 miles total by this point) I finally spotted the Colorado River. My legs were burning, my lips were burning (from all the salt my body was constantly putting out through perspiration) and it looked absolutely beautiful.
I hiked an extra 1/2 North to get a look at Phantom Ranch, the ONLY lodging option by the Colorado River. I have to admit, for a large portion of the trail I was fantasizing about hitting up their canteen for a burger, fries, milkshake, the works. In reality, they have a super limited menu (as one would expect at a place where the only way to get supplies is by mule or person...). You can order stew or steak for dinner, but only if your're staying at the ranch. I got an ice cold lemonade, had some jerky and sat in an airconditioned room for 30 minutes. It was nice.
Would I make the the detour if I do this again? Probably not.
What remained was the slog up Bright angle Trail. Here you spend more time by the river bed and see a different, greener side of the Canyon.
The remaining milestones included: River Resthouse (6.4 miles from top/1.5 miles from camp ground), Indian Gardens (4.9 miles from top), 3-miles rest house (3 miles from top), 1.5 mile rest house (1.5 miles from top).
After 1.5 mile house I started to get light headed and I realized it was mostly calorie deficiency. I had a cliff bar and slogged my way back up *cue Eye of the Tiger* in better shape. That's it. Done. ~17 miles in total
Parting Thoughts
I learned two important lessons from this experience / updates for the next hike
Pack salty snacks. I could literally feel my lips burning from all the salt my body was putting out post miles of hiking in the heat (I had proper headgear and sunblock / it wasn't sun burn). Two ideal snacks and supplements would be, salted peanuts (salt + energy) and powdered electrolyte (aka Gatorade) drink (turns any water bottle into hydration + salt/electrolytes). Costco has a great product here ("Liquid IV").
Walking sticks. Saves your knees going down, helps your upper body contribute going up.
I feel like I covered a lot in the above, yet the Grand Canyon left me wanting for more. I plan on returning for (at least) rafting/kayaking down the Colorado river (a multi-day affair). I didn't spend much time to post videos or pics of the River, but it really is an incredible geological feature. At times it's serene. At other times it's powerful and unforgiving; all surrounded by some of the most grandiose scenery I've seen to date.
Great photos! Really help to capture the scale of the landscapes out there!
Amazing!!