Backpack Trips
Backpacking in the Grand Canyon is extremely rewarding, for those who are both experienced and equipped. Even if you are an experienced mountain backpacker, the Grand Canyon is different. It is desert backpacking, where the trip must be planned around the available water sources.
Difficult Trails
Trails and routes in the canyon are defined by the persistent horizontal cliff bands, and even though you may be able to see a spring or stream from above, you may not be able to reach it. For its size, Grand CSanyon has very few trails. Only the Kaibab and Bright Angel Trails are maintained- the remaining dozen are leftover prospector trails, maintained primarily by use. These trails are generally unsigned and may fade out without warning, or be confused by multiple routes.
Trails in the canyon often follow narrow ledges between tall cliffs. Click on the image for a larger view.
Cross-Country Hiking
Many backpack trips in the Grand Canyon require difficult cross-country hiking. Unless a member of your party is an experienced Grand Canyon backpacker, spend some time hiking the back country trails and learning how to route find in the canyon before attempting any cross-country hike.
Seasons
The best seasons for backpacking in the Grand Canyon are spring and fall, when the canyon temperatures are moderate. Winter can be a good season as well, though the top several thousand feet of the trails may be snow-covered.
Avoid hiking during the summer heat, from May through September! Temperatures reach 110 degrees F in the lower parts of the canyon and any mistakes you make, especially with regard to water, quickly become fatal.
Refer to the Maps, Books, and Movies page for a list of hiking guide books for more information on hiking and backpacking at the Grand Canyon.
South Rim
Kaibab-Bright Angel Loop
Below The Tipoff on the South Kaibab Trail. Click on the image for a larger view.
The classic first-time backpack trip in the Canyon, this loop is often done as an overnighter, but there's so much to explore that you could easily use up five days. The loop starts from the Kaibab Trailhead and returns to the Bright Angel Trailhead. Since both of these South Rim trailheads are served by free year-round shuttle buses, leave your car at the Back Country Office.
The South Kaibab Trail is the best way to start the loop, because the trail spends a lot of time on ridges and offers great views during the steady descent. Allow half a day for the hike to Phantom Ranch and Bright Angel Campground.
You can use Bright Angel Campground (or Phantom Ranch, if you make reservations) as a base for exploration up the North Kaibab Trail to Ribbon Falls and Phantom Canyon's impressive gorge. Because of flash flood danger, stay out of Phantom Canyon during stormy weather. Make time for a side hike up the Clear Creek Trail to the Tonto Plateau for stunning views of Granite Gorge.
Return to the South Rim via the Silver Bridge, River Trail, and Bright Angel Trail. Though longer than the South Kaibab Trail, this route has gentler grades and a variety of scenery. You could also camp at Indian Gardens, and spend some time doing a side hike out to Plateau Point. Other options for exploration include the Tonto Trail to the east and to the west.
Map of Kaibab-Bright Angel Loop
Boucher-Hermit Loop
Along the Hermit Trail. Click on the image for a larger view.
This great loop hike starts from Hermits Rest at the end of the Hermit Road. Use the free Hermit Shuttle to reach the trailhead, except during winter when the shuttle is not running. (There is trailhead parking down a short gravel road beyond the main parking lot.) This loop makes a nice three day trip, though you could easily expand it to four or five days.
Follow the Hermit Trail down through impressive construction in the Coconino Sandstone past the junction with the Waldron Trail. At the second junction, turn left onto the Dripping Spring Trail, and follow this trail across the top of the Supai Group cliffs at the head of Hermit Canyon to the Boucher Trail. Turn right, and follow the Boucher Trail along the top of the Supai, down into the head of White Creek, through the saddle next to White Butte, and eventually down to the Tonto Trail. Take the Tonto Trail a short distance west into Boucher Creek. The ruins of the Hermit's (Louis Boucher) mine and cabin are still present near the creek, which has permanent water- if not at the trail crossing, then a short distance downstream. The cross-country hike down Boucher Creek to the river is easy, and only takes a few hours round-trip.
The hike continues east on the Tonto Trail, which winds around Travertine Canyon before reaching Hermit Creek and its permanent water. Here, you can hike cross-country down Hermit Creek to the Colorado River to catch a view of the huge waves of Hermit Rapid, and also spend some time exploring the remains of Hermit Camp. This tourist camp was the main resort below the rim until the opening of Phantom Ranch on the Kaibab Trail. It was supplied by a 4,000-foot aerial tramway from Pima Point on the South Rim.
Use the Tonto Trail east to reach the junction with the Hermit Trail, your trail out of the Canyon. After a long climb up the Tonto slopes, a tight series of switchbacks ascend the Redwall Limestone at Cathedral Stairs. The Hermit Trail then climbs across the Supai Group slopes, switchbacking up through breaks in the cliff bands, and eventually reaches the old resthouse and watering trough at Santa Maria Spring (the spring is seasonal and not reliable.) After climbing through the Esplanade Sandstone at the top of the Supai Group, the Hermit Trail passes the junctions with the Dripping Spring and Waldron trails, and continues to the rim at Hermits Rest.
Tanner-Grandview
Tanner Trail at the Colorado River. Click on the image for a larger view.
At the mouth of Escalante Creek. Click on the image for a larger view.
Sunset on Angels Gate. Click on the image for a larger view.
This gorgeous hike in the eastern Grand Canyon takes you through a startling change in the geology at the floor of the canyon, where the open shale hills of the Tanner area give way to the somber Granite Gorge. The hike starts at the Tanner Trailhead at Lipan Point, and ends at the Grandview Trailhead at Grandview Point, so you'll need to do a short car shuttle along Desert View Drive.
The Tanner Trail starts a few yards down the access road below the Lipan Point parking area. The unmaintained trail descends rapidly through the rim formations via a series of short switchbacks, then levels out and crosses the saddle at the head of Sevenyfive Mile Canyon. Descending gradually through the Supai Group as it swings around Escalante and Cardenas buttes, the Tanner Trail reaches the rim of the Redwall Limestone above Tanner Canyon. A few broad switchbacks lead onto the Tonto slope, and the trail winds past some impressive slump blocks of Tapeats Sandstone before descending along a ridge in the shales of the Grand Canyon Supergroup. The trail reaches the Colorado River at the mouth of Tanner Canyon. Most hikers will spend half a day descending the Tanner Trail, so you may want to continue downriver before camping.
The hike continues downriver to the mouth of Cardenas Creek along an informal trail. There are campsites near the river, and also upstream in a short narrows in Cardenas Creek.
Continue the hike by following the cairned route and informal trail up Cardenas Creek and then onto the ridge above Unkar Rapid. The trail climbs the ridge to the south until just below the Tapeats Sandstone cliff, then turns west and contours around the end of the fin of Tapeats Sandstone. South of the fin, the route drops into Escalante Creek and follows the bed to the river, except for a couple of places where the trail leaves the bed to bypass dry waterfalls.
At the river, the trail follows the left bank downriver for a few yards before being forced to follow a rising ramp in the Shinumo Quartzite to avoid the cliffs along the river's edge. The trail follows the ramp around into Seventyfive Mile Canyon and upstream above an impressive lower gorge in the quartzite before finding a break. Descend to the bed of Seventyfive Mile Canyon when you can and follow it downstream back to the Colorado River.
The trail stays at rivers edge for nearly a mile to the mouth of Papago Creek. Most hikers will take a day to travel the informal trail from Tanner Canyon or Cardenas Creek to Papago Creek, and the camping is better here than along the next stretch.
Cliffs block the route downriver from Papago Creek. To continue down river, walk a few yards up Papago Creek, and follow a cairned route up ledges, then follow the cairned route across ledges to a break where you can descend back to river level. It's now a easy hike downriver to the mouth of Red Canyon.
The Red Canyon Trail climbs up Red Canyon to the South Rim, but a better hike is to follow the Tonto Trail, which also starts at the mouth of Red Canyon. The Tonto Trail crosses a sand flat above Hance Rapid and then climbs around into Mineral Canyon. After crossing Mineral Canyon, the Tonto Trail climbs to reach the beginnings of the Tonto Platform north of Coronado Butte. The trail then meanders south along the Tonto Platform to cross Hance Creek. If Hance Creek is dry at the trail crossing, you can usually find water a short distance downstream. You can camp here, or shorten the climb out of the Canyon by ascending the east side Grandview Trail to the back country campsite on Horseshoe Mesa. Horseshoe Mesa is dry, so you will have to carry water for a dry camp.
Leaving the Tonto Trail on the west side of Hance Creek, the east side Grandview Trail climbs past a spur trail to Miners Spring (located on the north side of the unnamed canyon, at the base of the Redwall Limestone), passes shafts from the Last Chance Mine, and climbs to the Redwall Limestone rim on the east side of Horseshoe Mesa. The old mine cook shack and the backcountry campground are north of this trail junction. The upper Grandview Trail climbs south up the slopes of the Supai Group and then works its way through the Coconino Sandstone cliffs via some serious trail construction, finally ending at Grandview Point.
North Rim
North Kaibab Trail
Hiker on the North Kaibab Trail. Click on the image for a larger view.
While a lot of backpackers focus on using the trans-canyon Kaibab Trail to hike rim-to-rim, there's a lot to do along the North Kaibab Trail itself. Using the two campgrounds, Cottonwood Camp and Bright Angel Campground, as bases, you can explore such enticing places as upper Bright Angel Canyon (the route of the original North Kaibab Trail), The Transept, Ribbon Falls, Phantom Canyon, and the Clear Creek Trail. A nice overnight hike from the North Kaibab Trialhead is to Cottonwood Camp and back, but you could easily spend a week in the area.
Nankoweap Trail
Picking up water from Nankoweap Creek. Click on the image for a larger view.
This long, rough trail is a challenge to most hikers, but it leads into the beautiful Nankoweap Creek area with its permanent stream and easy access to the river. There are two trailheads for the Nankoweap Trail; most hikers use the Saddle Mountain Trailhead. To reach this trailhead, turn south on Buffalo Ranch Road, about a mile east of the point where US 89A climbs onto the Kaibab Plateau. This graded road is passable to most vehicles, except after a major storm. It's 27.4 miles south to the signed trailhead for the Saddle Mountain and Nankoweap trails.
Follow the Saddle Mountain Trail down into Saddle Canyon, where you'll come to a junction and stay right on the Nankoweap Trail. This trail continues up Saddle Canyon and eventually climbs up a ridge through ponderosa pine forest to reach a large saddle just west of Saddle Mountain. (The original, seldom-used upper Nankoweap Trail descends from the North Rim north of Point Imperial, and comes in from the right just above this saddle). Now, the Nankoweap Trail drops into the Grand Canyon via a series of short switchbacks, but it soon levels out and follows a terrace at the base of the Esplanade Sandstone (the uppermost cliff in the Supai Group.) It stays at this level, descending slowly with the tilt in the rock strata, all the way to Tilted Mesa. There is one tricky place where the original trail construction has fallen away and the hiker-maintained trail crosses a short but steep slope above a cliff. This spot is usually no trouble when the trail is dry, but can be a problem when the trail is muddy.
Just above Tilted Mesa, the Nankoweap Trail descends a ridge through the remainder of the Supai Group, then turns right and switchbacks down a broad slope through the Redwall Limestone. The trail thens heads generally southeast and comes out on the Tonto slope south of Tilted Mesa. It makes the final descent to Nankoweap Creek at the 3400-foot elevation contour. There are several spacious campsites here that you can use as a base for exploring Nankoweap Creek, as well as south along the Horsethief Route. You can also follow Nankoweap Creek downstream to the Colorado River.
Thunder River
Hiker in upper Tapeats Creek. Click on the image for a larger view.
By far the most popular of the North Rim's non-maintained trails, the Thunder River Trail takes you into an area with interesting geology, the world's shortest river, and aptly-named Thunder Spring, which blasts out of a cave in the Redwall Limestone. You can do this as an overnight hike, but most backpackers like to take longer because of the long drive to the trailhead. There are plenty of side hikes that you can do from the Thunder River area.
Fall is the best season for a hike to Thunder River. Summer is too hot, and the access road is often impassable during the winter and spring.
Most hikers use the shorter Bill Hall Trail from Monument Point rather than the original trailhead from Indian Hollow. To reach the Bill Hall Trailhead from Jacob Lake on US 89A, drive south on AZ 67 0.4 miles, and then turn right onto Forest Road 461. Drive 5.2 miles, and then turn right onto FR 462. Continue 3.3 miles, and then turn left onto FR 422. Drive 11.4 miles, and then turn right onto FR 425. Drive 10.3 miles, and then bear right onto FR 292, which is the main road. Continue 2.9 miles as the road becomes FR 292A and ends at the Bill Hall Trailhead.
The Bill Hall Trail (named after a ranger who died in an accident) heads west along the rim to Monument Point, then descends steeply off the rim south of the point. It then heads north along the Toroweap Formation terraces to a break in the Coconino Sandstone, where it descends abruptly to the west to meet the Thunder River Trail on the broad terrace of the Esplanade. Turn left at this junction, and follow the Thunder River Trail as the trail works it way south around drainages west of Bridgers Knoll. The trail then turns west and descends to a saddle. Turning south, the Thunder River Trail descends the Redwall Limestone in a series of short, steep switchbacks, finally coming out onto gentler terrain in Surprise Valley. Stay left at two junctions with the trails to Deer Creek.
Surprise Valley is the top of a huge slump block, where a massive section of Redwall Limestone slid down and tilted as it dropped. Across the valley, the summit of Cogswell Butte consists of layers of Supai Group rocks on top of the Redwall slump block.
Continue east on the Thunder River Trail, which climbs a bit to reach the east rim of Surprise Valley. Here you are suddenly greeted with the roar of Thunder Spring, bursting out of its Redwall Limestone cave to form Thunder River. The trail continues a steep descent alongside Thunder River past small campsites, and ends where Thunder River meets Tapeats Creek.
You can explore cross-country upstream along Tapeats Creek, where you'll have to wade through a short narrows in the Tapeats Sandstone. A well-worn river-runner's trail leads down Tapeats Creek to the Colorado River. Another possible side hike starts at the junction with the Deer Creek Trail in Surprise Valley, and follows the Deer Creek Trail to Deer Valley.