Best trails to see Grand Canyon's wonders

Grand Canyon at sunset, from Mather Point.

Among the best ways to see Grand Canyon National Park’s top sights is via a day hike. Just four short walks will allow you to enjoy each of the park’s highlights – the Colorado River gorge, archeological and historical ruins, and incredible sunrises and sunsets.

Colorado River gorge
One of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, the Grand Canyon’s immense size – 6000 feet deep from rim to canyon floor at its deepest, 18 miles across from rim to rim at its widest – appears unreal to most visitors. Then there’s the unfathomable age of the rock, up to 2 billion years old. While the South Rim Trail extends several miles along the canyon edge, the short eastern section is perfect for a day hike with children. They’ll be able to see the Colorado River a mile below and an array of incredible buttes, towers and ridges that stretch up to 10 miles away to the canyon’s other side.

Archeological ruins
Along the North Rims’ Cape Royal Road is the extremely short Walhalla Ruins Trail (0.2-miles), which heads to a site inhabited as long as 900 years ago. Ranger talks often are held at the overlook next to the trail’s parking lot; from the overlook, you can see the Unkar Delta of the Colorado River, which ancient Native Americans once farmed.

Historical building
Hermit’s Rest, a century-old building that originally served as a restaurant for a stop along the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, was designed so that from a distance it looked like a natural rock formation. From Hermit’s Rest, a segment of the South Rim Trail can be taken 1.1-miles to Pima Point, offering excellent views of the canyon bottom a mile below.

Sunrises…or sunsets
Mather Point boasts spectacular sunsets and sunrises for those willing to walk in the dark. From the El Tovar Hotel, hike a segment of the South Rim Trail about 2.45 miles one-way to the point. You either can go back the way you came or take a 0.25-mile spur to the Canyon View Information Plaza, where you can catch a shuttle to the lodges.

Read more about day hiking the Grand Canyon in my Hittin’ the Trail: Day Hiking Grand Canyon National Park guidebook.

Day hike North Rim’s Cape Royal road trails

Unkar Delta is framed through the natural arch
of Angels Window on the Cape Royal Trail.
Photo courtesy Grand Canyon NPS.

Plenty of North Rim trails at Grand Canyon National Park can be day hiked without driving all the way to the Grand Canyon Lodge. A good set of them are along Cape Royal Road.

To reach this part of the park, as driving south on Ariz. Hwy. 67, turn left onto Point Imperial Road about three miles before the visitor center/lodge. In 5.4 miles, turn right onto Cape Royal Road.

The Ken Patrick Trail crosses Cape Royal Road in about a half-mile. There’s no parking lot here but is a pullout area just south of the trail crossing; be careful of road traffic.

If taking the trail on the road’s left side, you’ll head just under three miles one way (slightly less than six miles round trip) briefly through an alpine forest and then along the canyon rim to Point Imperial. Picnic tables and restrooms make this a perfect stop for a midmorning snack or noontime meal with great views of the Painted Desert and Mount Hayden. The trail does continue heading north, but the point makes a good turnaround spot on what already is a long day hike.

Taking the trail on the road’s right side leads along the canyon rim to a small point overlooking Bright Angel Canyon in about a mile (two-miles round trip). While there are no facilities there, it offers a more “out in the wilderness” experience and at times can be difficult to follow. The trail does continue heading southwest along the rim, but the point makes a good turnaround spot.

Alternatively, you can skip the Ken Patrick Trail and take Cape Royal Road across a narrow isthmus, with the canyon on both sides, onto the Walhalla Plateau. You’ll pass Greenland Lake and Vista Encantada (which has picnic tables) before coming to Roosevelt Point. Park at the Roosevelt Point parking lot for the Roosevelt Point Trail, for a 0.2-mile loop through a woodland along the rim. Breaks in the trees frame great views of the canyon. Benches also are along the trail.

Continuing farther onto the plateau on Cape Royal Road brings you to Cape Final Trail. Running four miles round trip with 150 feet elevation change, the trail heads to a canyon overlook. The path is part of the Arizona Trail, which runs across from the state from the Mexico border to Utah.

A little farther along the road is the extremely short Walhalla Ruins Trail. From the Walhalla Overlook parking lot, a 0.2-mile round trip trail heads to the archeological site. Ranger talks often are held at the overlook, from which you can see a delta of the Colorado River, the Unkar Delta. Ancient Native American who once lived in the canyon farmed the delta.

About 0.75 miles south of that trailhead is Cliff Spring Trail. Park in the pullout; the trailhead is across the road. The one-mile round trip trail changes 600 feet in elevation but offers plenty of great sights. It begins by cutting into a forested ravine then parallels a sandstone wall with shade from overhangs. It ends in a fern oasis at a man-high boulder under an overhang; look for the spring between the boulder and sandstone wall. Though the water appears crystal clear, it can be contaminated, so do not drink it.

Cape Royal Road ends its 15-mile stretch by winding down to its namesake, Cape Royal, a peninsula sticking out the of Walhalla Plateau onto Bright Angel Canyon. The Cape Royal Trail takes you from the parking lot at the road’s end to farthest point on the peninsula, which sits at 7685 feet.

The 0.6-mile round trip paved trail is among the easiest walks of those in this section of the North Rim. Look for the trailhead at the Cape Royal parking area’s southeast side. The flat trail offers pleasant views of the canyon and the Colorado River with a short side trip to Angels Window. Interpretive markers about the area’s natural history line the trail. This path also is part of the Arizona Trail. There are picnic tables and restrooms here as well.

Be advised that a wildfire swept through this part of the North Rim in autumn 2011. Because of this, some trails and facilities may be temporarily unavailable to visitors.

Read more about day hiking the Grand Canyon in my Hittin’ the Trail: Day Hiking Grand Canyon National Park guidebook.