Best Easy Day Hikes Grand Canyon National Park by Ben Adkison

Author:Ben Adkison
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Falcon Guides
Published: 2020-02-18T00:00:00+00:00

The North Rim

The North Rim of the Grand Canyon forms an alluring backdrop to vistas from the South Rim. Its fringe of tall conifers holds the promise of a cool refuge from desert heat and solitude in a wilderness setting. The North Rim has an atmosphere of great remoteness and unspoiled grandeur. It is this remoteness that makes it such a special place.

Separated from the South Rim by only 10 to 18 miles as the crow flies, the North Rim can be reached in two ways: either by hiking 22 to 24 miles across the Grand Canyon, which often requires a raft to ferry across the river, or by driving 215 miles around it. The North Rim lies at the end of a long dead-end road that traverses the rich conifer forests and grassy parks of the Kaibab Plateau, many miles from the nearest enclaves of civilization. Though the North Rim receives only one tenth the number of visitors as the South Rim, fewer roads and visitor services here concentrate use so that places here can seem congested at times.

Canyon overlooks on national park roads at the North Rim are not as abundant as on the South Rim, where it seems every bend in the road presents an incredible vista. As if to compensate for fewer overlooks, North Rim viewpoints afford vistas of the Grand Canyon that are consistently awe-inspiring and overwhelming, even to the most jaded canyoneer. Fringed with forests of pine, fir, spruce, and aspen, North Rim overlooks a remarkable landscape of colorful cliffs, bold towers, deep labyrinths, and seemingly barren desert.

Most North Rim trails are as lonely as the nearby overlooks are congested. Only one maintained trail descends into the Grand Canyon from the North Rim, and this—the North Kaibab Trail—receives the bulk of use here for good reasons. The North Kaibab is an excellent, highly scenic trail that offers something for everyone, from the visitor out for a stroll to the backpacker plunging into the Grand Canyon’s depths.

Numerous trails atop the Kaibab Plateau at the North Rim offer fine day hiking opportunities. These trails are an excellent choice for summer-season hikers wishing to avoid the overwhelming heat of the Inner Canyon yet still enjoy incomparable views. The North Rim boasts the highest concentration of plateau-top trails in the park. Hikers can spend several days traversing them all or spend only an hour or two on one of the many rewarding short trails. These trails are easy to follow and are among the best of the Grand Canyon’s easy day hikes.

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