In 2019 we visited the Grand Canyon’s South Rim. The South Rim is the most commonly visited section of Grand Canyon National Park. Statistics indicate only ten percent of visitors to the park visit the North Rim. It’s easy to see why. The South Rim is closer to the major cities of Arizona with Flagstaff often used as the major jumping off point. The North rim is not near any major city. To get to the North Rim from Flagstaff is a long journey. Besides, if you have seen one side you have seen it all, right?
Well I like to be one who is willing to go to places other people have not so when we were contemplating this trip, I decided we needed to add the North Rim to our itinerary.
We were staying Kanab, Utah. This is pretty much the closest town with good hotels one can find. It’s just north of the Arizona/Utah border. However, it was still a good hour and a half to get to the Visitor Center in the park. There is lodging in the North Rim. That includes cabins as well as a lodge. However, reservations need to be made well in advance, and they aren’t cheap. If one enjoys camping, options are greater both inside and outside the park.
We made one stop at an observation point before we got to the park. It was a viewpoint of the Grand Staircase-Escalante area. This covers a region from Zion National Park to the west past Capitol Reef to the east. It is a vast area, and two signs pointed out the many different locations and features of the area. Unfortunately it was a little hazy so it was a bit of a challenge to identify everything.
As visitors approach Grand Canyon National Park, they will drive through mostly pine forests. There are some other trees as well, but the pines dominate. One also occasionally sees wide open meadows surrounded by the trees. It is a beautiful drive except for the areas that have obviously been touched by wildfires. Those are indeed sad to see, but some are already recovering with new growth.
The entrance kiosk to pay is about 12 miles from the Visitor Center and lodge. When we finally arrived at the Visitor Center, I was surprised at how busy it was. The parking lot was quite full, and it took us a few minutes to find a place to park.
Initially we stayed close to the lodge and Visitor Center. There were a number of viewpoints around and trails that went along the edge of the canyon. The colors of this part of the Grand Canyon seemed deeper and richer than what I remember of the South Rim. There also seemed to be more trees growing within the canyon. Some areas reminded me more of the Colorado Monument we saw last year than the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.
We checked out the lodge for a few minutes. It has a large dining room and a very nice lounge with couches that look out over the canyon through large glass windows. There were also outside terraces on both sides with views over the canyon.
There were various options to hike, but we decided to drive the Cape Royal Road around the edge of the canyon. Part of the reason was it was easier. However, a large part was because we felt we would see more areas of the park which we would not see on a hike.
We left the main area and drove a short way back down the road where we stopped at some picnic tables to eat some lunch. We had views of the canyon from our spot so it was an idyllic spot to enjoy our food.
From there we drove a few miles to Point Imperial. This seemed to be at the end of the canyon area. We had a view of a major monolith that stood tall surrounded by the red cliffs. The major viewing point offered views in almost all directions. The one thing about the day was that because of the haze, some of the rock colors were not as strong as one would like them to be.
We had to backtrack a little from Point Imperial to continue our journey around the North Rim. The next viewpoint was Vista Encantada. We saw different rock formations from here as well, but we could see in the distance some of the ones we had seen from Point Imperial.
Next we stopped at the trail to Roosevelt Point. Here the trail was surprisingly narrow and unpaved. It was definitely a one person trail. Initially one looked down over deep colored cliffs. Farther on there were some light colored rock formations right in front of us. This definitely showed the diversity of the landscape of the Grand Canyon.
Our next stop around the North Rim was the Wahalla Overlook. Besides the various rock formations we could see, we also had a nice view of the Colorado River and the land around it.
Our final stop was Cape Royal. We didn’t realize it was a rather long trail to get out to the end of it. However, the trail was wide and paved so it was an easy walk. Along the way signs were posted near various native vegetation. The signs indicated how the Native Americans used this particular plant whether it was for food or for other purposes. It reminded me of a similar experience we had in Colorado last year. A couple of the sites we visited offered information of this nature.
There were a number of viewpoints here. At the beginning we looked toward a rock formation that jutted out into the canyon. On top of it was a viewpoint. However, what was interesting was that lower in the rock there was a missing section creating a window. It made me wonder if I wanted to go out on this viewpoint.
However, when it came time, I did go out on the rock, and it provided some wonderful views of the surrounding cliffs and the rock formations in the Grand Canyon itself. We also had more views of the Colorado River.
At the end of the trail we reached a point and we could see views from both sides. The ones on the right were sights we had not seen before. In front of the point was a large rock formation with high cliffs and nearby were rock walls. The way these formations stand is just so interesting. It was also interesting to see a man taking pictures out on a point with no guard rails around. Was he gutsy or foolish?
After walking back to our car, we decided to head back to our hotel. Seeing the Grand Canyon at sunrise and sunset is considered the best time to view it. When we visited in 2019, we did stay for the sunset. However, this time we had a long drive back, and we prefer to not drive after dark. We left the North Rim and headed back to Kanab. After dinner at a Cuban restaurant, we turned in for an early night.
Have you had a chance to visit the North Rim of the Grand Canyon? Be sure to share your experience in the comment box below. In the meantime check back next week to read about the exciting adventures we have next in Utah.