Grand Canyon Day Hikes

Hiking in Grand Canyon National Park is essential for any visitor and there are many day hiking options for all levels of hiker. PLEASE NOTE: Hikes that go rim to rim or from rim to river to rim are not recommended by the park service.  However, people do it all the time so ensure that you have completed the research, are physically and mentally prepared for the task and have attended one of our numerous free seminars about how to prepare for a hike to the bottom and out in one day (if you are in the Phoenix area that is!)

Bright Angel Trail

The Bright Angel Trail is the most popular and busiest trail in Grand Canyon National Park. A Grand Canyon day hike on Bright Angel trail can vary from 3 to 12 miles, turning around anywhere from the One and a Half Mile House after 1.5 miles or hike 12 miles round trip to the picturesque Plateau Point with a fantastic view over looking the Colorado River. There is plenty to see as you hike down (and up) Bright Angel Trail – from 900 year old Native American pictographs to views galore. You might even spot California Condor or Big Horn sheep only a few yards below the rim. And because there are rest houses with water and shade along the trail, this is a great option for the warmer summer months. Winter hiking this trail is great as well. Throw on some ice cleats and you get to see the canyon layers adorned in the white stuff.  This is also one of the two trails from the South Rim that will get you to Bright Angel Camp and Phantom Ranch.

South Kaibab Trail

Hermit Trail

The Hermit Trail is easily accessible from Grand Canyon Village on the South Rim but feels like it is miles from the tourist centers of the canyon. Compared to the hundreds of people that descend the Bright Angel trail on a daily basis, a Grand Canyon day hike down the Hermit trail will have you hiking with only a few canyon hikers, a great way to get away from the crowds without extra travel. Views, well-maintained trails, and over-all canyon awesomeness will greet you around every switch-back! Choose from a hike to Santa Maria Springs (a 5 mile round-trip hike into the canyon with a drop of 1,760 feet) or Dripping Springs (6.5 miles round trip with a descent from the rim of a mere 960 ft of narrow trail in some areas).

Grandview Trail

North Kaibab Trail

Grand Canyon’s North Rim is a nice change from the more populated and popular South Rim. While it is only accessible from May 15th to about December 1st of each year, and much more of a challenge to get to, if you have the time, drive over and take a hike down the North Kaibab Trail to Supai Tunnel (1.8 miles with a 1,600 ft change in elevation), or take it a bit further to the Red Wall Bridge (2.5-ish miles). Because the North rim is about 1,000ft higher in elevation, expect to see more leaves changing in the Fall and clusters of Aspen trees that are a rare find on the South Rim. Oh, and when you are driving to the North Rim entrance, you will likely see a herd of Bison (or at least our version of them)! They are actually called beefalo as they were bread as a Bison/Cow hybrid about the early 1900s.