Hiking the Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim
Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim Hike
Topics:
- Itinerary
- Planning & Logistics
- Packing List
- Critters We Encountered
Itinerary
There are 3 campgrounds inside the Grand Canyon along the main corridor trail: Cottonwood, Bright Angel, and Indian Garden. To keep the hiking to a manageable distance (8 miles or less per day) since this was the first time the whole family had done something like this, we decided to stay one night at all 3 campgrounds in the Grand Canyon versus trying to complete the 23.5 rim-to-rim trek in 2 nights. Although we’ve camped a lot, only my husband and oldest daughter had done any backpacking camping & their trips only involved relatively short hikes and single overnight stays
If you’re an avid backpacker, you could cut out the last stop at Indian Gardens campground and hike out from Bright Angel, but we didn’t want to push our luck with a 10ish mile STEEP hike out. This was supposed to be fun after all and we had a 14 year old with us who had never done any backpacking before. Plus, a less intense itinerary also gave us time to do some side sight-seeing trips to see Ribbon Falls & Plateau Point.
Day 1 - Descent from North Rim
We stayed the night at the North Rim Lodge cabins so we could hit the trail early, The North Rim is absolutely breathtaking. Of the 2 rims, it is more picturesque in my opinion and much less crowded.
We hit the North Kaibab trailhead about 7 am. The day 1 descent to the Cottonwood Campground is about 7 miles. It’s all downhill and very steep in some sections. The trail is not lined with rocks on the cliff side for safety like the trails near the South Rim, but it’s wide enough that you can pass others. Once we descended about a mile from the rim, we didn’t see anyone on our descent until we got to the campground.
Cottonwood Campground is very small -- it only has 11 campsites. It’s next to the Bright Angel Creek, which was cold and wonderfully soothing for our legs after the hike in. Campsites have a picnic table, steel food box, and poles to hang your packs. There is onsite drinkable water (when temps are above freezing) and vent toilets. It’s sparse and was the most “rustic” of all the campgrounds since it sees the least visitors but it was a nice pit stop for us. Deer often meandered through the campground.
Day 2 - Corridor Hike Ribbon Falls, the Box,
Day 2’s hike was the easiest since it was mostly flat, but involved going through a narrow section of the Grand Canyon called the Box, which is where temperatures can get really, really hot.
The day 2 Corridor hike involved mostly gently rolling hills. We were lucky enough to have thick cloud cover most of the day.
About 1.6 miles from Cottonwood Campground is a trail that branches off to Ribbon Falls. Ribbon Falls is about a 20 minute detour off the main corridor trail each way but 100% completely worth it. Ribbon Falls is a true wonder, a stunning oasis in the middle of the Grand Canyon, and was a true trip highlight for us all.
The cloud cover on Day 2 kept temperatures in the low 90s when we went through the narrowest, typically the hottest section of the corridor trail, an area known as The Box. Shortly after hiking through The Box, we arrived at Bright Angel Campground, which was our pitstop for the night.
Bright Angel was everyone’s favorite campground. Bright Angel creek is right next to it and so is Phantom Ranch and access to hot food. You must reserve meals ahead of time at the Canteen since supplies are brought in daily by mule. It’s expensive, but the steak dinner was among the very best we’ve ever had and provided a wonderful respite from trail mix and camp food. To save weight, we didn’t bring a stove, so it was delightful to have a hot meal. The Canteen also has a small variety of hiker items (snacks, beverages, first-aid supplies, souvenirs…).
Bright Angel also has flush toilets and sinks with running water in the bathroom, so it has the best amenities for sure.
We arrived in camp around lunchtime, so before dinner, we hiked down to the Colorado River to dip our toes in the lowest spot in the Canyon. The hike is only about a half mile each way & easy, particularly since we left the packs in camp.
Day 3 - Bright Angel to Indian Garden
Some people hike directly out to the South Rim from Bright Angel/Phantom Ranch, but we were leery of a 10 mile hike out given that it’s steep and uphill, so we opted for an easier itinerary and hiked just 4.7 miles from Bright Angel to the Indian Garden Campground. This hike involves crossing the Colorado River on the Silver Bridge and has some pretty good uphill sections..
Indian Garden campground is lush and wooded -- offering plenty of shade. It even had a cover over the picnic table. The campground has a small creek that runs through it but it’s very tiny compared to Bright Angel Creek.
Day 4 - Hike out
I had read a lot of posts about the difficulty of the hike out with packs due to the steep elevation, so we set out almost at dawn to hike in the coolest part of the day. We wanted to give ourselves ample time so we ran no risk of missing our shuttle back to our car at the North Rim, and the shuttle leaves promptly at 1:30pm whether you’re on it or not. We didn’t rush the hike out at all and although it was indeed steep, it was manageable, and we reached the summit of the South Rim really early, at around 9:30 a.m. with am amazing sense of accomplishment… and eagerness for a hot shower.
Travel Logistics
Get a Backcountry Permit. Permits are required to do any overnight camping in the Canyon, and you must apply 4 months in advance to get one. We tried to get a permit in 2017 but were unsuccessful since many people apply and there are very few spots in the campgrounds. In February of 2018, I tried again and put on our permit application that we would take ANY 3 consecutive nights at the 3 campgrounds in June. We ended up getting a permit for 3 nights, starting June 16-18. We chose to start at the North Rim because it has the steeper elevation changes & we preferred to do that going downhill rather than uphill.Transportation
We drove our car from Colorado and left it parked at the North Kaibab trailhead parking lot. This is a small lot, and we were lucky enough to get the last spot. The backup plan was to leave the car at the North Rim lodge lot, which is large but about 2 miles down the road. Once you hike through the canyon to the South Rim, you either ned to hike back or get a ride back to the North Rim, which is what we opted for. We used the Trans Canyon shuttle, which left the South Rim at around 1:00. You do need to reserve your seat ahead of time. It’s about a 4.5 hour drive from rim to rim.
I also loved getting our teens completely off the grid for a few days. With no electronics around, we played games (cards & Yahtzee), talked, and soaked in the river. It was quality family time and an achievement all 4 of us are very proud to say we completed.
Packing List
Not including the weight of our filled water bottles, our teens’s packs were about 30 pounds, my pack was just under 40 pounds, and my husband’s pack was 50. Food and our tents were our heaviest items. There is potable water at all campgrounds, so you only need to carry the water you’ll need for that day’s hike, which is tremendously helpful. However, you can’t stop at the corner store to pick up items you need, so we carefully planned everything we might to make the hike successful and to prepare for possible problems. . Here’s our packing list.Critters We Encountered
- Deer - They wander through the campgrounds often.
- Squirrels - They will steal your food and rifle through your packs if given a split-second chance. Lock all food in the steel food boxes in the campground.
- Skunks - In the Bright Angel Campground, a skunk climbed the tall pole provided to hang backpacks on. I had no idea skunks could climb slippery metal poles! We caught it right as it was about to climb into my husband’s pack. The good news is that he scared it off the pack, but the bad news was that it sprayed a corner of the tent during its escape. We never left food in our packs once we got to camp. Everything was put in the food box, but this camp invader was checking bags just in case. .
- Snakes - We saw about1 snake a day. They slithered across the trail while we patiently waited until they were clear. I am not a snake expert so can’t identify the variety. I just know they were not rattlesnakes. We kept a respectful distance & didn’t have any problems.
- Scorpions - Yes, there are plenty of scorpions in the Grand Canyon but you will probably not see them unless you bring a blacklight flashlight. They generally only come out at night & are so well camouflaged that if your flashlight is directly on them, you will not see them unless they move. With a blacklight flashlight, they glow brightly. We mostly went to bed when it started to get dark, but if anyone needed to make a restroom run, we sent them with the blacklight flashlight. The scorpions seemed shy and skittered away but we saw plenty, which was a complete shock to other campers in the campground who didn’t have blacklight flashlights. Here’s one that was very close to our tents -- it’s the object in the picture that appears white under the blacklight.
The Experience
Our Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim hike was among my favorite of all our vacations, and I’m typically one who doesn’t love roughing it. The views of the Grand Canyon from either rim are panoramic and gorgeous, but if you are physically able, you will be treated to even more breath-taking views if you hike the corridor. I feel like we were able to better experience the awe-inspiring scope of the canyon by walking inside its towering walls. Everywhere we looked was wondrous. I took hundreds of pictures because each step seemed to lead to something even more amazing than the last.I also loved getting our teens completely off the grid for a few days. With no electronics around, we played games (cards & Yahtzee), talked, and soaked in the river. It was quality family time and an achievement all 4 of us are very proud to say we completed.
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