Grandview Trail Hike in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
On our drive back to Colorado from Sedona, Mike and I decided to take a detour to do a half day hike in the Grand Canyon. Its was actually going to be my first time ever to the Grand Canyon. Having heard a lot about the crowds one can find at some spots on the South Rim, I tried to find us a hike that would hopefully not be a total zoo. I’d say we achieved that objective on this hike.
We parked at the Grandview Trailhead around 8am on a weekday morning and were surprised at how cold it was on this November day. We set out wearing pants, jackets, gloves, and hats. One of my least favorite things about this hike, but it’s unavoidable on a day hike in the Grand Canyon, is that all of the elevation gain comes in the second half of the hike. So we immediately started descending very quickly from the trailhead. We ran into some snow and ice that I also wasn’t expecting which made things a little more interesting to start out when it felt like I was still waking up. This trail we picked was not really maintained so I would not recommend this hike for someone that is afraid of heights. On the way down there are many sections that were only a few feet wide where you wouldn’t want to fall because there was nothing to stop you from falling hundreds of feet (or more!). So we took a little more care than normal with each step to make sure we were nice and stable before taking the next step. Trekking poles were the best thing we brought on this hike and probably saved our knees from hurting for the next few days.
After leaving the trailhead, we only ran into a handful of people on the way down, most of whom were backpackers going to a reserved backpacking site for the night. I did not envy that descent with overnight backpacks. We hiked out to a viewpoint that was about halfway down the canyon from an elevation perspective and decided that would be the spot for lunch. We had it all to ourselves. It was interesting to look at how different the South Rim looks from the North Rim from a vegetation perspective. With the South Rim being north-facing, it was lush and green while the North Rim was much more barren and dry. Knowing we had significant elevation gain to get back to the car from our lunch spot, we decided we didn’t need to descend any further and decided to turn around and head back out the way we came.
I found this hike to be really impressive from the perspective that trail builders were even able to create a trail at this spot on the rim. There were many points along the hike where I wasn’t sure how the trail was going to make it through a certain cliff area, but I would be pleasantly surprised every time. What is even more impressive is that the trail was originally built and used by miners - I couldn’t imagine being the first person to create that trail! We saw only a handful of people on the way back out, until we got to within a tenth of a mile of the trailhead where we ran into a mass of tourists at the lookout point connected to the parking lot. While obviously a beautiful spot, I found the real beauty of this hike to be on the trail with no one around, wondering which way it would go next and how it would possibly make it through a section that looked like a cliff from afar.
The Grand Canyon certainly lived up to its expectations, and I have a feeling we’ll be back. Perhaps as one of those backpackers I didn’t envy with their overnight packs? To sleep in the canyon under the stars I’m sure would be an experience one could never forget.
Total stats: 7.4 miles, 2900 ft vert
