When Theodore Roosevelt saw the Grand Canyon, he said “Leave it as it is. You cannot improve on it. The ages have been at work on it, and man can only mar it. What you can do is to keep it for your children, your children’s children, and for all who come after you, as the one great sight which every American should see.” The Grand Canyon gets as much global attention as any National Park and justifiably so. We had visited the South Rim before and it can get very crowded, so we chose to visit the North Rim this time. One of the things we really liked about the North Rim was the ability to find solitude. Taking it all in with peace and quiet makes you appreciate what Teddy had to say.
We visited the Grand Canyon in September 2019
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Getting
There
Driving to the North Rim is a long journey, hundreds of miles off the interstate highways. But our story visiting the North Rim goes back 30+ years. Before we were married (and before the internet), we left San Diego after Thanksgiving to visit Zion, Bryce Canyon, and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. It was COLD. After visiting the Utah parks, we headed east and then south, eager to brave the elements and experience the eighth wonder of the world. But, as we approached the park boundaries, we came across a sign strung across the road saying that the park was closed. How on earth do you close the Grand Canyon? Well, they close the North Rim every year by the end of October since so few people visit this side of the park. This time around, we got it right. It would be the first stop on our first big RV trip, an 8 week cross country retirement test drive. Spoiler alert – the trip was amazing and sealed the deal that we could do longer trips and possibly full timing someday. One of our friends noted our successful trip saying “wow, you guys must really like each other.” Yeah, we do.
Camping on
the Edge
There are really only two places to stay at the North Rim, the historic Grand Canyon Lodge or the North Rim Campground. The lodge is gorgeous, overlooking the canyon, built to highlight the amazing sunset colors. Like most National Park campgrounds, this one has no hookups which is fine by us. Also, most National Park campgrounds are super affordable, and I think we paid $18/night. There are a handful of “premium” sites that are only a few steps away from the edge of the canyon with spectacular views. Those will set you back a whole $25 and are super difficult to reserve. Our pull through site was pretty sloped, but we used our blocks and had Eddie level within minutes. It turned out that we were maybe 25 yards through a few trees to canyon’s edge where the first glimpse took our breath away. We had visited the South Rim with the kids, taking the railway from Williams which was great fun. But the North Rim is completely different, uncrowded, and totally laid back. A visit to the Grand Canyon should be on everyone’s list. If you have the time, choose the North Rim and make it even more memorable.
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Bright
Angel
Point
At the North Rim, you can hike in solitude along the rim and you can venture out from the lodge to Bright Angel Point. It’s a short, easy trek that leads to an awesome panorama of the canyon. It gets crowded at sunset, but the view is beyond spectacular. Or if you’re lucky, you can grab a seat on the patio of the lodge, kick your feet up with an ice cold beer, and enjoy the view from there. We did both and loved it. If you’re up for a real challenge, you can take the North Kaibab Trailhead down to the canyon floor or even go rim to rim. 30 years ago, we might have done this, but not this time.
The Widforss Trail starts a couple miles north of the campground and winds through the forest for about 5 miles. At several points along the hike, the trail reaches the edge of the canyon and opens up to dramatic views. There are frequent rock outcroppings that make for some dangerous looking photos, but we’re not as courageous as it looks. Anyway, we did most of the 9 mile out and back hike and had it almost entirely to ourselves. We ate our PB&J sandwiches all alone, sitting on the edge of the Grand Canyon . Yes, it was as cool as it sounds.
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Road to
Cape Royal
Many RVers tow a car. For us, this defeated the purpose of an easy to drive, easy to park rig. Lots of other people carry e-bikes which was an option we considered until we understood the limited range before the bikes needed to be recharged (and when dry camping, we wouldn’t have adequate electricity for days). Enter Ruby Sue, our 150cc scooter and ticket to fun and freedom. At the Grand Canyon, we put Ruby to the test, driving on the road to Cape Royal. This 20 mile winding road has several stops/hikes along the way to its majestic end point. On our second day, we got up before the sun and headed for Point Imperial along the road to Cape Royal. I wasn’t quite prepared for the cold. Yes, the gloves, sweatshirt, and jacket were fine against the upper 30 degree temps. Doing that at 35mph for half an hour froze my hands and torso to the bone. But getting to Point Imperial, the highest point on the north rim, as the sun was making its entrance to the day, made it all worth it. During our trip, we also made it to Vista Encantada, Roosevelt Point, and Point Final where we did a 4 mile hike out to the edge. Rainy had a stuffy nose, so it wasn’t much fun for her, but she’s a warrior. At the end of the road is a roughly mile hike out past The Window and on to Cape Royal. The canyon is so deep that’s it’s difficult to see all the way down to the Colorado River, but you could actually see a ribbon of the river through The Window. From Cape Royal, you had a front row seat to two of the better known features in the canyon, Wotan’s Throne and Thor’s Temple. It’s all so stunning, especially at sunset. Some of the aspens had turned bright yellow, so we got that added beauty. Seeing all that while cruising on Ruby made us certain that we had made the right call getting the scooter.
We’ll definitely return again someday. Hopefully, those of you reading this will also go the extra miles to the North Rim, only 10% of visitors to the Grand Canyon make it. Words and even great photos don’t entirely do justice to this place, you must visit.
Inspired by your trips, Doug and I are going to go on a trip of a bunch of national parks in May. Including finally the Grand Canyon!