Incredible viewpoints and hikes along the rim and into the Grand Canyon. Cape Royal and Bright Angel Point are among the points not to be missed on your day at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

Grand Canyon National Park Highlights on Saturday, September 2, 2017

• Transept Trail, Bridle Path
• North Kaibab Trail – hike into the Grand Canyon (Coconino Overlook, Supai Tunnel)
• Bright Angel Point (near Visitor Center)
• Cape Royal, Point Imperial

We woke up, ate our free breakfast at the Sun-n-Sand Motel* and then started our drive to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. On our drive from Kanab to the Grand Canyon, we gained 1 hour by going through a time change. This was great because we arrived to the large parking lot at the North Rim Visitor Center soon after it opened at 8 am local time. As I’ve mentioned previously, we bought the Annual National Park Pass because without it this park costs $25. You can grab your maps, get a cup of coffee at the local coffee shop in the Roughrider Saloon or watch the morning sky change in the seats behind the Grand Canyon Lodge. This is a great site to help you plan your visit and links to a map: https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/north-rim.htm

We started our day behind the Grand Canyon Lodge along the Transept Trail. If you’re bold, there’s an overlook you can walk out to for some great pictures. This walk along the canyon rim is relaxing and takes you past birch trees, campgrounds and eventually crosses the street for Bridle Path. From here you will find the North Kaibab Trailhead. The downhill walk into the canyon is much easier than the steep return walk out of the canyon. It’s super important to bring lots of water, a hat and start early because it gets hotter the closer to the center of the earth you get. Our first stop in the canyon was Coconino Overlook. Binoculars or a good camera come in handy here. There’s also some shade if you bring a picnic lunch to eat here.

We continued our walk, being careful to watch every step so as not to step in large piles of mule manure. We also learned that mule riders have the right of way, so make sure to get to a good spot out of the way when they’re coming. Some of the mules take wide steps and you don’t want to get hit with a tail or stepped on! We talked to nice volunteer who recommended that we stop at the tunnel instead of continuing to the Redwall Bridge because it was already 95 degrees at the Supai Tunnel. We heeded his advice and stopped at the tunnel. The walk through the tunnel is really cool and from the other side you can see the bridge, which is the next point of interest. Dehydration here is a REAL thing, so bring water, Gatorade or electrolyte tablets* to have in your bag. Fortunately, there are restrooms and a water fountain (not very cold) at the tunnel as well as shady spots to sit and catch your breath. I really don’t know how the “rim-to-rim” runners do it!

We made it back to the top without incident and took the Bridle Path all the way back to the Visitor Center. By the parking lot, there were some amazing views into the canyon. We continued by following the Bright Angel Point signs. This is not for the faint of heart as there are some very narrow parts, it can be windy and you’re high on the canyon rim. This was quite a popular spot.

Next, we got into the car and drove to Cape Royal. This is an approximately 22 mile drive that’s one lane in each direction with minimal room for error. Soon after passing the Cape Royal sign, we were stopped mid-drive for deer and turkey playing in the street. We enjoyed this unexpected moment before continuing to the parking lot at the end. There is a lot to explore up here and if you time it close to sunset, you will not regret it. On one side we got to see the sun start to set, changing the colors on the rocks while on the other side, we saw a rainbow from the clouds over the canyon. This was an absolute highlight of the trip, so be sure to enjoy Point Imperial! The only downside was driving back 22 miles on the road, in the dark, with deer and other animals lurking. It was shocking how fast some people wanted to drive the road.

Considering it was dark and there are deer that hang out on the sides of the road, we ended up sleeping in a turnout on the main road (67, Thompson Canyon) as if we were driving back to Kanab. Waking up in the middle of the night, pretty cold, I was rewarded by a completely clear sky and thousands of stars shining.

We had a long drive to Canyonlands, our sixth of seven national parks the next day. Catch up with us tomorrow to see how we did it!