By Michael Lanza
Minutes after we started hiking down the Grand Canyon’s South Kaibab Trail, we descended through short, tight switchbacks where the trail clings to the face of a cliff. The earth dropped away precipitously beyond the trail’s edge; we gazed down nearly a vertical mile into the bottom of The Big Ditch. Not much farther along, we stopped, awestruck, at a breathtaking overlook of perhaps the most famous canyon on the planet.
Those first vistas laid bare the audacity of our plans: to walk across this awesome chasm in one push, on a 21-mile, nearly 11,000-vertical-foot, rim-to-rim dayhike.
On a visit to the Grand Canyon in mid-October—one of the two brief windows annually that offer the best chance for ideal weather for this adventure—my wife, Penny, and I, joined by our friends David and Kathleen Ports, made what has become possibly the most coveted grail for avid and very fit hikers and trail runners. A rim-to-rim hike traverses one of the most inspiring, rugged, vast, vertiginous, arid, and unforgiving landscapes in America. And that’s just a short list of the applicable adjectives.
Hi, I’m Michael Lanza, creator of The Big Outside. Click here to sign up for my FREE email newsletter. Join The Big Outside to get full access to all of my blog’s stories. Click here for my e-books to classic backpacking trips. Click here to learn how I can help you plan your next trip.
Hiking the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim
I have both hiked and run the Grand Canyon rim-to-rim-to-rim (r2r2r) in one day—42 miles and over 21,000 vertical feet—and hiked rim-to-rim-to-rim over two consecutive days (that time combining all three corridor trails, making it 44.5 miles). Going r2r2r in one day is an enormous challenge, and spreading it out over two days, or hiking in just one direction in a single day, still represents a very, very big undertaking — one that, based on what I have seen each time I’ve done it, many hikers underestimate.
My downloadable e-book “The Complete Guide to Hiking the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim” offers expert tips specific to the unique challenges of successfully and safely hiking or trail running rim to rim in a day, including preparing for it, the ideal seasonal windows, tips on strategy and direction to hike, gear, and all possible hiking itineraries combining the three corridor trails, the North Kaibab, South Kaibab, and Bright Angel trails.
Find your next adventure in your Inbox. Sign up now for my FREE email newsletter.
It’s unquestionably one of the most beautiful dayhikes in the country. The Grand Canyon’s severe verticality and desert climate create a landscape where seemingly endless views accompany you almost every step of the way. In the canyon’s bottom, or Inner Gorge, instead of looking out over an infinite maze of canyons sprawling for miles, you pass through a more intimate environment. Rim-to-rim hikers follow the North Kaibab Trail’s winding course through lower Bright Angel Canyon, walking along a lively creek, between close, dark rock walls that shoot straight up for hundreds of feet on both sides.
Click here now for my expert e-book to hiking the Grand Canyon rim to rim!
It’s also one of the hardest dayhikes in the country—quite likely the hardest many people will ever attempt. Don’t underestimate its grueling difficulty. By the shortest route, combining the South and North Kaibab trails, a rim-to-rim hike, or r2r, entails about 21 trail miles and a cumulative nearly 11,000 feet of elevation gain and loss. The heat can wilt even the fittest people.
I have seen numerous hikers struggling on r2r attempts, including one young couple whose one headlamp had died late at night two hours before we found them sitting beside the South Kaibab Trail, where they might have spent the night if we didn’t show up with lights and accompany them up. On a separate hike, I encountered a woman who was collapsing to the ground repeatedly and had to be rescued by helicopter.
Cold temps and wind are not unknown in early morning and evening, and although unusual, rain or snow can soak your ambitious plans. In fact, hard rain fell the day before the four of us hiked it south to north on a Saturday, and snow fell the Monday morning after David and I made the return hike north to south on Sunday (while Penny and Kathleen—perhaps wisely—took the shuttle from the North Rim back to the South Rim).
See my stories “Fit to be Tired: Hiking the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim in a Day,” “April Fools: Dayhiking the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim to Rim,” and “Training For a Big Hike or Mountain Climb.”
Read all of this story and ALL stories at The Big Outside, plus get a FREE e-book. Join now!
How to Hike the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim
The following are some of my tips for hiking or running the Grand Canyon rim-to-rim or rim-to-rim-to-rim. (Most of these tips are available only if you have a paid subscription to The Big Outside, which costs as little as 5 bucks.) You will find many more tips and planning details in my e-guide “The Complete Guide to Hiking the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim” (which can be purchased for $9.95 without a subscription).
I can also help you plan this hike or any other trip you read about at my blog; see my Custom Trip Planning page to learn more.
Use trekking poles, they’re critical on a hike this long with this much cumulative elevation gain and loss. I recommend an ultralight model like the Black Diamond Distance Carbon FLZ poles, the Gossamer Gear LT5, or the Black Diamond Distance Carbon Z. See my picks for “The Best Trekking Poles” and my stories “How to Choose Trekking Poles” and “10 Expert Tips for Hiking With Trekking Poles.”
The park requires that any organized, non-commercial group of 12-30 participants, or not-for-profit group conducting rim-to-rim, rim-to-rim-to-rim, rim-to-river-to-rim, and/or extended dayhikes in the inner canyon must obtain a Special Use Permit (SUP). The inner canyon is defined as the area below the Tonto Platform from the South Rim and below Manzanita Resthouse from the North Rim. Groups may not break into smaller groups on different permits to accommodate group size. Commercial operations are not authorized under this SUP. For more information visit nps.gov/grca/parkmgmt/sup.htm.
A rim-to-rim Grand Canyon hike delivers numerous moments of pure magic. Even on a popular trail like the Bright Angel, you can get gifted with a rare, thrilling surprise.
Click here now for my expert e-book to backpacking the Grand Canyon rim to rim
or my expert e-book to dayhiking rim to rim.
As I hiked wearily up the Bright Angel, in the final mile of the return leg of our two-day, nearly 45-mile, rim-to-rim-to-rim hike, I heard a noise to my left. Two bighorn sheep burst from the sparse vegetation on the trail’s downhill side, dashed across it no more than 10 feet in front of me, and disappeared within seconds, clambering up the steep slope on the trail’s uphill side. At that moment, there happened to be no other hikers within sight. I was the only one to see them.
Minutes later, still electrified by that chance encounter, I watched the same two bighorns jump onto the trail again, this time maybe 100 feet uphill from me. They sprinted down the trail, passing so closely to me that for an instant I thought they might crash right into me.
Check out my picks for “The 10 Best Hiking Daypacks” and my “8 Pro Tips For Avoiding Blisters When Hiking,” my five-level difficulty rating system in “How to Know How Hard a Hike Will Be,” and my “10 Tricks For Making Hiking and Backpacking Easier.” And see all stories about the Grand Canyon at The Big Outside.
Hi Michael,
I am a fit 66 year old hiker that trains year round. I did the Death Canyon Static Peak Divide to Jenny Lake in a day as well as Paintbrush Canyon-Cascade Canyon loop from String Lake. Is it realistic for me to do the Northbound Rim to Rim in a day. Is the last week in May too late on account of heat.
Mark
Hi Mark,
Well done, knocking off those two big Tetons hikes in a day, especially Static Peak Divide to Jenny Lake. You ask a good question. As you probably know, those two Tetons hikes roughly compare with the distance of hiking the Grand Canyon from South Rim to North Rim in a day but present only about half the cumulative elevation gain and loss as rim to rim, which is well over 10,000 vertical feet. I don’t have to tell you, I’m sure: That’s a huge difference. It is, in many respects, almost twice the exertion and energy output as those Tetons hikes.
You know yourself better than I do, of course. Consider these questions: How many hours did it take you to complete those Tetons hikes and are you able to go perhaps another three to five hours, with a lot more up and down, in a day? Did you finish those Tetons hikes feeling like your body had a lot of energy left in reserve or feeling mostly whipped? Do you have any knee or other joint issues or nagging chronic injuries that could flare up when you’re deep in the canyon and a rescue may involve a helicopter flight?
As for late May, chances are high it will be too hot then and the heat is your biggest enemy on a rim-to-rim hike. Ideally, go at a time of year when you’ll likely have the lowest number of hours in the day that are hot but still a good amount of daylight, which is the first part of October or the second half of April.
It’s a great day but I certainly always advise people to not underestimate the toll. I’ve seen many dayhikers who were struggling with every step uphill to the North Rim (and South Rim) when they were still a long way from getting there, realizing only then that they had not realized how hard it would be.
Not trying to just sell you something but if you decide to try it, I think my e-guide will give you much useful information (at a small cost).
Thanks for the good question and good luck to you.
Hi Michael
After visiting the canyon I can certainly see why you would caution me about attempting the rim to rim. Last May when I was there the North Rim and the North Kaibab Trail were closed so I didn’t get to attempt it. I did do the rim to river to rim and it wasn’t that difficult for me. I did it in a little over 6 hours. I was able to snag an overnight permit and spent two nights in the canyon, but could only go to Cottonwood because of trail closures. I did 8 dayhikes on 20 or more miles with similar elevations so I think it is realistic for me. I am planning on going back this year for another attempt. I will hike from the north then stay in a motel for two nights and return the next day. I have been training year-round.
Mark
Hi Mark,
Yes, the park doesn’t open the North Rim until May 15. Hiking from the South Rim to the Colorado River and back up in a day is a hard hike that has surprised many people, so you must have trained well to hike it that quickly. Keep in mind that the difficulty ramps up significantly the hotter the day is. Good luck with your training for rim to rim and I think the detailed advice in this story and my e-book will help you. Be safe.
Hi Michael,
You and I emailed a bit a while back and I bought this guide you created, which is very helpful. I am trying to organize a trip this Fall and have 3 questions:
1. Do you know any guides that would be willing to do the trip with us?
2. Where would you stay toward the end of October on the North Rim? The Grand Canyon Lodge closes 10/15 apparently.
3. If we went as late as the first week in November, is there any risk we could not access the north rim trail? I read that they sometimes close it due to weather.
Thanks so much,
Sue
Hi Sue,
Thanks for the questions and for buying my e-guide to dayhiking the Grand Canyon rim to rim. To answer your questions:
1. I don’t know of any guides who offer rim-to-rim dayhiking and all guide services operating in the park must be approved by the national park. Since the park discourages rim-to-rim dayhiking, it seems unlikely they’d approve that type of guide service.
2. Yes, the Grand Canyon Lodge on the North Rim stops operating when the North Rim traditionally closes down on Oct. 15. The Kaibab Lodge, five miles outside the park’s North Rim entrance, recently came under new ownership. The new owner contacted me not long ago to tell me about their plans to improve services there, including offering a hiker shuttle service to the North Kaibab Trailhead and between the North and South rims and the prospect of operating year-round. See kaibablodge.com.
3. November can bring snow and it’s hard to predict when snow may close the road to the North Rim, but it is often open well into November.
Good luck!
I have 3 days / 2 nights… and trying to plan the best tour of canyon – ideally rim to rim starting north heading south – and wanted to take some time to enjoy some remoteness off major R2R throughways.
can average 12-15 mile/day and just hoping for a couple suggestions as to campsites and trails – any thoughts greatly appreciated.
Hi George,
There are just a few backpacker camps along the rim-to-rim trails from the North Rim to the South Rim and all are quite popular and usually full. The park’s website does provide details but you can also use my e-guide “The Best First Backpacking Trip in the Grand Canyon.”
And I can help you plan that trip or a more remote one in the Grand Canyon; I’ve done several in there. See my Custom Trip Planning page to learn how.
Good luck.
On a r2r2r did u try to get food at the north rim or just turn around. I know the lodge is at least a mile from the trailhead. Also did u think of syncing up your hike with the breakfast or dinner at phantom ranch? Just looking at ways to avoid carrying food for all 45 miles
Thanks for your help
Joe
Hi Joe,
Good questions. The North Rim Lodge, where I’ve stayed when I hiked r2r2r over two consecutive days, does have good food, but it is more than a mile each way and the time to cover those road miles, plus order and eat food while there, would be significant. Last time I ran-hiked r2r2r one partner’s spouse generously drove around and met us at the North Rim (North Kaibab Trailhead) with food and drinks plus a change into dry clothes, which helped enormously, of course. But it’s a 9-hour round-trip drive between the rims.
I’m not sure it’s possible to buy a breakfast or dinner at Phantom unless you’re a guest; good question. Either would require starting from one rim very early and returning to the rim very late. I prefer to complete as much of the r2r2r in daylight as possible. But we did stop at the small store at Phantom on the return leg of the r2r2r last time and bought snacks. I’d definitely recommend carrying cash for that.
In October 2020, there were a few metal boxes (similar to bear boxes) near the Phantom Ranch cabins. Not sure if they’re open for everyone to use, but we stored some food, powders, and gels there. It was about 4am, so no one was around for us to ask. Happy to report that they were all there when we got back! Also, the food selection at Phantom Ranch was pretty thin if you didn’t order ahead. Actually, I don’t remember if that was even an option during the COVID time.
Thanks for that report, John.
What are the parking options for starting/ending at South Kaibab?
Hi John,
There’s no public parking at the South Kaibab Trailhead. The free park shuttle bus serves that trailhead with regular stops, the schedule varying at different times of year. See nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/shuttle-buses.htm.
That page also explains that the park shuttle system is not operating currently (as of 8/11/20) due to the coronavirus.
Good luck.
5