The Best Backpacking Trip in the Grand Canyon

By Michael Lanza

All three of us have hiked this footpath before, and even still, our first steps down the Grand Canyon’s South Kaibab Trail leave us with hanging jaws. It’s early morning under clear skies, with the low-angle sunlight bringing the vastness of this chasm into sharp clarity—every inconceivably towering monolith, bottomless abyss, and sheer precipice—and we’re sputtering silly superlatives about the vista unfurling before us.

This is, after all, the world’s grandest canyon. It does that to people, even hardened veteran backpackers like us.

Joined by two friends who’ve taken many trips with me, Todd Arndt and Mark Fenton, I have returned to the Grand Canyon (yet again) to backpack a six-day, 74-mile, point-to-point traverse off the South Rim that will take us down to campsites on the Colorado River and then, of course, back up to the rim.

A backpacker on the South Kaibab Trail, Grand Canyon.
Todd Arndt backpacking the South Kaibab Trail, Grand Canyon.

Besides the fact that hiking down the South Kaibab shortly after dawn comprises one of the absolute best hikes and most inspiring sensory experiences in the entire National Park System, our early start gets us ahead of the hundreds of dayhikers that will venture partway down and back up this trail today.

We are also getting underway ahead of the worst of the rapidly advancing heat: The temperature at the South Rim when we stepped outside at 6 a.m. on this morning in late April was 68° F—and that’s at the coolest time of day at the highest and coolest elevation of our trip. With us seeing virtually no shade all day, the sun conducts its slow but insidious work of wilting us like two-day-old rose petals left in a vase without water.


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Our hike will show us many diverse personalities of the canyon, from one of its most scenic and popular trails, the South Kaibab, to one of its most remote and primitive paths, the Escalante Route. We will see sharp contrasts, including some of the highest levels of solitude I’ve ever had on Grand Canyon trails—hiking for hours without encountering another person, and having little company even at three of our four campsites—to spending a fun evening with a very friendly rafting party that graciously feeds us. We’ll also take an optional, long dayhike from one of our camps on a trail that, even for this place, will surprise us in both its difficulty and its beauty.

Our route choice came as a tip to me from someone who knows this canyon better than all but maybe a few living people, and possibly better than anyone. A backcountry ranger I know who has hiked every named trail in the park—many of them undoubtedly countless times—described this route in an email to me as “the best backpacking trip in the Grand Canyon.”

With a recommendation like that, I couldn’t imagine not taking this trip.

Tonto Trail East

Nearly four-and-a-half miles and 3,200 vertical feet down the South Kaibab, we reach the Tonto Plateau at a spot called the Tipoff, where the South Kaibab Trail plunges another 1,500 feet in two-and-a-half miles to the Colorado River. Here, our hike undergoes its first dramatic personality change.

We turn onto the Tonto Trail eastbound and immediately leave behind dozens of dayhikers and backpackers, following a path so narrow that we couldn’t even pick it out amid the sparse desert vegetation when looking down from just above it on the South Kaibab.

Lizards dart across the trail in front of us. A rattlesnake issues its distinctive warning when we pass the trailside bush it’s hiding under. Peering at it from a safe distance, we see that it’s a little guy—not more than a foot long. We stop for lunch in a strip of shade some eight feet long and two feet wide below an overhanging rock ledge—the only patch of shade substantial enough to shield all three of us that we find before evening.

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A backpacker hiking the Tonto Trail in the Grand Canyon.
Todd Arndt backpacking the Tonto Trail in the Grand Canyon.

By afternoon, drifting cotton-ball clouds create dappled light that flows like a river over the canyon. A sheer wall of stone at least a thousand feet tall transforms before our eyes, revealing that what looks at first like one wall is actually three separate formations that had blended together in direct sunlight, but are actually separated by large horizontal distances—and one stands across the Colorado River from the other two.

We follow the meandering Tonto Trail around the rims of tributary canyons of the Colorado—some of them a thousand feet or more deep and several miles long. On the map, it looks like someone drew the trail by tracing around the splayed fingers of a hand—we’re constantly weaving in and out, covering more lateral than forward distance. The biggest side canyon we see today, at Grapevine Creek, we walk halfway around to tonight’s campsite by early evening, and will continue around its opposite rim tomorrow morning—realizing after completing it that getting around this one large tributary canyon took us three hours to make about a quarter-mile of actual forward progress.

The scale of the Grand Canyon is hard to wrap your brain around—and probably the best argument for backpacking or even dayhiking into it.

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A backpacker on the Tonto Trail, Grand Canyon.
Mark Fenton backpacking the Tonto Trail, Grand Canyon.

Almost 19 miles and 11 hours after we commenced hiking, much of it in withering heat, we drop our packs near the slender but steady trickle of Grapevine Creek. Over the more than 14 trail miles from the South Kaibab Trail, we saw only three other people: two backpackers at Lone Tree Canyon and one guy hiking solo who’s camped near us at Grapevine.

Soaring canyon walls finally gift us with shade in the evening, when we watch the sunlight slowly fade to a sky shot through with stars. The choir of bullfrogs and crickets who’ve staked claims in this tiny stream grows to such a cacophony at times that we have to raise our voices to hear each other over it.

‘The Best Backpacking Trip in the Grand Canyon’

Hiking away from Grapevine Creek shortly after 7 a.m. on our second morning, within five minutes we’ve climbed steeply onto the Tonto Plateau and stepped back into direct sunlight. Like yesterday, a steady breeze offers meager though cherished relief; but it’s hot by 8 a.m., as the temperature marches again toward a high around 90° F. 

Reaching Cottonwood Creek by mid-morning, we spend a couple of hours refilling our bodies’ water tanks, eating, cooling off under a small waterfall—and simply basking in the rare pleasure of shade beneath the cottonwood trees. We’re hiking about five hours today, so we’re in no rush, and there’s little shade ahead of us until evening descends on our next campsite at Hance Creek. In the canyon, you often plan the day’s travel around taking advantage of the rare oases of water and shade.

I can help you plan this or any other trip you read about at my blog. Find out more here.

 

A backpacker on the Tonto Trail in the Grand Canyon.
Early morning on the Tonto Trail in the Grand Canyon.

I’ll confess to a growing obsession with backpacking in the Grand Canyon—despite how hard it is due to both the arduous character of most trails and the sometimes-crushing heat that can feel like the sun reaching down to lean with increasing weight on your shoulders. And you’ll find few refuges of water and shade.

Truth is, in about 95 percent of the Grand Canyon, it’s easier to die than it is to live.

Nonetheless, each of the several multi-day hikes I’ve taken here has only amplified my appetite to explore more of the canyon. (Scroll down to Grand Canyon on this page for a menu of my stories about those trips.) I suppose part of the motivation is that I relish the myriad challenges the canyon throws at you. If you seek to push yourself physically and mentally in the wilderness, few environments will accommodate your wish as thoroughly and relentlessly as the Grand Canyon—and probably in more ways than anticipated.

To me, though, suffering without some payoff is a fool’s errand. But the Grand Canyon always pays back more than your investment of sweat and toil in it. The vastness, depth, and breadth of it confounds the brain’s capacity to interpret its scale. Natural features lying at a distance we can’t accurately estimate appear tiny, balloon to unfathomable size as we approach, and then somehow slowly shrink until they fade into their surroundings—as if they evaporated in the heat. Very few natural environments on the planet—and I assert this having seen a fair number of the best places—match the canyon’s topographical and ecological complexity, sheer relief, or constant stream of grandeur.

Click here now to plan your next great backpacking adventure using my downloadable, expert e-guides.

 

Backpackers on the Tonto Trail in the Grand Canyon.
Backpacking the Tonto Trail around Grapevine Canyon.

The inevitable effect of hiking through the canyon is a sustained state of awe. It’s the drug without a hangover or other physical side effects. Well, except for the pain that not infrequently accompanies the hiking.

Coming into this hike from that perspective, the promise of “the best backpacking trip in the Grand Canyon” sounded like either impossibly optimistic hyperbole or, just maybe, the prospect of experiencing one of the very finest of innumerable wilderness strolls I’ve taken over three decades.

At the least, it seemed worth investigating.

Prickly-pear cacti flowers along the Tonto Trail in the Grand Canyon.
Prickly-pear cacti flowers along the Tonto Trail in the Grand Canyon.

Hot afternoon gusts blow me off balance a few times on our more than two-hour hike from Cottonwood to Hance Creek. The Tonto Trail rolls over the plateau circling around Horseshoe Mesa, then traces the west rim of the deep canyon of Hance Creek. Like other canyon trails, the Tonto sometimes sends us clambering across shattered rocks and crumbling ledges, or over dry pour-offs that transform into temporary waterfalls during rainstorms.

Mark says, “On a lot of these trails here, you’re always looking down at your feet because the footing’s so difficult. You have to remind yourself to stop and look around so you don’t miss all this unbelievable scenery.”

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And it is unbelievable, quite literally almost every step of the way. On the Tonto, our panoramas reach from both distant rims and the chaotic canyon-scape in between, to overlooks from a thousand feet or more above the Colorado River. And we have apparently arrived during a super bloom of wildflowers of the sort that may occur only once in a handful of years: Everywhere, flowering prickly-pear cacti and other brilliant flora carpet the ground in a rainbow of colors.

At Hance Creek, we find a long, flat slickrock ledge under an overhang that throws a huge shadow by early evening, and lay out our pads and bags there for the night. Other than some recent fallen rock at one end of the ledge—which we maintain some distance from, in case there’s more loose rock overhead—and tiny, desiccated turds of uncertain origin, it’s a beautiful spot looking across the rocky creek bottom at tall, vividly red cliffs. Waking briefly during the night, I gaze up at a grandly starry sky.

The Escalante Route

“This can’t be a route for backpackers.”

Those skeptical words emerge from my mouth as we stand on unnervingly shaky boulders at the bottom of a dangerously loose pile of rocks in all sizes, from baseballs to watermelons to large furniture, that rises steeply beyond sight above us. On our third morning, Mark, Todd, and I have reached the mouth of Papago Canyon, at the Colorado River on the Grand Canyon’s Escalante Route, and the trail has slammed right up against this small mountain of rockslide debris—leaving us wondering where to go.

Cloudy skies, strong gusts of wind, and pleasantly milder temps greeted us this morning and will accompany us all day—all of it, including the off-and-on light rain, a welcome respite from the heat of the past two days. We left our camp at Hance Creek at 6 a.m., vaguely anticipating that our planned 15-mile day—much of it on the infamously rugged Escalante Route—could consume many hours.

We were more right about that than we realized.

Do it right. Click here now for my expert e-guide to this Grand Canyon trip.

 

A backpacker on the Escalante Route in the Grand Canyon.
Mark Fenton near the top of the Papago Canyon rockslide on the Escalante Route.

Spotting cairns above us on the rockslide, we follow them, scrambling carefully up this house of half-ton cards, frequently dislodging rocks that crash down the slide with a sharp, cracking noise disturbingly similar to the sound of a large leg bone snapping. Reaching the top—with relief—perhaps 300 feet above the river, we pick up a circuitous, narrow goat path along the canyon wall, with a precipitous drop-off on our left.

At the brink of a 30-foot cliff, a cairn indicates that the way forward is straight down it.

We survey the cliff face and see an exposed but not difficult network of small ledges that we can downclimb. Positioning ourselves at intervals on those ledges, we pass backpacks and trekking poles down, reaching the sandy beach at the cliff’s base minutes before a rain shower rolls in and water begins streaming down the cliff.

Which puffy should you buy? See my “Review: The 10 Best Down Jackets” and “Ask Me: How Can You Tell How Warm a Down Jacket Is?

 

Wildflowers along the Escalante Route in the Grand Canyon.
Wildflowers along the Escalante Route in the Grand Canyon.

Gear Tips 

Trekking poles are indispensable for this route’s steep descents and ascents. See my picks for “The Best Trekking Poles” and my stories “How to Choose Trekking Poles” and “10 Best Expert Tips for Hiking With Trekking Poles,”

In dry, hot conditions, wear supportive but lightweight boots or shoes that breathe well (not waterproof); see all of my reviews of hiking shoes and my “8 Pro Tips for Preventing Blisters When Hiking.”

Carry a reliable headlamp with fresh batteries or a full charge in case you’re hiking in the dark for the cooler temperatures; see my review of the five best headlamps. See my favorite ultralight daypacks in my review of the Black Diamond Trail Blitz 12 and REI Flash 18.

See my reviews of the outstanding backpack, ultralight tent, boots, trekking poles, down jacket, sleeping bag, and air mattress I used on this trip, and my Gear Reviews page at The Big Outside.

Tell me what you think.

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See all of my stories about Grand Canyon National Park at The Big Outside.

Want to make your pack lighter and all of your backpacking trips more enjoyable? See my “10 Tricks for Making Hiking and Backpacking Easier” and “A Practical Guide to Lightweight and Ultralight Backpacking.” If you don’t have a paid subscription to The Big Outside, you can read part of both stories for free, or download the e-guide versions of the 10 tricks here and the lightweight backpacking guide here without having a paid membership.

 

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22 thoughts on “The Best Backpacking Trip in the Grand Canyon”

  1. Do you have any advice on how to navigate the process of obtaining permits to complete this trip? I’m not seeing this whole story, but we want to camp at Grapevine night one, Hance Creek night two, Escalante Creek Mouth night three and Tanner Rapids night four. On the recreation.gov permit website, there is not an option to select Grapevine Creek as the first site of the trip. After that, many of the other sites are listed as Walk-up in the system. We are trying to enter on either March 3rd or March 4th.

    Reply
    • Hi James,

      Yes, the Grand Canyon implemented this new backcountry permit system on recreation.gov for 2024 and it’s a little tricky to navigate. The first thing to understand is that you are quite late to apply for a permit reservation in March, which is why the site shows so little availability. The park accepts permit reservations up to four months in advance and most available backcountry camping will get booked up quickly.

      I went through that new permit reservation system in November and got a permit for a six-day hike in the canyon in April, so I’m very familiar with it now. Those are questions I address in my e-book “The Best Backpacking Trip in the Grand Canyon.” And I can help you plan that trip and navigate the permit process, including answering the perhaps many questions you might have. See my Custom Trip Planning page to learn how.

      Thanks for the comment.

      Reply
    • Hi Eric,

      Yes, it can, and I’d recommend late March to avoid winter conditions, although you could still encounter snow on the upper sections of trails in the canyon, possibly requiring traction on your boots, like microspikes. But late March is a good time to go there.

      Good luck. By the way, I have helped many readers with a personalized trip plan for backpacking in the Grand Canyon, including this specific trip, and I can help you prepare for whatever conditions you’ll encounter. See my Custom Trip Planning page to learn how I can help you plan your trip.

      Reply
  2. I just wrapped up a four day trip along the Escalante Route. Agreed, one of the most amazing, isolated hikes in the Canyon. Would do it again in a heartbeat

    Reply
  3. Thanks for your advice. My 2 friends and I are going backwards –> from Lipan Point, Tanner, Beamer, Escalante and up the Grand View via Horseshoe Mesa. I’m having trouble arranging a shuttle as the taxi isnt working and there’s no bus. The woman at the desk where the taxi number connected recommended we try to find an employee “going our way” to shuttle between Grand View and Lipan. The park service said hitch or bring two cars. Any ideas?
    We are going down 10/16/22.

    Reply
    • Hi Mark,

      Yes, the shuttle situation isn’t convenient but I think you’ll find it easier than you expect. If you have any lodging pre- or post-trip, call their desk and ask whether an employee would like to make a little easy cash shuttling you from Grandview (leave your car there) to Lipan/Tanner at the start of your hike, arrange it in advance. I’ve done that elsewhere. Or try calling any business on the South Rim; there are many young workers there who’d welcome a little extra cash.

      If that fails, Grandview has one of the busiest parking lots/rim overlooks on the South Rim. Go there early on the morning you start hiking and walk around the lot asking whether anyone could drive three of you east to Lipan. Shouldn’t take very long. If that fails (because no one has space for three people and packs), then park at Lipan and plan to finish your hike at Grandview as early in the afternoon as possible, where one of you can hitch a ride to your car and return for the others. Mid-October is busy there, you’ll likely find a ride quickly.

      Good luck. You have an amazing hike ahead of you.

      Reply
  4. Hi there! Me and my friend are planning on doing this trek in late April. I am running into some repetitive warnings from rangers telling me that this is “extremely difficult” and “only for the experienced Grand Canyon hiker” and to consider other options. I am a 22-year-old woman and have come across this many times before (as often people doubt my experience and capability due to my age and gender), so it becomes difficult to actually tell who is legitimately warning me and who is simply underestimating me. Could you tell me what the most challenging aspects of this trek were, in your experience? And what kind of experience you think would make someone prepared for this kind of trek? Thanks so much, and I love your site.

    Reply
    • Hi Ella,

      Thanks for the nice words about my blog. You ask a legitimate question and I imagine you do receive that kind of treatment often. I will add that, in my experience, many rangers and others who deal with the public in national parks and other public lands will give all (or many) people the same warnings of how difficult or dangerous a specific hike or other outdoor activity is without attempting to judge a person’s experience; in other words, they assume everyone they speak to has similarly little experience. I’ve received such warnings countless times for activities that, in some cases, I would consider beginner-level.

      That said, the Escalante Route, which is part of the full trip the story describes, included a couple of sections that were more “spicy” than I would normally expect to encounter on a backpacking route—and I’ll point out here that the Escalante Route is an unmaintained route that’s marked by cairns but sometimes faint or non-existent on the ground.

      Hiking up-canyon, as we did, requires scrambling maybe 200 feet up a loose rockslide where care is required and progress is a bit slow; its greatest risk is a rock rolling and injuring someone, but it’s not so steep that you’d fall far if you slipped. Not far beyond Papago Canyon (hiking up-canyon), you must scramble down a 30-foot cliff where there are decent foot ledges in the easiest place to scramble the cliff (which you’ll have to locate from below or above). We hiked up-canyon and had to descend that cliff; I’ve done plenty of third-class scrambling (and rock climbing) for years and did not find it difficult to locate and descend that section. We passed our packs down, though some people might prefer to lower them with a 30-foot cord. People uncomfortable with exposure may not feel comfortable on that section. Other parts of the Escalante Route consist of a narrow footpath with a steep slope on the downhill side, which can elicit a sense of exposure for some people.

      Otherwise, much of this trip is on trails that don’t pose any serious hazard or exposure.

      This story has a photo of one of my friends scrambling up the rockslide. You’ll find much more detail about this route’s navigational challenges and tricky scrambling in my e-guide “The Best Backpacking Trip in the Grand Canyon.”

      I hope that helps. Good luck.

      Reply
  5. Hi Michael,

    Thanks for taking the time to detail all these great backcountry hikes. My wife and I just did Tanner to New Hance via the Escalante and it was definitely an adventure. Going up New Hance is no joke!!

    We want to plan a nice 3-4 day backcountry trip to do with our three girls 12, 12, and 15. We are avid hikers and they have done Bright Angel to the river and back multiple times previously. Would you suggest the Escalante for them or would something like Hermit to Bright Angel be better?

    Thanks for your help!

    Reply
    • Hi Matt,

      You’re right that going up New Hance is no joke and I can say from experience that going down it was seven of the most tiring miles I’ve ever hiked, with all of those pounding, big ledge drops on that trail. Your hike covered a big chunk of what I consider (and a longtime Grand Canyon backcountry ranger told me is) the “The Best Backpacking Trip in the Grand Canyon.” Great hike.

      Since you’ve hiked the Escalante and obviously know your girls better than I do, I’m not sure I can tell you anything you don’t already know. You might show your daughters photos in my story about that trip and ask what they think. But I also think that Hermits to Bright Angel is one of the nicest and most beginner-friendly multi-day hikes in the canyon and a great one for a family, not nearly as strenuous as Escalante (or New Hance). See the photos in this story.

      If you’d like my help planning that or any trip, check out my Custom Trip Planning page to learn how.

      Thanks for the comment and keep in touch.

      Reply
  6. We are about to pull the trigger on this exact hike itinerary (6 days, 5 nights) on May 8th, 2021. Would you say not to and wait for the end of the season due to heat? Or go-ahead, it’ll be hot but doable? Thanks…

    Reply
    • The first half of May is commonly a good time for backpacking in the Grand Canyon. Yes, I’d go then. It could be hot, or moderate, or even cooler than normal (if you’re lucky). But it’s definitely a recommendable time of year to do this hike, and you might still have wildflowers blooming. But I will emphasize that six days is an aggressive itinerary for this route, so just be aware of that. Good luck!

      Reply
  7. Hi Michael, another great write-up, really appreciate you sharing all this info! Have backpacked the GC a few times on the corridor trails so figured it’s time to try something new! My friend and I were looking to do a four day trip starting at Lipan Point, traversing west along the Escalante and Tonto trails and then finishing up at Grandview Point.

    Two questions: for my described route, would you suggest west to east/east to west? We aren’t doing south kaibab so avoid that climb as described in yours. Most of the reports I read online have people doing it east to west but wonder if it really makes a difference.

    Second, the Beamer trail side trip looks really neat. Not sure if our 4 day itinerary will allow it though. Would you prioritize this section? Is it only worth it to make the 9 mile journey to the end of Beamer or do you get nice views even just a few miles from the Tanner trail junction? I guess if we did choose to allocate more time to Beamer we could save time on the western side by coming up the New Hance Trail instead of the Grandview Trail. Haven’t done either…

    Appreciate any feedback and thanks again!

    Reply
    • Hi Jason,

      Thanks and good to hear from you. I think Lipan Point to Grandview Trail can be done in either direction; arguably, it’s tougher climbing the Tanner than climbing river to rim from farther west on the Colorado River to Horseshoe Mesa and the Grandview Trail, but going from the river to the rim is a big day on any trail. On the Tanner, besides it having three tough, steep sections, there’s no water, while you can get water on the Tonto between the river and Horseshoe Mesa (Hance Creek or usually Cottonwood Creek), although there’s no water on the Grandview above Horseshoe Mesa. Grandview Trail is a beautiful hike going up or down and a good trail.

      The Beamer Trail is definitely worth hiking only the first 1-3 miles of before turning around. You’ll have access to the Colorado along there to get water and cool off, too. When the Beamer starts climbing above the river, you’ll go several miles without any water or river access until you reach the end of the Beamer Trail. But the nicest section of the Beamer is once it gains a plateau some 400 feet above the river and follows it for miles; that’s more than a few miles from Tanner Beach (at the bottom of the Tanner Trail).

      I’ve hiked down the New Hance Trail. It’s one of the harder South Rim trails because of many big ledge drops, so that would be tough going up or down. The Grandview Trail is not only friendlier, it’s more scenic, although the New Hance ascends a nice side canyon. The beach at Hance Rapids on the river has excellent camping.

      Have a good trip.

      Reply
      • Really appreciate the insight! Looking forward to the trip in a few months and will keep you posted. Used to doing the corridor trails so will be nice to change it up!

        Reply
        • Jason, I found that once you get past the (admittedly beautiful) corridor trails in the GC, the entire experience changes. It’s more challenging, which I like, but also more wild-feeling, remote, with greater solitude and sense of being in a truly unique landscape. I hope you’ll post a comment after your trip to share it how went. Thanks again for writing, always good to hear from you.

          Reply
      • Doing South Kaibab to Bright Angel this December but looking to maybe doing some of the Tonto Trail if I have time! Thanks for this article 🙂 Amazing photos.

        Reply
          • Hey Michael,
            Love your site, just curious about the bc ranger who gave u the tip on your 74 mi. trek in GRCA . I know a couple of old timers there. Was it L.A. or B.V. by chance? Again, just curious and thanks for all the great articles!

          • Hi James,

            It’s neither of those people and I’ll offer this ranger some anonymity by saying only that their first initial is M.

            Thanks for the nice compliment about my blog.