Grand Canyon National Park highlights
“The one great sight which every American should see,” President Theodore Roosevelt said of the Grand Canyon.
It’s hard to describe the size and majesty of the Grand Canyon, which is 277 miles long and 18 miles wide and covers more square miles than Rhode Island. You could spend years exploring Grand Canyon National Park from above and down in the canyon. I only had an evening and the next morning but was able to take in some incredible views.
We explored the South Rim of the Grand Canyon and started with a stop at Desert View and the Watchtower, which is on the east end.
We continued on to Mather Point for some great views and walked a little less than a mile along the Rim Trail to the Yavapai Point and Geology Museum to catch the sunset.
Quite a few people were gathered in that area to watch the sun go down and our tour guide said it is a popular spot. I loved watching the sunset over the Grand Canyon.
The next morning, we started at Grand Canyon Village and took the shuttle west to Powell Point, which was incredible.
We walked along the Rim Trail and admired the scenery, making stops at Maricopa Point and Trail Overlook. We had walked around 2.5 miles when we made it back to the Bright Angel Trailhead in Grand Canyon Village.
The Bright Angel Trail is 15 miles long with 4,500 feet of elevation gain and goes all the way to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. I just walked half a mile down into the canyon and the views were amazing. It was still a decent climb of several hundred feet back up.
Exploring the Grand Canyon is something I will always remember. I would love to go back and spend more time there.
Update: Two years later, I was able to visit the Grand Canyon again, this time with my parents!
We had a handicap permit, so we were able to drive down Hermit Road along the South Rim and make stops at many viewpoints along the way.
Some of the stops we made included Trailview Overlook and Maricopa Point.
We also went to Powell Point, which has a memorial in honor of the first exploratory trips down the Colorado River.
More viewpoints included Hopi Point and Mohave Point. They are all equally stunning.
Later, we came to The Abyss, Monument Creek Vista and Pima Point.
Finally, we ended at Hermits Rest and turned around to make our way back.
As we were exiting the park, we saw a group of cow elk, which was very cool!
What are your best tips for visiting the Grand Canyon? Also check out Zion and Bryce Canyon national parks in the southwest and Monument Valley, Sedona and Phoenix.
