Grand Canyon · Things to do

A mostly level path along the edge running west from the South Kaibab Trailhead to Hermits Rest, much of it paved and accessible, with shuttle stops the whole way so you can walk one stretch and ride back. Three free routes: Village (Blue) year round, Kaibab Rim (Orange) and Hermits Rest (Red) from 23 May to 30 November. There is no drinking water west of Bright Angel Lodge.

Bright Angel offers up to 12 miles return with some shade and seasonal water that can fail when the pipeline breaks; South Kaibab gives better views for a shorter effort, up to 6 miles return, but has no water and no shade at all. The park is blunt about the limit: do not try to reach the river and return in one day, especially May to September, when heat turns life-threatening fast. Over 300 people a year are rescued from below the rim.

Mary Colter's 1932 tower, 23 miles east of Grand Canyon Village, modelled on ancestral Puebloan building and standing where the park meets Navajo and Hopi lands. The ground-floor View Room opens 8am–7pm and the upper floors 8am–6pm when staffing allows, free but limited to 25 people at a time on a free timed ticket. The Tusayan Pueblo site and museum are close by.

A 1.2-mile rim walk between the Yavapai Museum of Geology and Verkamp's Visitor Center where each metre of path stands for a million years, with a sample of every rock layer set out along the way. Flat, free, and probably the most useful hour you can spend for understanding what you are looking at.

Daily train from Williams, Arizona, leaving at 9:30am (8:30am in November and December) and reaching the South Rim depot at 11:45am, with over three hours at the canyon before a 5:45pm return. It sets you down inside the historic village, which removes the parking problem entirely; reservations on 1-800-843-8724.