Best trails in Grand Canyon National Park
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Visitor info
Admits one single, private, non-commercial motorcycle and its passenger(s).
Individual ($20 valid for 7 days): for bicyclists, hikers, and pedestrians.
Admits one single, private, non-commercial vehicle and all its passengers, up to a 15 person passenger van. Organized non-commercial groups over 16 passengers require different charges. Commercial groups are not eligible for the vehicle permit.
Available to the general public for purchase for unlimited visits to Grand Canyon National Park only. This is an annual pass, valid one year from month of purchase; it is non-transferable.
It admits the pass holder and any accompanying persons in a single, private, non-commercial vehicle, or the pass holder and accompanying immediate family (spouse, children, parents) when entry is by other means (train, shuttle, bicycle, or foot).
Join millions of people who enjoy our National Parks with the "America the Beautiful" National Park & Federal Recreational Lands Pass, otherwise known as the Interagency Annual Pass. The pass is valid for a year's worth of visits from the month of purchase at more than 2,000 federal recreation sites across the country.
No entrance pass required on these days:
Monday, January 20 — Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Saturday, April 19 — First day of National Park Week
Thursday, June 19 — Juneteenth National Independence Day
Monday, August 4 — Anniversary of the Great American Outdoors Act
Saturday, September 27 — National Public Lands Day
Tuesday, November 11 — Veterans Day
The Interagency Access Pass is accepted here.
The North Rim Visitor Center, Grand Canyon Visitor Center, Yavapai Geology Museum, and Tusayan Museum are accessible to visitors using mobility equipment or strollers and have wheelchair accessible restrooms. All the bookstores and gift shops are accessible to visitors using mobility equipment or strollers, except for South Rim’s Kolb Studio and Desert View Watchtower. Orientation films include open captioning.
Loaner wheelchairs are available at Bright Angel Bicycles and the North Rim Visitor Center. Tandem bicycles are available for rent at Bright Angel Bicycles.
Many ranger-led programs are wheelchair accessible, and assistive listening devices and ASL interpreters are available by reservation. Please call 928-638-7888 or email grca_information@nps.gov at least 3 weeks in advance to make a reservation for interpretation services.
Additional information about accessibility at Grand Canyon National Park can be found on their website: https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/accessibility.htm.
All park shuttle buses are wheelchair accessible and can accommodate manual or motorized chairs under 48 inches long and 30 inches wide (122 by 76 cm). However, most motorized scooters cannot be accommodated on the shuttle buses.
A Scenic Drive Accessibility Permit is available at the entrance gates and service centers for visitors with mobility disabilities. It allows access to some areas not open to public traffic, but a state-issued parking placard is still required for parking in wheelchair accessible parking spaces.
The North Rim Visitor Center, Grand Canyon Visitor Center, Yavapai Geology Museum, and Tusayan Museum are accessible to visitors using mobility equipment or strollers and have wheelchair accessible restrooms. All the bookstores and gift shops are accessible to visitors using mobility equipment or strollers, except for South Rim’s Kolb Studio and Desert View Watchtower. Orientation films include open captioning.
All hotels have wheelchair accessible rooms.
There are accessible restrooms at the following trailheads: Point Imperial, Cape Royal, Hermits Rest, Hopi Point, Grandview Point, and Buggein.
Mather and North Rim Campgrounds have individual wheelchair accessible camping sites.
Service animals must be on-leash throughout the park.
Visitors must check in at the Backcountry Information Center to take service animals into the canyon.
Trail reviews for Grand Canyon National Park
Have not hiked it yet. Will be there June 7. Wanted to extend hike from Havasupai Gardens to Plateau Point. Looks awesome!. BUT, I found this on nps.com. "Grand Canyon National Park has reopened Bright Angel Trail and Bright Angel Campground for public use as of May 15, 2025. Bright Angel Campground group sites will remain closed until Oct 1, 2025. However, the entire length of the River Trail, along with the Silver Bridge, will remain closed from May 15, through September 30, 2025. In addition, the Plateau Point Trail, between the Tonto Trail West junction to Plateau Point, originally scheduled to reopen in May, will remain closed through September 30, 2025." BUMMER! but it will still be awesome (my 1st time there :D)
Best view of the Grand Canyon, in my opinion, on the south rim anyway.
I regret doing this hike. Not because it wasn’t epic and mind blowing, rather it made me confront the absolutely FOOLISH levels of hubris deep within my soul. Without my hiking partner, I surely would have perished. I returned a shell of my former self. To say I almost passed away halfway across Tonto would be an understatement. I saw god. I felt his wrath. A bearded man from Ohio with kind eyes read me my last rites somewhere around the mile 3 hut. There was a group of guys from Alabama doing R2R who said “this was their first hike ever”. I believe they raptured around Tip Off, leaving their spirits in the hallowed walls of the canyon. Roll tide. We befriended a small-statured polyglot scientist on the shuttle in and he hiked all the way to Phantom Ranch, trying to convince us that the formation of the Grand Canyon was due to Noah’s biblical flood. He did it with a crinkled single-use water bottle, no sun protection, and a wooden staff. And he hiked FAST. I have come to understand this man as an entity from beyond, shepherding us at a brisk pace to the base, saving us from hiking back in the dark. When we finally arrived back at the top, after a brief weep and prayer to our ancestors for strength, we rushed to El Tovar for our dinner reservation an hour late. I can only imagine the impressions of the showered, sun-kissed diners as I entered the room - delirious, poles dragging, in touch only with my primal needs- begging for water and bread (both of which did not stay down long). At the time of writing, I am a changed person because of this hike (not speaking of the two big toenails I will soon lose due to slightly tight Oboz and trying to keep pace with the cosmic chemist). But seriously, with the detour this hike could kill you. Plan on drinking 5L, using poles, snacks and electrolytes, starting no later than 6a, not doing on a hot day, and expecting psychic and physical pain that your DNA will remember two generations from now. Have fun!!!!!!!
Grand hike in the Grand Canyon. Hike was beautiful but very tough coming back. The aid stations on the trail had water and bathrooms 10/10 recommend if you’re up for a challenge.
My brother and I flew out to the Grand Canyon to do a hike, but we didn’t really wanna do the super hard hikes. The rim hike seemed like a good compromise to get some distance in and enjoy the views along the edge of the Grand Canyon.
South Grand Canyon Rim trail Saw several big horn sheep and deer