The Grand Canyon Adventure: North Rim
The “Grand Canyon”…or as Chris would ask other random park visitors just to be funny, “…so is this the small canyon? Where’s the big one?” 🙂 They all eat it up and think he’s the funniest guy around and so do I.
What can I say except for breathtaking views coupled with classic rustic buildings? It’s a dream at whopping 8,200 ft above sea level. This time, we went to the North Rim and interesting fact; only 10% of the Grand Canyon Park Visitors actually see the North Rim. Most tourists go to the South Rim since it’s a bit more accessible for Californians, Arizonians, and Nevadans. I guess being from Utah we get lucky with the North Rim as our closet access. The temperature was slight crisp at 58 degrees as we only had about 5 hours at the Park. Here’s what we did…
The Lodge
Probably my favorite part of the Grand Canyon and just about every other National Park we have visited. The Grand Canyon Lodge is a prime example of classic, rustic mountain architecture. We wandered around for a bit and had lunch at the restaurant. The atmosphere and views are really the best part of this dining experience and the food is pretty good too.
Bright Angel Point
It was a short and relatively easy hike with views at every turn. The trailhead is right next to the lodge and visitor’s center, so it’s pretty much a must-see hike. Don’t feel bad if you’re huffing and puffing at the very end of this one on your way back to the lodge. It a bit steep and you are also up at 8,000 ft above sea level.
Cape Royal and Angels Window
About 30 minutes from the Visitor’s Center, Chris and I decided this scenic drive was one of our favorite parts of the day. We stopped at a couple of outlooks along the way including the Vista Encantada and the Walhalla ruins. We ended with an easy hike (walk) on the Cape Royal trail that gave a different and yet every bit as magnificent view as we saw at Bright Angel Point. We met up with a ranger there, who had this neat frame for touristy picture taking. Talk about a great job…talking, answering questions and taking pictures of people while standing above such a breathtaking backdrop!
Do you have any Grand Canyon North Rim adventures we didn’t see? What was your favorite part of the Grand Canyon?
