Best scenic route from Page, AZ to Grand Canyon North Rim

We have never used route 89 from Page to Kanab, but have used routes 89 and 89A to Jacob Lake and then down route 67 to the North Rim. If you take 89A, there is a parking area on the right just after crossing the Navajo Bridge. You can walk out on the original bridge to watch rafters on the Colorado River below. 89A then follows along the base of the scenic Vermillion Cliffs before beginning a climb up to Jacob Lake, which is the junction with route 67. There is a nice forest service campground on the right just past the Jacob Lake Inn and Kaibab Camper Village with hookups a mile or less down 67. Good breakfast at the Jacob lake Inn. Demotte Forest Service campground is further down 67 shortly before the NP entrance station.

Highly recommend taking the Cape Royal Road (use the tow vehicle due to length limit) to both Cape Royal and Point Imperial. A very scenic drive. On a clear day Navajo Mountain north of Page is visible from Point Imperial.

Marble Canyon is stunningly beautiful.

I usually overnight at the Jacob Lake USFS campground--high elevation (8K ft) so nice and cool.

There are condors at the Navajo Bridge

Quick, order Mountain Directory West for a good resource. Our copy shows a 6% grade southbound between Page and Bitter Springs.
We try to avoid any road marked `scenic' on the map when towing.

Another vote for taking 89A up to the Jacob Lake Campground and then down to the North Rim. You pick up 89A a short drive south from Page on 89 and the road is fine and the scenery just keeps getting better and better the farther you go.

Yes it is a climb up to the Jacob Lake CG but nothing the OP or just about anyone else with a decent rig can't handle. The North Rim is a little over 9K' so you will be climbing most of the way to the Rim. Reservations at a North Rim CG are a very good idea as it is a short season and as noted leaving the TT at Jacob Lake and driving down to the Rim is a good way to go {worked well for us when we had our 22' TT}.

We stop at the JL CG on our way to Zion from Tucson. JL is a full day but Zion is only a couple of hours from the CG and all the roads are fine.

:C

89A is definitely the more scenic - roads that we seek out. :) If you're ready for a stop, Lee's Ferry campground is very nice on the river.

Bobbo wrote:
We are leaving in a couple of weeks for a 6 week trip out west. One of the routes we are considering is the route from Page, AZ to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

We are considering HWY 89 to Kanab, UT then south on 89A and 67.

We are also considering HWY 89A to Bitter Springs, then to Marble Canyon, then over to 67 and south.

We will be towing a 24' TT if that factors in. We are wanting the most scenic route that is compatible with towing our TT with us.

AZ 89A to Bitter Springs, Navajo Bridge, Marble Canyon, Jacob Lake, then AZ 67 to the North Rim. Definitely the way to go.

Drove that last October for the final week for the North Rim Campground. Steady climb out of Page, then levels off, then a descent to Bitter Springs. Not much there. On to Navajo Bridge and Marble Canyon area. Rolling countryside with something of a downhill to Navajo Bridge (which is worth stopping to see), then a steady uphill to the entrance of Vermillion Cliffs NM. Then it's a dramatic climb and scenery change up to Jacob Lake. Once there, the drive from Jacob Lake to the North Rim area is primarily on a plateau.

Did that with a 25 footer towed by a 07 GMC Sierra SLE 3500 dually. Make sure you have a full tank of fuel (gas or diesel) before leaving Page. There's very few fuel opportunities along the way. As I recall, there was a place in the area of Marble Canyon and that was pretty much it until Jacob Lake. There's also fuel inside the North Rim at the CG there. It was substantially more expensive than the fuel outside the park at Kaibob Lodge area.

The drive itself was beautiful if you like high desert and lots of endless vistas. The change heading up to Jacob Lake was quite stark, with forest areas not unlike what I'm accustomed to in Colorado about halfway up the climb. It's not a difficult drive, but for me, it was tiring. It's a lot longer than it appears on the maps. Even though tiring, it was well worth it. I'd do it again for sure. The North Rim CG was worth it; glad we had reservations though, it was full even for the last week of operation.

Thom02099 wrote:

Bobbo wrote:
We are leaving in a couple of weeks for a 6 week trip out west. One of the routes we are considering is the route from Page, AZ to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

We are considering HWY 89 to Kanab, UT then south on 89A and 67.

We are also considering HWY 89A to Bitter Springs, then to Marble Canyon, then over to 67 and south.

We will be towing a 24' TT if that factors in. We are wanting the most scenic route that is compatible with towing our TT with us.

AZ 89A to Bitter Springs, Navajo Bridge, Marble Canyon, Jacob Lake, then AZ 67 to the North Rim. Definitely the way to go.

Drove that last October for the final week for the North Rim Campground. Steady climb out of Page, then levels off, then a descent to Bitter Springs. Not much there. On to Navajo Bridge and Marble Canyon area. Rolling countryside with something of a downhill to Navajo Bridge (which is worth stopping to see), then a steady uphill to the entrance of Vermillion Cliffs NM. Then it's a dramatic climb and scenery change up to Jacob Lake. Once there, the drive from Jacob Lake to the North Rim area is primarily on a plateau.

Did that with a 25 footer towed by a 07 GMC Sierra SLE 3500 dually. Make sure you have a full tank of fuel (gas or diesel) before leaving Page. There's very few fuel opportunities along the way. As I recall, there was a place in the area of Marble Canyon and that was pretty much it until Jacob Lake. There's also fuel inside the North Rim at the CG there. It was substantially more expensive than the fuel outside the park at Kaibob Lodge area.

The drive itself was beautiful if you like high desert and lots of endless vistas. The change heading up to Jacob Lake was quite stark, with forest areas not unlike what I'm accustomed to in Colorado about halfway up the climb. It's not a difficult drive, but for me, it was tiring. It's a lot longer than it appears on the maps. Even though tiring, it was well worth it. I'd do it again for sure. The North Rim CG was worth it; glad we had reservations though, it was full even for the last week of operation.

^^^^^Great Write Up^^^^^

Thanks Thom,

Late October and Even November before the snow closes the Road and the CG is Closed, are great times to Visit.

JMHO.

OP here. Thanks everyone. DW will be pleased with this information.