Hiking Grand Canyon

[alesis]

Hello-
We are considering hiking down to the Colorado River in GCNP. I saw the 3 main trails, and am wondering which you would take if you could do this once in your life. I see the South Rim trails are much shorter, but I don't want to sacrifice the experience. My kids are all avid hikers, and will be 5, 9 and 12 at the time of the hike. I plan on bringing a child backpack to give the 5 year old rests when he needs it. We will definitely camp overnight. I'm leaning toward one of the South Rim trails for mileage, but would like input from those of you who have hiked them.

Thanks in advance!

[alesis]

Thanks for all the advice guys. We'll heed it, and do this in a few years. We will still do a day trip to the North Rim area (from near Zion NP). Are there "must do" hikes/activities for a simple day trip there? Thanks in advance!

[crosscheck]

A lot of good advice from those that have hiked in the canyon. It has its own set of difficulties, heat, lack of water, steep descent and ascent, easier when hiking down, more difficult when tired while hiking up which is opposite to mountain hiking.

There are families who backpack in the canyon so it is doable but they are probably very experienced and very hiking fit. If you do a search, I think there are forums dedicated to hiking/backpacking in the GC and you may find better info to help you decide on your own situation regarding young family backpacking.

I would recommend day hiking part way down on the 2 corridor trails, Bright Angel and South Kaibab. Great views and you could gauge how ready your family is for what you are planning. The GC is spectacular and worth the effort of a hiking trip. It will always be there in the future if you think this is not the right time for the whole family to backpack to the river and back at this time.

Dave

Dave

[Lauren]

Ken is right on. These are strenuous and I also would second his advice to the fullest.

[aguablanco]

All of the advice you have received is both correct and useful and should be heeded. I will add that Bright Angel CG and Phantom Ranch are just about 10 miles and approximately 5000' below the rim. This is not a backpack for kids or adults that are not familiar with the GC. I have spent over 120 nights below the rim on rafting trips and we hike extensively. If you want an enjoyable day hike I suggest taking the Bright Angel trail down to what is called First Water, it is approximately 1 mile. Second Water is 2 miles. Either hike will be enjoyable and mostly stress free. Indian Gardens is 5 miles and, again, only for the experienced hiker.It is also the only place you can camp on the way to Phantom.Hope you have a great time.
RichH

[Fiverwheel]

Have you thought of the Havasupai trail leading to the Havasupai Falls It is on the South side of the GC a little West of the GC Village area. Strenuous but not as bad as Bright Angel.

[2gypsies1]

Another vote for now taking the young children to the bottom. Even as adults we found it very difficult (even going down) and we thought we trained for it! 🙂

I'd suggest you pack each backpack with plenty of water and go down no further than Devil's Garden. It's a beautiful cool spot to rest before the hot difficult climb up. Even going down 1/2 mile will give the kids and you an altogether perspective of the canyon. You don't have to go all the way down for this. Go down a short way on each trail on multiple days for a little variety. Even the Rim Trail is awesome, giving you many different views of the canyon and it's an easy one to do using the shuttle bus system. Get off and on whenever.

[Busskipper]

4runnerguy wrote:
First, 5 years old is pretty young for the length and physical stamina required for this endeavor. If you plan on camping, that's a lot of weight to haul. I don't think you could carry your 5 y.o. plus a full pack also. Remember, this is like climbing a 5000' high mountain, except you do the descending first and the climbing last in an extremely hot and dry environment.

You might consider staying in a cabin at Phantom Ranch instead of camping. They also will haul your gear to the bottom via burro if you are staying at the lodge (for an extra fee, of course). Check out the rates here.

Please be aware that this in no trip to take in the summer, especially with kids. Temps at Indian Garden (part way down) average 105 degrees and at Phantom Ranch the average is 115 degrees. The hike out is rigorous to say the least, and the sun is brutal at those temps. We've done this hike in late March and early April, and it was still in the mid-upper 90's at the bottom - plenty hot. With kids, this is best done as a spring break hike.

We've gone to the bottom a couple of times as day hikes (not recommended by the NPS, but we were in our 40's and in great shape). We took the earliest shuttle bus out to Yaki Point and hiked down the South Kaibab Trail (7 miles). After soaking our feet in Bright Angel Creek and having lunch, we hiked back up Bright Angel Trail (9.5 miles). I would recommend this trail for the ascent as you can refill your water at Indian Gardens. Seasonally there is also water available at 1 1/2 mile and 3 mile rest houses. Another nice thing about the Bright Angel trail as the return route is that the upper part is in the shade of the canyon rim in the afternoon, which makes hiking much cooler that going up via the full sun of South Kaibab Trail. We were on the trail for around 10 hours, including an hour or more at the bottom cooling off in the stream and eating.

One more positive about returning via the Bright Angel Trail: if you get back to the rim by 5:00 p.m., you can stop at the Bright Angel Fountain and have a triple scoop of what ever ice cream you want. You've already burned off all those calories climbing up from the bottom! And you'll still be hungry for dinner.

Again, don't underestimate this trail. We've climbed multiple 14,000' peaks here in Colorado and I used to do field work in the Nevada deserts, hiking 10 or more miles a day in the summer heat. Even I would say the hike is grueling. Maybe you should wait a few years until the kids are a little older.

Glad Ken chimed in - this is not on the list for Kids. It is the sort of thing I would suggest for High School'ers only, and they would need to train for it, it is not easy. It is HOT.

Think about a hike up the Narrows in Zion that will be fun and cooling,

JMHO,

[4runnerguy]

First, 5 years old is pretty young for the length and physical stamina required for this endeavor. If you plan on camping, that's a lot of weight to haul. I don't think you could carry your 5 y.o. plus a full pack also. Remember, this is like climbing a 5000' high mountain, except you do the descending first and the climbing last in an extremely hot and dry environment.

You might consider staying in a cabin at Phantom Ranch instead of camping. They also will haul your gear to the bottom via burro if you are staying at the lodge (for an extra fee, of course). Check out the rates here.

Please be aware that this in no trip to take in the summer, especially with kids. Temps at Indian Garden (part way down) average 105 degrees and at Phantom Ranch the average is 115 degrees. The hike out is rigorous to say the least, and the sun is brutal at those temps. We've done this hike in late March and early April, and it was still in the mid-upper 90's at the bottom - plenty hot. With kids, this is best done as a spring break hike.

We've gone to the bottom a couple of times as day hikes (not recommended by the NPS, but we were in our 40's and in great shape). We took the earliest shuttle bus out to Yaki Point and hiked down the South Kaibab Trail (7 miles). After soaking our feet in Bright Angel Creek and having lunch, we hiked back up Bright Angel Trail (9.5 miles). I would recommend this trail for the ascent as you can refill your water at Indian Gardens. Seasonally there is also water available at 1 1/2 mile and 3 mile rest houses. Another nice thing about the Bright Angel trail as the return route is that the upper part is in the shade of the canyon rim in the afternoon, which makes hiking much cooler that going up via the full sun of South Kaibab Trail. We were on the trail for around 10 hours, including an hour or more at the bottom cooling off in the stream and eating.

One more positive about returning via the Bright Angel Trail: if you get back to the rim by 5:00 p.m., you can stop at the Bright Angel Fountain and have a triple scoop of what ever ice cream you want. You've already burned off all those calories climbing up from the bottom! And you'll still be hungry for dinner.

Again, don't underestimate this trail. We've climbed multiple 14,000' peaks here in Colorado and I used to do field work in the Nevada deserts, hiking 10 or more miles a day in the summer heat. Even I would say the hike is grueling. Maybe you should wait a few years until the kids are a little older.

[2chiefsRus]

We have hiked the Grand Canyon twice. Both times we hiked from the south rim, down on the South Kaibab, spent the night at Phantom Ranch and then hiked out the Bright Angel trail the next day.

Hiking to the Colorado river from the north rim is more problematic because the season that the north rim is open is so limited. By the time the north rim is open, the seven miles at the bottom of the canyon is going to be very hot. The north rim trail to the river is app 14 miles total; seven miles down and seven miles across the bottom of the canyon.

Hiking at that elevation is entirely different than flat country hiking. On the Bright angel trail, you will be hiking a vertical mile. Each of the last three miles has a 1000 ft elevation gain per mile. You are working the hardest at the end of the hike and the air is getting thinner as you go up.

If you haven't already done so, check out the National Park website at www.nps.gov/grca. Very good information there.

[BarryG20]

I hiked down to the river and back in the same day in May of 93. The South Kaibab trail was my route. It is not for the faint of heart. Not that it is scary it is just flat out a hard hike and I am an avid hiker. It is approx. 6 miles down and 6 miles back up. The down is not as easy as it sounds and the up is a lot harder than it sounds. There are parts where the steepness is not as great as other parts but the uphill return portion is steep uphill all the way. The inner gorge is very steep.
My wife and I just hiked down it part way this past mid October. It was 96 deg at Skeleton point (3 miles down)and upper sixties on the rim. There is no water on the South Kaibab trail and very little shade.
I have hiked the Bright Angel trail down to Indian Gardens and on another occasion out to Plateau point. It is not much better it is farther down to the river by a couple miles though I have not taken it all the way to the river. There is water along that trail at several rest areas. Shade is also hard to come by especially once you get down a couple miles. It is more crowded than the South Kaibab as well

When I took the South Kaibab trail down I left at sun up and did not get back to my car until after 9pm it was almost dark. I left to head back up at 10am. I thought I was in good shape but apparently not since it took me 11 hours to get back up six miles.

The South Kaibab trail in my estimation is a much prettier trail to use as you can see much more of the canyon while on it. The Bright Angel is mostly in a major side canyon and you don't get as good views from it though it is still scenic but the other is much better in that regard.

I have grand children that I would love to take there but no way are they going to make it yet. I would suggest doing a portion of either one and see how they do before committing them to such a major undertaking. If you plan on camping you will be carrying a lot of gear. How are you going to carry the youngest at the same time if need be? Minimum a gallon of water for each person on the South Kaibab, you might get away with less on the Bright Angel as there are usually some places to get water but you better check to make sure they are working before heading down as they don't always work.

Not trying to be a naysayer as you are probably fine it is the younger kids who might have the issue and you cant carry them and all the gear.