When we talk about the huge vastness of Grand Canyon, in generic sense we refer to the viewpoints of the south rim of Grand Canyon national park. Every year thousands of people come to visit this wonder from all over the world in order to enjoy the vastness. North rim is the one less travelled and only visited by 10% of the total visitors. From the top of the canyon, it’s almost impossible to see the bottom of this wind and water curved canyon. Those who are like us, want to enjoy this remarkable canyon not only from the top but also from the bottom, go for a worthwhile trip from rim to rim or rim to river to rim or many other trails. Rim to rim and the rim-to-river-to-rim are the corridor trails that are mostly visited whereas the other trails are less crowded but require route finding capability and proper knowledge about the trails. North Kaibab, South Kaibab and Bright Angel trails are mainly known as the Corridor trails of Grand Canyon National Park. When we are talking about rim to rim, it’s either North Kaibab to South Kaibab or North Kaibab to Bright Angel trail. Some people do the rim-to-rim hike as day hike. But unless you are extremely fit and know about your capabilities, it is recommended to stay at least one night below the rim. The rim to river to rim hike refers to the hike that starts and finishes on the south rim. You can choose either of the south Kaibab and Bright Angel trail as your starting or finishing point. We were really fortunate to secure a permit of Bright Angel Campground last May. But due to the Covid situation, North rim closure was extended for a longer period of time and we had to change the plan. Instead of doing rim to rim hike, we did rim to river to rim hike aka South Kaibab to Bright Angel trail. I am going to describe the whole process, what to expect and what not to in a very concise format. Hope this will help.
What is the best time? If you want to do rim to rim, check for the dates of North rim closure. North rim generally opens on May 15 and you cannot reach by vehicle before that. Road can be closed anytime after October 15, depending on the weather condition.
Where to stay If you are going to stay below the rim, you have two options. Either you can stay in any of the campground (which requires backcountry permit) or you can stay at Phantom Ranch (reservations required). Along the Corridor trail, there are three campgrounds: Cottonwood Campground (CCG), Bright Angel Campground (CBG) and Indian Garden Campground (CIG), where you can spend up to two consecutive or non-consecutive nights per campground per hike. From November 15 to February 28, you can stay up to four nights per hike. These three campgrounds have campsites first come first served basis (with permit) and each of the campsites has a picnic table, pack pole and metal food storage where you can store the food, toiletries and plastics. If you plan to stay three nights, you can choose three of these for one night. But you want to spend only one night, in my opinion you should go for Bright Angel campground, located near the Bright Angel creek.
Those who do not want to camp but still want to stay at the bottom of Grand Canyon can go for Phantom Ranch lotter application. As this is the only lodging below the canyon rim, the demand is high.
How to apply for a permit and reservations? If you want to do any of the corridor trail as a day hike, you don’t need any permit. But if you are backpacking and going to stay below the rim, you have to apply for a permit four months in advance. You have to print the form, fill it up and either fax it or mail it. Important, ‘mail it’ does not mean email. The mailing address is given in the first page of the form. Backcountry permits can be found here:
Backcountry Permit – Grand Canyon National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)
If you could not secure a permit through the lottery, still want to get one for Corridor Campgrounds? Look for the last-minute walk-up permits available at the South rim or North rim Backcountry Information Center. Check out the website for details.
To apply for the Phantom Ranch reservation lottery, you have to apply more than fourteen months prior to your arrival date. Though getting a reservation can be really hard now a days. Go through the details and apply here if you want to secure a reservation:
Phantom Ranch Lottery (grandcanyonlodges.com)
Parking: You can park your vehicle near the backcountry office and take the bus to the trailhead (for south rim). If you plan to do north rim to south rim, the easier way is to park in the backcountry parking lot, take the shuttle to North rim. You can do the vice versa if you want to do the alternate route. In that way, you don’t make another couple of hours of bus journey after a long ascending hike.
I will post the details of the hike on a later post. For now, if you think you are adamant enough, apply for the permit, train yourself and plan for the hike in details. Remember, both hikes are really strenuous. You need to be prepared so that you can enjoy to the fullest. Believe me, when you will reach to the bottom of the Canyon, you will feel a certain peace, a certain profound meaning of happiness that can be described in words.
Source:
Grand Canyon’s corridor trail system: Linking the past, present, and future (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)
Backcountry Trails and Use Areas – Grand Canyon National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)