Grand Canyon National Park Tours

The two rims are ten miles apart across the canyon and 215 miles apart by road, which is four and a half hours of driving. Choosing between them is the first real decision: the South Rim is open all year, has most of the lodging and viewpoints, and sits at about 7,000 feet; the North Rim is 1,000 feet higher, far quieter, and reachable only from roughly mid-May to mid-October, because the highway in closes with the snow.

Going below the rim is a different trip from looking at it. The Bright Angel and South Kaibab trails drop more than 4,000 feet to the river, and every step down is one to climb back out in the afternoon heat — the park asks people not to attempt the river and back in one day, and means it.

Summer on the South Rim is busy and the shuttle system carries most of the traffic. Late spring and September into October give the same access with far fewer people, and winter brings snow to the rim over red rock, which is the version most photographs are not of.

Entry reservation and timed-entry rules at the busiest western parks are reviewed each season; check the park’s own site for the year you are travelling.