North Rim Grand Canyon, arizona
Attractions Guide

The North Rim of the Grand Canyon is located in quite a remote location far from any cities, and as such it receives only 10% of the total visitors to Grand Canyon National Park each year, therefore it tends to be much less crowded. The northern side of the canyon features several incredibly beautiful viewpoints that are spread out along the rim.

It's highly recommended to see as many of these viewpoints as possible as they all offer unique views and perspectives over different parts of the massive Grand Canyon.

The first viewpoint to see is Bright Angel Point, which sits just beyond the Visitor Center and the canyon-side Grand Canyon Lodge. You can reach Bright Angel Point by hiking approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) round-trip from the parking lot.

Near the Visitor Center is the trailhead for the North Rim's most popular moderate hike, which descends down the canyon via the North Kaibab Trail, offering stunning scenery.

There's different options for how far you'd like to hike along this trail, with an 8.4 mile (13.5 km) round-trip hike to Roaring Springs (with a lot of elevation gain when returning), or the 3.7 mile (6 km) round-trip hike to Supai Tunnel. Both of these trails pass by the Coconino Overlook as well, which by itself can be reached by hiking a round-trip distance of about 1.4 miles (2.3 km) along the trail.

Afterwards you might like to drive along the rim to Cape Royal, where you can take in amazing panoramic views over a vast area of the canyon. The vast butte formation (called Wotans Throne) can be seen framed in front of the Grand Canyon at Cape Royal, and this is perhaps the most gorgeous view in the entire Grand Canyon National Park. Cape Royal is also an especially great spot to watch the sunset as the canyon turns red.

At Cape Royal you can also take in views from atop a natural arch, the Angels Window, which is one of the viewpoints along the 1.1 mile (1.8 km) round-trip trail to reach Cape Royal. There's also a small pull-off from the road before reaching the trailhead that you can view this arch from.

Walhalla Overlook

Cape Royal is located at the very end of Cape Royal Road. Along the way to Cape Royal are several excellent viewpoints, including the nearby Walhalla Overlook. Also nearby you might consider the 4 mile (6.4 km) round-trip hike to Cape Final, which travels through the forest before reaching the edge of the canyon, offering breathtaking views over a beautiful part of the Grand Canyon.

Roosevelt Point Overlook

Be sure to stop at the Roosevelt Point Overlook, which offers a very interesting perspective where you can see the landscape change from the rugged and deep Grand Canyon to vast flat deserts beyond the canyon.

Point Imperial

Also noteworthy is Point Imperial, which is located along Point Imperial Road (the northern fork in the road, with the south fork being Cape Royal Road). This viewpoint is similar to Roosevelt Point but offers a wider variety of scenery and more of the Grand Canyon.