A 6-mi (9.6-km) hiking trail runs west from the Powell Memorial to Hermit’s Rest, and a 2-mi (3.2-km) paved nature trail links the Powell Memorial with Grand Canyon Village.Įast from Mather Point, East Rim Drive is accessible by car for 25 mi (40 km), stopping first at aptly named Grandview Point, 12 mi (19.3 km) from Grand Canyon Village and a half-mile (0.8 km) north of the East Rim Drive.

The West Rim Drive, which was built for tourists by the Santa Fe Railroad in 1912, is closed to cars throughout summer, but frequent shuttle buses stop at all the viewpoints. A series of other viewpoints dot the drive before ending up at Hermit’s Rest, 7 mi (11.3 km) from Grand Canyon Village, where there are yet more stupendous views as well as restrooms, drinking fountains, and a gift shop. Powell Memorial at Hopi Point, from where you get great views of the Colorado River, which otherwise can be surprisingly hard to see. Beyond Grand Canyon Village, West Rim Drive winds west, leading past the J. The park visitors center and most of the food and lodging are located 2 mi (3.2 km) west at Grand Canyon Village. The great majority of the five million people who visit the Grand Canyon each year arrive at the South Rim and gaze down into the Grand Canyon from Mather Point, where the entrance road hits the edge of the gorge. A book like this one can do little more than hint at all there is to see and do, but if you have time for nothing else, take a quick hike down into the canyon to get a real sense of its truly awesome scale. Be sure to check it out from as many angles, and at as many different times of day, as you can.

The most amazing thing about the Grand Canyon, apart from its sheer size and incredible variety of shapes and colors, is how different it looks when viewed from different places (artist David Hockney has said that the Grand Canyon is the only place on Earth that makes you want to look in all directions-up, down, and side to side-at the same time). One of the wonders of the natural world, the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River-277 miles (455 km) long, more than a mile (1.6 km) deep, and anywhere from 5 to 18 mi (8 to 29 km) across-defies description, and if you’re anywhere nearby, you owe it to yourself to stop for a look. Route 66 Detour: Grand Canyon Desert View Watchtower.

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