Grand Canyon’s North Rim is remotely satisfying

Posted by Jeff on Aug 1, 2015 @ 2:50 pm in Conservation | 0 comments | Last modified: August 1, 2015

These are sights you do not forget, no need for a smartphone or GoPro. The Grand Canyon constantly surprises and delights.

And it is at the North Rim, the less-visited but no less sublime national park outpost, where you can experience the Grand Canyon in its purest form – unless, of course, you have the temerity and back-country skills to camp out for days on the canyon floor.

Its remoteness is its appeal. Though the touristic hordes that gather each day at Mather Point on the South Rim can actually see the North Rim in the distance – it is, after all, only a 10-mile flight away for a red-tailed hawk – it’s a mind-numbing, often winding, 215-mile trip via automobile. But, once you arrive, there is little to distract you from an immersion in nature. Unlike the South Rim, there are no shuttle buses to ferry you to observation points, no swooping West Rim helicopter rides into the canyon, no railroad depot or a town with fast-food options just outside the park entrance.

Here, it’s just you and the elements. Sure, there is a lodge, literally at the end of the road, where you can spend the night.

But that’s it, pretty much. The rest is up to you.

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