On my Best of the National Park tour with Adventure Bus, we visited the North Rim of the canyon which has a 1,000’ higher elevation and only 10% of the crowds than that of the South Rim. The higher elevation makes for cooler temperatures and affords stunning views across the canyon – all with no crowds! We woke up early to watch a spectacular sunrise and were amazed at how the canyon comes to life as the sun illuminates the multi-colored layers of rock exposed by millions of years of erosion.

 

After viewing the sunrise and watching the hummingbirds, we went back to the bus for yet another awesome breakfast and to hear our options for the day which were quite varied. We could spend the day walking the trails along the rim, take a hike down into the canyon, enjoy a ½ day mule ride into the canyon, or just relax on the porch of the beautiful stone and timber lodge which is perched on the edge of the rim and take in the view. I chose to walk the Transept Trail with some others and we spent our time taking photos from the rim. We then came across the General Store in the North Rim campground where we bought some snacks and souvenirs. From there we headed back via the Bridle Trail, had a delicious lunch in the North Rim Lodge and lingered on the porch taking in the enormous expanse of the canyon until it was time to move on to our next destination.