Grand Canyon Rim to Rim Map Poster

The Grand Canyon Rim to Rim is a 24 mi (38 km) crossing of Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, from the North Rim down to the Colorado River and up to the South Rim. From the North Kaibab Trailhead at 8,241 ft (2,512 m), the trail drops through the Supai Tunnel, past Roaring Springs and along Bright Angel Creek to Phantom Ranch and the Colorado river at about 2,480 ft (756 m). It climbs out on the Bright Angel Trail past Havasupai Gardens, or on the steeper South Kaibab Trail, about 21 mi (34 km) in all.

It can be walked in either direction. Going north to south means about 4,500 ft (1,370 m) of climbing and 6,000 ft (1,830 m) of descent; going south to north turns those around. Many people take two or three days and camp in the canyon, and some cross in one long day. The North Rim's short season and the summer heat at the bottom make spring and fall the usual times to go.

Every mile down is also a step back in time. The limestone at the rim is about 270 million years old, while the dark Vishnu Schist beside the river is close to two billion. Between them lie the white Coconino Sandstone, the great Redwall cliff and the Great Unconformity, a gap of more than a billion years in the rock record. The Colorado River did the carving; we turned it into a Grand Canyon Rim to Rim map poster.