Top Grand Canyon Trails: 5, North Kaibab Trail

The North Kaibab Trail is the longest path starting in the main North Rim and South Rim areas (14 miles), and has the biggest elevation change, over one mile. Hence the round trip is almost never done in one day; the majority of people hiking the full distance spend at least one night camping, at Phantom Ranch. The first third of the trail makes a good, if still strenuous day trip, descending steeply down a side canyon and passing beneath Roaring Springs, a powerful water source. The remaining two thirds of the hike are much less steep, as the path follows the long drainage of Bright Angel Creek, the last few miles of which flow through a narrow, twisting gorge.

Length 14 miles (22.5 km), elevation change 5,780 feet (1,762 meters)

Trail description