Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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Fe Railroad, Hermit Camp was a popular tourist destination between 1911 and 1930
and provided cabins and tents.
The final stop on Hermit Road is at
Hermit's Rest,
which was named for Louis
Boucher, a prospector who came to the canyon in the 1890s and was known as the Her-
mit. The log-and-stone Hermit's Rest building, designed by Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter
and built in 1914, is on the National Register of Historic Places and is one of the most
fascinating structures in the park. With its snack bar, it makes a great place to linger while
you soak up a bit of park history. The steep Hermit Trail, which leads down into the
canyon, begins just past Hermit's Rest.
HIKING THE CANYON
No visit to the canyon is complete without journeying below the rim on one of the park's
hiking trails. Gazing up at all those thousands of feet of vertical rock walls provides a very
different perspective than that from atop the rim. Should you venture far below the rim,
you also stand a chance of seeing fossils, old mines, petroglyphs, wildflowers, and wild-
life. However, because of the Grand Canyon's popularity, the park's main hiking trails are
usually crowded.
That said, there is no better way to see the canyon than on foot (my apologies to the
mules), and a hike down into the canyon will likely be the highlight of your visit. The
Grand Canyon offers some of the most rugged and strenuous hiking anywhere in the
United States, and for this reason anyone attempting even a short walk should be well
prepared. Each year, injuries and fatalities are suffered by day hikers who set out without
sturdy footgear or without food and adequate amounts of water. Even a 30-minute hike
in summer can dehydrate you, and a long hike in the heat can necessitate drinking more
than a gallon of water. So, carry and drink at least 2 quarts (2 liters) of water if you go
for a day hike during the summer. Don't attempt to hike from the rim to the Colorado
River and back in a day; there are plenty of hikers who have tried this and died. Also
remember that mules have the right of way.
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Day Hikes
There are no loop trails on the South Rim, but the vastly different scenery in every direc-
tion makes out-and-back hikes here as interesting as any loop trail could be. The only
problem is that instead of starting out by slogging up a steep mountain, you let gravity
assist you in hiking down into the canyon. With little negative reinforcement and few
natural turnaround destinations, it is easy to hike so far that the return trip back up the
trail becomes an arduous death march. Turn around
before
you become tired. On the
canyon rim, the only hiking trail is the Rim Trail, while the Bright Angel, South Kaibab,
Grandview, and Hermit trails all head down into the canyon.
For an easy, flat hike, your main option is the
Rim Trail,
which stretches from Pipe
Creek Vista east of Grand Canyon Village to Hermit's Rest, 8 miles west of the village.
Around 5 miles of this trail are paved, and the portion that passes through Grand Can-
yon Village is always the most crowded stretch of trail in the park. To the west of the
village, after the pavement ends, the Rim Trail leads another 6.8 miles out to Hermit's
Rest. For most of this distance, the trail follows Hermit Road, which means you'll have
to deal with traffic noise (mostly from shuttle buses). To get the most enjoyment out of
a hike along this stretch, I like to head out as early in the morning as possible (to avoid
the crowds) and get off at the Abyss shuttle stop. From here it's a 4-mile hike to Hermit's
Rest; for more than half of this distance, the trail isn't as close to the road as it is at the
Grand Canyon Village end of the route. Plus, Hermit's Rest makes a great place to rest,
