Grand Canyon National Park - North Rim
Most people go to the Grand Canyon South Rim, but since we were already in Utah, we chose to visit the North Rim. It is less visited than the South Rim, but still very popular. The North Rim is at a higher elevation, a more northern location, cooler, and has lots of beautiful trees. Normally, the North Rim closes for winter and reopens on May 15. However, the harsh winter and heavy snowfall required opening day to be moved to June 2. We arrived at 7:00 am on opening day, so we were probably one of the first ten visitors of 2023! The Grand Canyon was something that I’ve wanted to see since I was a kid. I have to say that the North Rim exceeded my expectations. Someday, we will go to the South Rim, but I feel like I’ve already punched that ticket!
The Grand Canyon Lodge was not yet open because they had a water break as a result of the harsh winter, but we looked in the windows and could appreciate the grandeur of this old lodge.
People reserve these classic cabins more than a year in advance, but they were all closed due to the water break. I can only imagine the disappointed families, but we were able to tromp all over them since they were vacant. Charles and I picked out the one we want to reserve next time.
Bright Angel Point - The classic view of the canyon with a short hike near the Grand Canyon Lodge. Charles had to reach deep to conquer issues with heights. Don and I both got a little dizzy, but Julie was like a mountain goat. It was so worth it!
We drove the 22 mile scenic road, Cape Royal Road, and stopped at Point Imperial, Greenland Lake, Vista Encantata, Roosevelt Point, and finally Angels Window. Point Imperial is the highest point at the North Rim at 8803. On the Greenland Lake hike, we visited an old log cabin that was last used by cattle ranchers before the park opened in 1919 We had a nice picnic lunch at Vista Encantata and we took another challenging hike at Roosevelt Point (see video below). We had to scamper down and across a mini-causeway from the main rim to a sort of island in the sky. The kids and even Aspen did great climbing over the rocks. We could have gone further out, but Granny put an early end to the hike…it was getting a little dicey!
Angels Window - The scenic drive ended at Angels Window which has a very impressive lookout with a natural hole, or window, below the lookout platform.
