Some who rushed a lot more than we did were in pretty bad shape at the end. Others who were fitter than us felt totally fine. So, I would recommend having at least a moderate level of fitness if you plan to do the whole hike. Being surrounded by the Grand Canyon is a completely different experience from seeing it from above. As mentioned earlier, you should not attempt to hike the Bright Angel Trail in one day from the rim to the river and back, especially in the summer.
There are a few different options:. Take a river trip down the canyon. They either start at the beginning of the canyon and end at Phantom Ranch, in which case you will end up hiking up the Bright Angel Trail as I did, or they start at Phantom Ranch, in which case you will be doing this Grand Canyon hike from the rim to the bottom. Either option means you do the whole hike once only. This is what I did, and it meant that I got to overnight in Phantom Ranch without needing to try and get a reservation the boat company did that for me , and I hiked up.
Many people prefer hiking down, but I find that hurts my knees, so I would rather take my time and hike up. Another bonus — our luggage was carried up by mule, so we only carried our day pack with water, lunch and sunscreen. Note, you can also ride a mule to Phantom Ranch instead of hiking. Unless you are used to riding horses or mules , I do NOT recommend this.
I did a mule ride at the top of the canyon only, and after an hour, I was in so much pain I would have done anything to get off.
Hiking is MUCH better! Then hiking up the Bright Angel Trail the next day. Or hiking down or up the South Kaibab Trail to mix it up. If you go all the way down, you WILL need to overnight on the canyon. Phantom Ranch is extremely popular and there is a lottery system to get a reservation.
Note that it can take twice as long to hike up as it did to hike down. Hike part of the trail only. Taking the Bright Angel Trail to Indian Garden, which is half-way down, is the furthest recommended for a one-day hike.
If you just want a more relaxing but still a workout! Note that the trail is shared by mules. We only passed one mule train when we did the hike in May, but you may encounter more.
Stay well away from the mules as they pass. This Complete Guide should be all you need for your Grand Canyon trip, but if you are travelling to other areas in the US Southwest, buy the Lonely Planet for extra information. When you are ready for your trip, check out my Essential Packing List for general ideas and my Packing List for Hiking. Do you have any stories of the Grand Canyon? Join my private Facebook group National Parks Collectors and comment and let me know.
If you liked this post, please share the love and Pin it to your Grand Canyon and Hikes boards for later! James Ian has traveled to 82 countries and all 7 continents.
There is no cost to you. Grand Canyon hikes are deceiving. So even if you are comfortable hiking for miles, you need to be prepared to hike over 3, feet on the way back out, after having hiked over 6 miles down. The best training is to hike a mile mountain trail with at least 3, feet of climbing.
But if you exercise regularly and are in good shape, you can approximate the effort by using a stair machine or treadmill. So dial in that gradient and time into your machine and give it a try.
Most folks go down at between mph, and climb back out between mph. The Bright Angel trail is what the Parks Service calls a corridor trail. The corridor trails are heavily used and actively maintained. The Bright Angel Trail is the most used trail in the park. If you only hike in fair weather and a touchscreen is fine, or just want a solid tool, I highly recommend downloading the smartphone app, Gaia GPS.
You can also check for wildfires, weather, snow, and choose from dozens of map types with a premium membership HikingGuy readers get a big discount here.
Note that I also carry a paper map with me in case the phone dies or gets smashed. For over a century ,mules have been hauling gear, supplies, and people in and out of the Grand Canyon. Right behind the Bright Angel Trailhead is a mule pen used on the trail. These mules take people down to Indian Garden for a day trip and to Phantom Ranch for an overnight trip.
Mule trips are very popular, can be booked 15 months in advance, and fill up quickly. As a hiker on the Bright Angel Trail, the mules can be a pain. Keep your hands to yourself. My tip is to leave at sunrise before the first mules leave. By the time you head back up from Indian Garden, you should pass them head-on, which is much better than getting stuck behind them on the climb out.
The Bright Angel Trail has been used for centuries to access the reliable water source at Indian Garden. The trail is named after the Bright Angel Fault , which provided a way to climb down the canyon walls to the water. When prospectors arrived here in the s, native Havasupai were actively using the route and planting crops at Indian Garden.
In the s, Ralph Cameron arrived and started mining in the area. The railroad arrived at the Grand Canyon, and he realized that tourism was more profitable than mining. His claims to the area were dubious, and he was in a constant battle with the government over the trail and land.
Even after the Grand Canyon became a National Park in , he still fought against giving up control. Plus, the views on this part of the Bright Angel Trail are nothing special, so we took very few photos. The final four miles on the Bright Angel Trail take the longest. At the end of the hike, my Garmin watch told me that I just climbed floors.
Imagine doing that almost 9 times. In , we hiked Half Dome in Yosemite as a day hike. The Half Dome hike is roughly the same distance but has slightly more elevation gain than this rim-to-rim hike. Even so, I say that this hike is slightly more difficult. By the time you get to the Colorado River your legs are already feeling fatigued. Those same muscles now have to get you back up to the rim.
This is a true test of your endurance and you need to come prepared. Essentially, the Tonto Trail is a short cut. You will not hike all of the way down to the Colorado River, but this is an option to shorten this loop. This hike is about 13 miles long. If you are hiking the South Kaibab and Bright Angel Trail in one day, you need to be a very fit and fast hiker.
Before doing this hike, I was doing long runs of 8 miles with shorter runs during the week. I also swim and bike several days a week.
Tyler runs Track and Cross Country and he has a very high level of physical fitness. Honestly, I struggled to keep up with him. You also need to have hiking experience. There are no technical sections and the trail is so well marked that it would be almost impossible to lose your way, but it helps to have experience doing big climbs and big descents.
This is not a good hike for beginners since it covers such a long distance with so much elevation change. If you plan to do this hike, you need to be in great physical shape. You should be able to walk 10 miles while wearing a backpack with little difficulty. I also recommend spending some time on a Stairmaster. I did not do this but I think it would help a lot, especially during the final three miles of the Bright Angel Trail.
The best months to do this are in the Spring and Fall. Temperatures are pleasant and just as long as you are not here on a holiday weekend, crowds should be low. The summer is the worst time to attempt this as a day hike. Soaring daytime temperatures can create a dangerous situation.
Your water demands will be very high and you run the risk of getting heat exhaustion or even heat stroke. Winter can be a great time to do this hike but snow can make the trails slippery and potentially create a dangerous situation. When we did this in December, there was some snow and ice on the first section of the South Kaibab Trail. If we did this again, I think that November would be a great time to do this hike. Crowds will be low aside from the days around Thanksgiving. And you have more daylight than during the winter months.
I also wear a Garmin Fenix 5s watch. This is one of my favorite gadgets. While hiking, I had instant access to all kinds of numbers like altitude, heart rate, time and distance. It even shows the hiking trail and our location on a map. If you are new to hiking or are curious about what you should bring on a hike, check out our Hiking Gear Guide. Find out what we carry in our day packs and what we wear on the trails.
You can hike these trails in either order, but there are several good reasons to hike down the South Kaibab Trail and up the Bright Angel Trail. By starting on the South Kaibab Trail, you eliminate a nice chunk of climbing from the hike. With less elevation gain and a slightly longer trail, the hike up Bright Angel is easier than South Kaibab. There is no potable water on the South Kaibab Trail. If you are doing this during the warmer months, you will need to carry every drop of water with you if you plan to hike up the South Kaibab Trail.
However, on the Bright Angel Trail, there are a handful of rest houses strategically placed on the trail where you can refill your water bottle. Start early in the day. This will give you the maximum amount of daylight. And if you are here when the weather is warm, you can knock out a portion of the hike before the temperatures really heat up. Eat frequently. Tyler and I ate a snack roughly every hour to hour and a half while hiking.
This steady supply of calories kept us fueled up for the final climb. Eat salty snacks and drink plenty of fluids to stay hydrated. There is potable water on the Bright Angel Trail but I have heard that it is not always available.
You can get updated information about the available water sources in the Visitor Center the day before your hike. We stayed at The Grand Hotel in Tusayan. It is the highest rated hotel in the area. The hotel looks impressive from the outside and the lobby is very nice but the rooms are nothing special. On Booking. However, the rooms are clean and quiet and fit our needs.
We have two articles about the rim-to-rim hike. The first article covers the hike from start to finish. The second article covers the logistics such as what to pack, how to train, how to arrange the shuttle, doing the hike in one day or in multiple days, and more. Did we miss anything? If you have questions or want to share your experience, comment below! Planning a trip to Arizona? Read all of our articles in our Arizona Travel Guide. Note: This post contains affiliate links.
When you make a purchase using one of these affiliate links, we get paid a small commission at no extra cost to you. Great info, very tempting hike. As an extra precaution: if it gets dark, can you still hike safely the last miles of Bright Angel Trail?
Yes, it is safe to hike in the dark, but each hiker will need a headlamp. The trail is very easy to follow but it is rough with steps so you need a good light source to illuminate the path. Cheers, Julie. I just learned about the Tonto Trail shortcut. Maybe you want to add a note about it, I think it can be very usefull alternative for hikers not fit to do this trek in one day and with time allowance to overnight in the Canyon. Just my opinion of course. Thanks for the suggestion. It is an option to cut the hike short but still go below the rim.
Julie, this is the most inclusive article I have read on Rim to River to Rim in one day. So much useful information on the entire experience.
I found it most helpful and includes some great links as well such as shuttle schedules, head lamps, etc. A group of 4 of us are planning this hike for November I shared it with the other 3. Thanks so much. Hey, i did this hike Bright Angel Trial to Phantom Ranche and back up in one day with my father a month after i got 17 years old.
We started about 4 pm and finished at am as it was mid July and Temperatures were peaking. You will sweat heavily, therefore you also need essential nutrients to fuel your body to keep going. I will never forget it and it was the most beautiful experience I ever made, nonetheless the pain and will you have to give into it.
Sorry if my English was bad im from Germany, i wish you all the best and good look with hiking the trial, also i need to mention again that my experience is manipulated by the fact we did it in Mid July, and it was extremly hot that day, as i know a lot of people would do it in Spring or Fall. Greetings from Germany keep it up!
This is so informative, just like your other blogs I used your half dome guide last year and it really provided some very useful info for us , thank you for posting! I am wondering, where did you park? When we did this, just two of us did the hike me and Tyler so Tim dropped us off and picked us up. Just double check the shuttle times for your visit. I backpacked in July , one day down the SKT, 3 days at bright angel campground then 2 days.
Thank you for this beautiful post Julie. My husband and I did this one-day hike some 8 years ago, and we plan to do it again this year. Your post is a very good reminder on what we experienced in this hike. Thank you for providing this great info! We took the 6am Hiker Express bus from the Backcountry Office. Since the buses are currently only taking 15 people per bus, we were concerned that we may have to wait for the 7am bus, but when the bus arrived the driver let us know that they were going to send over 2 more buses.
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