The Grand Canyon Rim Trail extends over 10 miles of the South Rim from South Kaibab Trail Head to Hermits Rest, which means that it is easily reachable from almost every major tourist stop on the South side. We got on from Mather Point which is just a short walk from the South Rim Visitor’s Center. You could get on pretty easily from any parking lot on the South Rim.

Obviously you probably won’t hike the entire Rim Trail. Although that would be awesome, we certainly did not. But even just a short way along it will afford you amazing and changing views of the Grand Canyon.

The Rim Trail is a paved flat path. It is accessible for strollers and wheelchairs from several parking lots, including Mather Point. From the trail you can see the Grand Canyon well enough, but all the way along it you can walk out on outcroppings of the canyon’s edge to get truly spectacular views. Many of our favorite portions of our Grand Canyon music video were shot along the rim trail.

We walked from Mather Point up to the geology museum. This is a great hike to do with a family because it is short and beautiful and the geology museum provides a nice rest point with restrooms and a chance to learn more about the geology of this wonder. It is also easier to park at the main visitor’s center than at the geology museum. Along the trail itself you get a chance to touch rocks from different layers of the canyon, I tried to touch them all. The trail also attempts to help children and adults grasp the enormity of geological time by placing year markers along it, in the millions of years! It is an awesome chance to be able to place all this information in context since the Grand Canyon is right there in front of you displaying it.

Sum Up:
The Rim Trail is a great activity for any Grand Canyon visitors. It is especially great for those who cannot do a below the rim hike. I imagine that it can get pretty crowded some days, but when we were there it was pretty quite. You can find out more about it here.