It is no secret to followers of this blog or our podcast that I love the Grand Canyon. In our episode on the Best of 2018 I named the North Rim of the Grand Canyon as my favorite National Park of the year. Bright Angel Point is the best way to get the quintessential view of the Grand Canyon from the North Rim.
How to Get to Bright Angel Point
While the Grand Canyon is technically just one very large National Park, the North Rim and the South Rim pretty much function and feel like two separate parks. And while they may not be separated by much distance on a map, you have to remember that Grand Canyon is between them, so unless you are a rim to rim hiker you are going to have to drive quite a ways between the two of them to get around the Grand Canyon. This is why we have done them on separate trips.
The North Rim is only accessible via Highway 67 coming from Jacob Lake (where we stayed while we were there). After you enter the park you will eventually reach a fork in the road where you want to stay right (toward the visitor center and the Kaibab Plateau) and follow that road to its end. You will park at the visitor center. Then go as far left as you can to find a paved trail that will go around the cabins, this will lead you to the beginning of the Bright Angel Point trail.
Note: when you are looking at information don’t confuse the Bright Angel Point trail with the Bright Angel Trail. The Bright Angel Trail is on the South Rim and is the trail that goes below rim to start your hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. You can read more about the Bright Angel Trail here.
What You Will See at Bright Angel Point
The Bright Angel Point trail is a fun, easy, and semi-accessible trail. It is paved the whole way to the end of the point, so you can take strollers or wheelchairs on it, but there are points where it is narrow and somewhat steep, so do so with caution.
On your way to the actual start of the trail your view of the canyon will be mostly obscured by trees, but once you start on the trail you will have awesome views of the Grand Canyon on both sides as you work your way out to Bright Angel Point where the canyon will be opened up in front of you.
Bright Angel Point is the place on the North Rim where I felt we got the best complete views of the Grand Canyon. There are a couple other points you could hike to that might give you a bit more expansive views, but they have significantly long hikes to get to. We did Bright Angel Point with my parents (who are not intense hikers) my four youngest siblings (young adults and teenagers) and Lucy in a backpack carrier.
The total distance from the beginning of the trail is a half mile roundtrip. In reality it feels longer than that because you have to go around or through all the cabins by the visitor center before you actually start the trail.
Sum Up
If you are going to do only one hike at the Grand Canyon North Rim then Bright Angel Point is the one to do. It is short and easy and pays off big time in the views. Estimate about 45 minutes to an hour for this hike. Bathrooms and water can be found at the visitor center.
