Get up-close-and-personal with the Grand Canyon in a more active way: hiking or backpacking trips and Colorado River rafting trips. Look for tours of Grand Canyon National Park North Rim departing from Lees Ferry, Flagstaff, Page, southern Utah or Las Vegas.
Grand Canyon North Rim vs. South Rim
A few notes: Even though the approximate straight-line distance between the South and North Rims is only about ten miles, you should know that the driving distance is 215 miles, and amounts to five hours driving time. Besides the differences in the kinds of tours on which visitors see the North Rim than the South Rim, you'll also notice a few more distinctions. Most obvious is the significantly smaller crowds; only about 10% (or 500,000) of the National Park's visitors see the North Rim each year (read: possibly better shorter-term availability of North Rim lodging at the Grand Canyon Lodge and beloved mule-rides.) Also clear is the decidedly remote location of the North Rim. Accommodations, restaurants and other services are far fewer here than its southern counterpart. North Rim Grand Canyon visitors will be struck by the
enormity of the Grand Canyon rather than the
depth noted by South Rim visitors. Last, the North Rim is not open year-round; it is open from mid-May to mid-to-late October, or until the first snow. The North Rim, at 8,000 feet elevation (1,000 feet greater than the South Rim) receives almost twice as much snow and experiences much colder winter temperatures.
