Backpacking the Grand Canyon In April

Intro

The Grand Canyon, a testament to the relentless power of nature, stands as one of the most awe-inspiring natural wonders on Earth. Millions of years of erosion, sculpted by the Colorado River, have carved this immense chasm, revealing a breathtaking cross-section of Earth’s history. To experience the grandeur of this geological masterpiece firsthand, I hiked below the rim, gazing into the abyss and marveling at the sheer scale of this natural wonder. I hiked the Grand Canyon in April beginning at the Hermits Rest trailhead on the west side of the park and climbed out on South Kaibab Trail, two days later. To this day, this is still one of my most memorable hikes ever.

Day 0: Arrival

Distance: 0km | 0mi | Time: 0h
End point: Mather Campground

My flight arrived in Las Vegas at 9:30. I grabbed my checked luggage, went to the rental car agency, and picked up my car— a Polestar 2 electric vehicle. I had never driven an EV before and, of course, had a bit of range anxiety driving into the Arizona desert. Long story short, the EV was totally doable and was so much fun to drive!

After the 4-hour drive, I arrived at the South Rim Entrance! It was 16:30, and the backcountry office closed at 17:00, so I went straight there to get a numbered ticket. I was number 4 in line for permits the next morning.

Mather Campground

I checked in to Mather Campground and set up my camp for the next 2 nights. It really is a well-maintained campground. My site had plenty of space between the neighbors’ site and being situated on the outside of the loop, I had forest behind me. There are showers and laundry facilities available here too.

Grand Canyon Backcountry Permits

The next morning, I woke up and went to the backcountry office. It opened at 8, but I arrived a little early, even though I had my number in line already. I was given one night at Granite Rapids by the river and the next at the Phantom Ranch campground. I was so excited that it was going to happen and was relieved that I also had somewhere to sleep the next couple of nights!

Day 1: Hermits Rest Trailhead to Granite Rapids Campsite

Distance: 28km | 17.4mi | Time: 8.5h
End point: Km 28 | Mi 17.4

Getting to the Hermits Rest Trailhead

I woke up in the morning, had some coffee and breakfast, and then drove to the backcountry office lot. There is a huge parking lot for overnight hikers to leave their cars. When you get a permit, you are also given a pass to drive to Hermits Rest Trailhead. I chose to leave my car at the backcountry office so that I wouldn’t need to take a long bus journey at the end of my hike, and if for some reason it was late in the day, I wouldn’t have to worry about the bus schedule.

From there, I walked down Village Loop Drive to the bus stop at Hermit Road. The bus was full of casual tourists going to check out the overlooks. One of the rangers pointed me out as one of the hard-core backpackers that was going into the canyon. I was too anxious to feel hard-core, but I played it off pretty well with a smile. The bus arrived at the end of the line, and I got off, walked a short distance to the trailhead.

This part of the canyon is much more remote than the village area. There is a small information center here, toilets, and snacks, but it’s at the end of a long road. I grabbed my pack and started down the Hermits Rest trail. 

Hike to Hermit Rapids

After a steep descent over the first couple of miles, I reached Santa Maria Spring, which has a dripping spring into a trough. I ate some Cheetos in the stone rest house, cooled down a bit, and packed a couple of liters of water out. I knew I would stop here to begin, so I initially only took 1 liter of water to begin the hike.

Continuing on and descending further, the stone starts to change. I was now entering into the red rock. I find the layers of geology so interesting. It’s definitely worth sitting through a ranger talk to learn more about how an ancient seabed was transformed into the Grand Canyon.

I kept hiking, coming to a large circular bowl as I neared the Tonto Platform. The trail did a giant half circle here as it continued further downwards. I felt pretty badass at this moment, but then I crossed paths with a trail runner who was climbing out of the canyon. He was more badass than me.

At the junction for Hermit Creek campsite, I continued on down to Hermit Rapids. I went left and then dropped further into another smaller canyon. I could see Hermit Creek campground from here and could see the creek flowing quite well even though I was half a mile away. My trail eventually crossed the creek, and I found it a great moment to cool off in a small waterfall right off the trail. It felt great being in the heat and then having a huge flow of cold water dumping over my head.

There were still a couple of miles to go, but I had completed most of the 4000 feet of elevation loss at this point. It was early in the afternoon, and I continued to the river. I made it!! It was so cool hiking all the way down to the river. Such a sight indeed, especially looking back at how far I had hiked down. I casually looked for a site to pitch my tent. Nobody else was down there yet. 

A Made a Mistake!

I sat on a large rock in the shade and pulled out my permit to see if there was more information on campsite specifics. I looked over my permit and quickly realized that my permit was for GRANITE RAPIDS, not Hermit Rapids… OOF! In my head, I kept hearing the word hermit. Hermit trailhead, Hermit trail, Hermit campsite, Hermit Rapids… I thought I was going to Hermit Rapids!! I was a bit upset in that moment. I quickly checked how far I had to go. Instead of panicking and overly stressing, I told myself… It’s fine… just fix it. So I turned around and started hiking out of the smaller canyon. My 10-mile day quickly turned into a 17-mile day. I am a strong hiker though, and I knew I could do it.

Hike to Granite Rapids Campsite

I hiked back up to the Tonto Platform and then over towards Monument, eventually arriving at the Monument. It is a large phallic-shaped stone made up of granite, which was much harder than the soil around it. As everything eroded, the Monument stood strong. To the left of the Monument, the trail drops to the creek bed, eventually ending at the river.

This canyon was much more open than the Hermit Rapids Canyon, and the river area has much more defined areas to camp. There is a creek that flows above and below the gravel creek bed, eventually draining into the river. Near the river, the creek was much easier to find, but further upstream, it was hidden much of the way under the gravel rocks. I settled in for the night, setting up my tent and just being present in the roar of the river and towering cliffs. I had dinner with some guys that I had met earlier and went to bed early as I was quite tired.

Day 2: Granite Rapids to Phantom Ranch Campground

Distance: 30km | 18.6mi | Time: 8.5h
End point: Km 58 | Mi 36

Monument Campground and the Tonto Platform

In the morning, I had a quick breakfast, packed up, and started hiking up again to the monument and further onto the monument campground. Today would be another long day of 19 miles. I used the pit toilet here and filled up 4 liters of water from the creek just past the campsites. I thought that if I ever came back, I’d like to stay here as it was a very cool area to camp in. Lots of sites were protected by brush, and the cliffs around shaded the area. It was a bit of a climb from the campsite up a rough trail, but once back on the Tonto platform, I was cruising.

The Tonto trail is easy when compared to any of the other trails. It follows the contours of the landscape going in and out of ravines as you cut across the canyon mostly parallel to the river. In each ravine, there was a campground. I passed 4 that day: Monument Creek, Cedar Spring, Salt Creek, and Horn Creek. I chose to pass up all of the water sources after Monument for various reasons. Some may have been unreliable, salty, or even radioactive. I took 4 liters from Monument Creek and made it to Phantom Ranch. This part of the trail was absolutely amazing. I didn’t see a single other hiker for about 10 or 12 miles. I loved the solitude and deafening silence. The relatively easy hiking made it very enjoyable as well.

Havasupai Gardens Campground

When I arrived at Havasupai Gardens Campground, I was shocked. It was a madhouse. There were some picnic tables in the shade that I had lunch at, some pit toilets, and a water spigot with about 20 people lined up ahead of me. It was such a stark contrast from where I had been all morning. Havasupai is part of the main corridor lying on the Bright Angel Trail. There are quite a few day hikers that take on the huge challenge of hiking down the South Kaibab Trail to Phantom Ranch and then up the Bright Angel Trail. Good for them, but I missed my solitude! I continued on down Bright Angel, skipping along as I passed herds of people climbing out of the canyon.

Phantom Ranch Campground

Back at the river, this was my third time in 2 days seeing it. I crossed over the Silver Bridge and made my way towards the campground. The river was more like chocolate milk than a pristine mountain river. At the time, they were intentionally releasing flooding waters from the Glen Canyon Dam in order to simulate floods that used to occur before the river was dammed. Near the ranch, there is a trail on the north side of the Colorado that follows the Bright Angel Creek. Next to this, there are a number of reserved campsites that include bear containers and a picnic table. I found one for myself, pitched my tent, and went to the dining hall window for some famous lemonade. The lemonade is nothing special, but it is nice to have a cold drink in the furnace of the ranch.

Day 3: Granite Rapids to South Kaibab Trailhead

Distance: 12km | 7.5mi | Time: 4h
End point: Km 70 | Mi 43.5

Hiking out on the South Kaibab Trail

I left early in the morning at 5:30. My body was still on Eastern Standard Time, and the sun rises early as the area is on the west side of the time zone. I was the first one on the trail as the sun started to illuminate the upper canyon walls. I pushed hard, running at times. My heart was pounding, but I felt high and alive. The South Kaibab Trail is an amazing hike. It largely follows the ridge-line all the way out, meaning there are huge views for much of it. Hiking it in the early morning light was even more magical.

About halfway up, I passed the mules that were on their way down to resupply the ranch. I stepped aside and let them go by. It was at this moment that I was also no longer alone. As I ascended out of the canyon, I started to pass more and more day hikers on their way down. It was about 7.5 miles up, and I finished it in 4 hours. I made it out, took the bus back to my car, and then back to Mather Campground.

Hiking Trail Map for Backpacking the Grand Canyon in April – Hermits Rest to South Kaibab Trailhead