Rim to rim how long

What wonderful, beautiful, amazing, long, fun, scary, fantastic hike! Our long walk started at am and finished at about pm on the North Rim.

We took it slow, enjoyed the views, ate a lot, drank even more H2O. Everyone on the trail was awesome. It was about degrees at Phantom Ranch, so we stayed wet to keep cool.

The hardest part of the hike for me was walking along the cliffs with sheer drops towards the end of the North Kaibab Trail. One other thing to know is there is no cell service on the North Rim, so come up with a plan for pickup ahead of time or plan on walking an extra 1. This was such a great experience, and more challenging than I expected. Train, prepare, pack well, and enjoy this awesome walk through about 1.

Welcome to the club Bernie! Happy to hear all went well! I just turned 60 in July of , and went R2R with my two 20 something sons on August 8, All of us had trained for greater than 5 months, with a lot of elevation training, but no training hikes longer than 7 hours.

We anticipated going from the South rim to the North Rim would take us about hours. Our first problem was that we only got about 4 hours of sleep the night before. This was a huge mistake, but not one we could fix on the morning of the hike. We started our descent at AM. On the contrary, I heard that Bright Angel was in very good shape. So, a flip of the coin and we came up on the wrong end.

That slow descent also delayed our entry into the Box. We had started at AM in order to get completely through the box prior to the heat getting to be an issue, but our slow descent had us entering the box at about 9 AM and not 7 AM — mistake number 3. We got through the Box in relatively good time about 2 hours for the 3. The next 45 minutes was a very slow go, I was getting overheated, and we decided to do the honorable and smart thing and go sit in the Bright Angel Creek for 45 minutes or so.

My body cooled down nicely, and we replenished our water using disinfecting tablets and creek water, and we made Cottonwood Campground by about or 2. Son Stephen headed up the trail at this point, but I needed rest, and avoidance of the heat of the day, so me and my other son Dan rested until about We then headed up the rest of the North Kaibab trail, and it was without any further incident except that I was so drained from the lack of sleep and rough descent that it took 9 more hours to go the final 7 or so miles — slowly, deliberately, and without pushing myself too hard — but it took 9 more hours.

Dan left me at about PM about 4. We were in pain during the ascent, but now about a week later , all we can remember was how really awesome and interesting the trip was. One sad note, several days before our trip, a woman hiker died due to heat exhaustion — so it was a real reminder as was the encounter with the rattlesnake that Stephen had that there are very real dangers if you do not prepare properly.

If you get too hot — go sit in the creek for a few hours until the weather cools off. Its not the worst thing in the world to exit at 2 in the morning I know! Bring water, food and electrolytes. Good luck, be safe — It is one of the most rewarding things you will ever do. As difficult as the hike itself turned out to be, there was and is nothing to describe the feeling I got at about PM when I realized that I was likely the only person in Bright Angel Canyon at that time — the entire side canyon lit by the near-full moon, only the sounds of the canyon and me, and not one other human being in there.

That realization alone was worth the entire trip. What a great recap of your trip and just as we try to convey all that enter. As time goes by you will totally reflect on the memories and I do believe you will hike Bright Angel as well one day. It must have been super special to have those moments on the North Kaibab Trail alone under a full moon. Thanks for you sharing your story Larry! Larry, not to be snarky but the 1st mistake, if not hiking with someone who has done this before, was not doing an exploratory or preliminary hike prior to the hike you just mentioned.

My very first R2R was planned as a 4-day, 3-night hike, staying at the inner canyon campgrounds. I gained invaluable knowledge of the trails and the physical demands prior to attempting a R2R as a one-day adventure.

I come across many hikers who have underestimated the demands of this hike. I wish I could tell them before they begin and commit to their hike. I am glad to hear you all made it out safely. You will for sure have one David! Thanks so much for your kind comment and good luck on your hike!

Hi, all. I live and train in the SW desert. Mountain climber and trail runner. Good with the altitude, good with the distance. My logic is that leaving the SR at pm will enable me to beat the heat.

Robert, there have been others that have done a nighttime Rim to Rim hike. Most have done them under a full moon. If you go the key is an obvious headlamp with backup batteries. We have not done a nighttime Rim to Rim but have hiked out of the canyon at night most times the last miles. Hopefully some of our other club members that have done the nighttime hike will reach out to you. The canyon is SO very beautiful to see in the light so our hope is you are able to see it!

We actually camped out with two guys two summers ago that went South to North at night we were still camping when they came back and they wished they would have went in the light. Good luck either way! We kept plodding because we knew that mom was nervously awaiting our return… It was miserably hot but a rain storm popped up out of nowhere which we thought would prove to be a blessing in disguise… It was NOT!!

It was NOT… Within days after that fateful 1st hike, my dad had the itch to go back, and go back we all did!! Oh Glenn, LOVED reading your story about the memories with your father and the relationship you all built with the canyon.

This place and this hike is so special for all of the reasons you mentioned. Your father will be with you always on those hikes. Thank you sharing your story! Proud to have you and you father in the club! Bright Angel CG was by far my favorite stop, even though that was the hottest day of the trip. The creek made all the difference. I carried 4 liters of water every day, and that was nearly twice what I actually needed between camps.

Hike early and stay cool. My base weight was about 11 or 12 pounds, and fully loaded I was at about 31 pounds. As far as conditioning goes: I am, for the most part, a lazy bum. I did zero conditioning for the R2R, and I was just fine. Overall it was a great trip.

Filled my phone with pictures and my head with memories. Considering doing a R2R2R at the end of October, to coincide with significant personal event. Is that unreasonable that late in the season? If so, because of hours of daylight? Potential inclement weather? Bob — I was just at the Canyon in August for an R2R trip, and a number of the folks I ran into during the trip told me two things: 1 you are nuts for trying to do this in August! My only bit of caution would be that, if you are unlucky, you could get some really cold weather in late October.

And, the biggest reason we went now was the days are still fairly long, and we went during a full moon. Short, cold days and really dark cold nights nights would be a bummer. Will you have a fun moon during your walk? It helps immensely. Starting from the Bright Angel trail head on the south and using the North Kaibab trail for the north, this entails a day hike of about 76 km with a m climb. Does anyone have information about similar hikes or am I just mad?

I reckon south to north would take about 8 hours, but the climb back up the south rim after 60 km could be a killer. I was part of a group of about It took me 11 hours and 8 minutes. I am almost 53 and have been preparing for this hike for about 4 months. I walk at least 5 miles daily, ride a bike and do regular cardio workouts spin classes. I am in decent shape. The hike took everything I had and I cannot imaging turning around and doing it again the same day. I was sore next day and am still a little sore, but did my regular 3.

I saw plenty of runners going Rim to Rim at a very fast pace, but my guess is these are the same people that run marathons and do triathlons. I am not in that category. To give you a better idea, the fastest people in our group finished in about 10 hours and you do not want to know about the slowest. Thanks, Len. Fortunately, I live in northern Italy with many trails close by. Perhaps you can join me at least one way.

My suggestion would be to take the Bright Angel Trail down, it has to be in better shape than the South Kaibab was for my trip. Also, try to avoid the two other mistakes I made not getting enough sleep, and hiking in the heat of the day.

The good news is, you are not mad, and if you are training with km hikes, I think you are all set. Devon, devmel msn. We are planning a 3 day RTR in August. We will be coming up in one day. Trying to decided which trail to come up. This will probably be the only trip possible to the Grand Canyon in my lifetime.

Any suggestions? The South Kaibab trail has the most scenic views but remember there is no water and no shade on this trail so fill up on water at Phantom Ranch. Good luck on your hike Connie! I agree the South Kaibab is more scenic, but can be brutal. Suggest you start out early from Phantom. Good luck and enjoy. I have been to Phantom thrice. The views from south Kaibab are awesome, but if you are hiking UP you will miss them.

My first trip was on Aug If you really want to do South Kaibab I recommend going south to north, even with the extra elevation gain. You can leave Phantom right after breakfast to get through the box before it heats up. Ribbon Falls if you have time. If you can bypass SK then north to south is better, and take Bright Angel with three water stops and shade and a creek for cooling. The extra 2 miles is mostly along the river to the start of BA.

My husband and I have talked doing a R2R for years. Now, finally, we are in the early stages of planning. We are looking at late June of Having never done this before, how do we decide? South Kaibab is a steeper descent but less mileage so you would have a more gradual climb up North Kaibab. If it is your first time we recommend going North Kaibab to Bright Angel especially if you are taking two days.

We plan to hike between the 17 and 21 of October. Email me at Nicholas. If anyone is interested in a car swap please email me at nicholas. My friends and I are to R2R day hike only on October 14th. Anyone available for a car swap? My wife and I are driving out on the 14th from Southern California. We are going to hike the R2R on Saturday the 15th. Same way N2S. Emailhloupe cox. It is my dream to hike Grand Canyon rim-to-rim, but the North Rim is going to be closed very soon. I wonder if I can still make it this year.

I just hiked Mt. Whitney in one day trip on September, and wonder how harder rim-to-rim 26 miles could be with compared to Mt Whitney one day trip of 22 miles. My best friend and I decided in March that we were going to hike a Rim to Rim, so in August we took off! It is one of the hottest months but we were lucky enough to have cloudy days, and enjoyed a rainbow early one morning after a rain shower. On Day 1 we hiked out of the North Kaibab trailhead and set up camp at Cottonwood campground, since we still had plenty of daylight we hiked to Ribbon Falls.

It was my second time going there and I was excited to show my friend! It was worth it to see the look of amazement she had, it was the highlight of her hike she told me later. On Day 2 we hiked from Cottonwood to Bright Angel campground, our afternoon hike was the black bridge and part of the river trail. What a stunning view the Black bridge is! We never saw a rattlesnake, thank goodness, but a king snake did make an appearance that is what someone at Phantom Ranch said it was.

The 3rd Day we hiked out on the Bright Angel trail pretty early to avoid the heat of the day while climbing up out of the canyon. Overall, it was a Grand adventure made even more special with a great friend! Two down many more to go!

Our campsite was at the edge of the North Rim — beautiful. It took us much longer than expected because one of our hikers had a very overweight backpack that she had to be unpacked and packed every time she filled up on water. It was a beautiful hike down the first part of the North Kaibab. We got to Bright Angel Campground and set up our tents just as the sun was setting. The last day, we were up early and started up the Bright Angel Trail by 6am and made good time with very little sun heat slowing us down.

Totally understand this Ann and hiking Rim to Rim allows one to earn any kind of bed so hopefully you will get to stay at the North Rim Lodge and Phantom Ranch! Congratulations on your hike and welcome to the club! One of the guys going with us is going to drive to the south rim and then start hiking down to meet us at Indian Gardens. Initially I was sold on coming up the Bright Angel trail. So any thoughts on coming up BA or SK? South Kaibab has the most amazing views our cover photo is of South Kaibab trail but it does not have water or shade so just keep that in mind.

It is also shorter so he could literally have a great day hike and meet you half way. My 3 friends and I are doing the rim to rim hike Oct 1 to the second. Is anyone available for a car swap? I am really looking forward to the experience. We are experienced hikers and do a National Park trip every year. I am a little nervous because I have not been able to train as much as I normally would for a trip like this.

The mileage is not the concern as much as managing the weight. I normally carry around 20 lbs and it looks like we will be carrying 35 or so. I will post again after I get back. I find myself with a bad knee osteoarthritis that is lately acting up and getting in the way of my planned R2R that was to start 18Sep. I have two friends who are doing the RTR hike with me on September 24th, but they are both taking the shuttle back to the South rim on the 25th.

I would love the company. I am heading out for a R2R starting September 11 and ending September We are starting off on the North Rim and spending 3 nights in the canyon, each at a different campsite so excited. Is there a communal share system on the South Rim?

Is anyone starting their journey from the South Rim on September 14 and would like the remaining fuel? We know of one at the Bright Angel Campground but best to check the Backcountry office for the spots on the rim.

Good luck on your hike! Planing to do a north rim to south rim, park the car at south rim and shuttle to north rim and stay overnight! Hey, what a great site with useful tips and wonderful comments. Planning to go down South Kabaib trail, sleep the night, leave at 5am next morning towards North Kabaib trail, and return to Phantom Ranch in time for dinner, sleep the night, then hike back up to South Rim using Bright Angel trail.

The round-trip North Rim portion will be 46km in one day. If you will be at Grand Canyon during labor day weekend, please let me know. Perhaps we can attempt this challenging hike together… Cheers. My brother and I are doing the rim to rim in two weeks — south rim to north rim.

Our plan is to depart on the South Kaibab trail at 4 am. If you are heading down South Kaibab you will most likely be at Phantom Ranch in hours and you will clear the box in about 2 hours so you would be out by a.

The only bummer about needing to leave so early on a one day Rim to Rim is you will miss South Kaibab in its glory as some of the views are amazing up near the top so hopefully you get back to day hike part of South Kaibab down to Cedar Ridge, etc. This is helpful. We will be spending a day and a half at the south rim before doing the rim to rim hike. We have also visited the Grand Canyon previously and have been able to take in all the views doing day hikes.

Thank you again for the advice. I plan to go down Bright Angel Trail as it is close to the lodging. Last year my R2R took 12 hours and I suspect it will be about the same this year. Just putting this out there to see if anyone else is hiking during that time and interested in joining me. Anybody interested in a car swap or planning to be in the GC at that time?

This is my 5th visit to the GC and my first R2R would love to meet others who love the place as much as I do. Hi Susan, Did you find someone to do a car-swap? I might be interested, although I also wanted to do North to South. Is there any chance you would do South to North?

Thanks for such an informative site. We plan to stay over at Phantom 2 nights have reservations. We have all been training, but are most concerned about the heat factor and wanted some guidance on our plan for hiking N Kaibab. We also want to be able to see the canyon and are not necessarily in favor of hiking in the dark-starting really early am to be through the box before 10am. Is this a logical strategy or do you suggest something else? Are we crazy for thinking like this?

We want to do this smart and also in a way that is safe. Please advise—anxious to hear from you. Because you are staying at Phantom you have an advantage. Make sure you fill your water at Cottonwood before heading in. If you go to Ribbon Falls that is a nice break as well so you should be good to go. On the dinner, it is served Family Style so you must be there at your designated time. Thanks so much for your quick reply—your strategy makes sense. As I said, we were just concerned because everywhere we read it said NOT to be in the box between 10am-4pm.

You have helped reassure us. We will be sure to let you know how it goes. Getting excited! Thanks for posting this. I am also hiking same end of aug. I had this same concern and feel much better after reading the reply. I have never been so happy to see rain when hiking!

We got to Phantom in time for dinner and saw folks who got there after dinner and they were served—it was in paper cups but they did get dinner! August is their monsoon season so you need to be prepared for rain which we were and it was a welcome respite from the heat.

Our hike out Bright Angel was cloud covered which kept the temp at a nice 60 degrees. Hope you had a great trip as well Kate! Good Morning! If you have hiked during this time, how was the weather? Were you able to drive the Yurt? And if so, is there a shuttle on the South Rim that takes people back to their cars on the North Rim?

If anyone has any advice, please share! The road to the North Rim is closed as of December 1 each year even earlier if weather closes it so you would need to do a Rim to Rim to Rim that time of year.

Best bet is to call the backcountry office contact information is on this page above regarding questions on the yurt. However, I wanted to stay at the South Rim and just descent the S.

Kaibab, stay the night at Phantom Ranch, and ascend Bright Angel. This seems to really be the only enjoyable way to do it since the North Rim is closed. Rim and take a shuttle to N. Hi Brent, I would be up for a car swap Labor Day weekend if your dates are flexible. Was wondering about the logistics of parking your car and getting to the trailhead. Is it the norm to park your car at the North, hike all the way to the South, then take a shuttle back to the North to get the car?

Are there any other ways or modes of transportation that you would recommend? That is the best way. You can park your car at the North Kaibab trailhead and when the shuttle takes you back around from the South Rim to the North Rim they will take you right to your car. Easiest and most efficient way to do a Rim to Rim hike logistically!

Last year a co worker mentioned that 11 years earlier when he was 21 had hiked down Bright Angel and hiked back up the next day. His story left me fascinated and having relocated to Arizona 4 years prior, I was even more intrigued by the Grand Canyon and of course placed it on my list of things I wanted to experience. Bring a zip-lock bag and pick up any little trash you see. Other small acts of kindness go a long way. Say hello. Move to the side and let people pass.

Offer help if you see people lost. You know all this stuff. Thousands of people do this hike all the time, the experience is safe if you hike responsibly. In the summer park rangers perform about half a dozen evacuations every day.

Instead, I want to point out some over-arching concepts to help you understand and enjoy your hike more. Just know your plan in advance. There are no private cars allowed on the road to the trailhead, so most people take a shuttle bus. This route starts at the North Kaibab Trailhead , which is not really close to anything.

Also note that there is no pickup service from the trailhead if you are ending your hike here. Some folks also have luck hitchhiking. I depend on your support to keep this website going and free of annoying ads, promoted posts, and sponsorships.

Every contribution, big or small, is my lifeline to keep this website going. Thank you! More Ways to Support for Free! 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. I also have a video of the South to North hike turn-by-turns. You can drag around the video and look around as I show you the hike.

If you want to read a little history and background on the South Kaibab Trail, check out my day hike trail guide. If you are doing this over a couple of days, visit the falls. There used to be a bridge to them, but now you have to walk through the creek. When you get to the falls you can go behind them.

I also have a video of the North to South hike turn-by-turns. If you want to learn more about the history of the Bright Angel Trail, read my guide on the day hike to Plateau Point. Remember what this view up the cliff wall looks like. Whenever I hike climbs in other places, I think back to when I scaled thousands of feet of sheer wall like this, and mentally other climbs become much more doable. Interestingly, women drank at a relatively consistent rate regardless of how long they took to complete the hike, averaging 5.

This graph also shows that the fastest hiker in the study took just over six hours. And it also shows that several people, all men, seem to have drunk next to nothing for the entire hike, even if they were out there for 18 hours.

You kind of have to wonder whether those guys understood the question or knew the dimensions of their water bottle. Finally, how hard is this hike? For more, join me on Twitter and Facebook , and sign up for the Sweat Science email newsletter. When you buy something using the retail links in our stories, we may earn a small commission. Outside does not accept money for editorial gear reviews. Horses are also able to use this trail.

Straight through R3 - starting and ending at Bright Angel - 46 miles, 11, vertical and we did it in 23 hours age 62 and 58 starting at am. The most brutal hike I have ever done and only by the Grace of God did we finally get out. The last 4. The R3 takes preparation and planning - food plan, water plan, knowing what is coming on each leg and watching your pace so you have some gas left in the tank at the end.

We had our share of issues but managed through them. Your GPS will not be correct on AllTrails or any device do some research so you need to understand each segment of the canyon and plan target times accordingly. It is a great bucket list accomplishment. Completed 28 OCT. Started at am from north. Took 3. Water stations are not all open. Call ahead and plan stops.

Light snow at the top of north but no snow on the trail. Was 28 degrees at north and low 80s and bottom of canyon. Never broke into emergency water. Kept salt and calories high. Bring some mole skin and carry a headlamp just in case. Trail is well marked. Stopped and did ribbon falls as well. Bridge was washed out. Had to take off shoes to river cross.

Nice little break. Climbed out after dark due to stopping to help some distressed hikers and carried out their bags for them. South rim trail is wide and easy to navigate with a headlamp if needed. Train for this hike. If not it will either be unpleasant or impassible or both. Beautiful…Stunning scenery. Just Wow! Look to left at that point for a trail.

Falls just past in sm valley veer to right. Go up and behind falls…worth the effort!! Weather perfect and probably why none of us had a hard time combined with sleepover. So many great people cheering each other on, mules, Indian Chief in full dress… We all felt great! Canyon shuttle from South Rim back to North got us to our car.

Beautiful trek down into the canyon. Nice wide trail, pretty easy on the joints. Started at N. Rim at am. Rim is so majestic, if you can catch it in the sunrise you will be awed and amazed by the beauty of the canyon. It was fall, so there were many different colors of leaves that made seem more magical.

Once you are at the valley you will appreciate the depth and width of the canyon. As you reach Phantom Ranch the canyons narrow and your hiking right next to the stream.

It snowed the week prior and the rain melted, it resulted in cascading streams, so pretty! We reached the ascend during sunset, so the sun wasn't hot and it wasn't so bad. Ended at pm. Overall the hike was long, tough but doable.

Take many breaks, salty snacks, hydrate with electrolytes, eat meals on the trail, and wear proper gear! Have fun! Great trail. Did it in one day, but would break it up between two to three, if I were to do it again. The day before it snowed a lot more than expected, inches instead of forecasted inches. Visitor center parking lot was very slippery, but trail condition at the trailhead didn't look too terrible, thinking it should improve as we go, we decided to not let the opportunity slip.

The only change we made was to start after daylight instead of at planned 5am for safety reason. There were snow and ice for the first miles.

I slipped a few times and fell once I didn't have microspikes , so the going was much slower in the beginning. But the snow covered trees and cliffs looked beautiful under the sun, which is a big reward. The terrain was mostly easy, didn't feel too steep to come down. Colder weather also had its blessing, for the box almost felt like a cooler box. We were not bothered by heat at all. Took a lot of photos, had three sitting breaks at Cottonwood campground, Phantom Ranch and Indian Garden. Spent over one hour at Phantom Ranch, bought postcard and stamped national park passport.

The part past Indian Garden was definitely the most difficult part, at least for me. I had to take quite a few standing breaks. Turned on headlamp for the last mins and came up at about pm. The last of us came up at 7pm, but he also started later; all of us finished between Most of us felt great afterwards, some even mentioned going down from south rim to north rim the very next day.

One thing we should pay more attention is to hydrate more and eat more, especially at the climbing part even though we didn't feel thirsty or hungry.

All in all, it was a great day to do this and check it off our bucket lists. Maybe we will even return one day, who knows? Don't ever say never. Absolutely beautiful trail! A bit hesitant because of the snowstorm earlier in the week, we had checked out the beginning of the trail the evening before and it was miserably cold and looked very icy.

Next morning, wasn't cold at all and the ice disappeared after about the first mile! Regretted carrying my crampons the rest of the way. And like everyone else has said, the last few miles were gruesome. My advice would be to not train extensively, but definitely do a few long hikes leading up to this one.

The elevation didn't bother me since New Mexico sits at 5k anyway, but if you're from lower definitely do some altitude training beforehand! Electrolytes and snacks on the regular are a must as well! All in all it was an amazing time, we started at 5am and ended at 7pm didn't see ribbon falls since it would have added mileage and time.

I wouldn't recommend doing it on a whim but if you're in pretty decent shape I say go for it!! Trail well marked. Lots of training recommended but you know that, right…right?!?!? It took me One person in our group did 6 hours and 9 minutes. The other end was over 15 hours. And they did on this one. As other reviewers state, check weather we had ice and snow on the last day the north Rim was open.

Wore out on the second half without the consistent calorie intake.