Grand Canyon Hiking Vacation: The Five Most Popular Ways to Explore the Grand Canyon On Foot

When searching for a place to vacation, it often doesn’t occur to people that they can plan a hiking or backpacking tour. While some vacationers enjoy a nice day on the beach or staying at resorts, many others love the opportunity to get outside and commune with nature.

The love of nature, the Southwest, the canyons, plateaus, hidden waterfalls, to the majestic redwood forests of Yosemite National Park in California…this is why Four Season Guides exists. Owner and guide, Dave Logan, and his team take guests to explore beautiful places every day and have been doing so for 20 years.

For those who have never been on a guided backpacking or hiking trip, it starts with the website: check out the offerings at https://fsguides.com and choose your destination. There are many parts of the Grand Canyon to explore and numerous ways to explore it. There are also many well know and off the beaten path gems in Southern Utah to discover. With Yosemite National Park, most of the park goes unseen unless you are carrying a backpack and plan to camp and delve deep into the backcountry.

Let’s imagine that you choose Grand Canyon National Park as your destination. Within Grand Canyon alone there are over 20 different trips to experience with Four Season Guides. First, choose how you want to explore the Grand Canyon: Hiking, Backpacking or Trips with Pack Animal Support. Preparation for any of the trips is also outlined on the website and will be reiterated in detail to anyone who decides to register. There are plenty of things to familiarize yourself with prior to your adventure.

The Five Most Popular Ways to Explore the Grand Canyon.

#1. Grand Canyon Rim to Rim Having the opportunity to see both rims of the Grand Canyon (South Rim and North Rim) makes the Rim to Rim adventure one of the most sought-after hikes in the world! This hike would sit pretty high on just about every hiker’s bucket list and is well regarded for many reasons. First, it is the ONLY Grand Canyon Backpacking trip worth considering in the heat of the summer, June – August. Also, the trails are relatively wide and well-maintained. The campgrounds along the way have picnic tables and toilets as well as available drinking water. If you want a hiking trip that highlights the Grand Canyon, and where others are often hiking, this is the trip for you.

#2 Hermit Loop This backpacking trip is one of the most rewarding. If you enjoy getting off the beaten path a bit more than Rim to Rim, this trip will be much quieter. As far as exertion, this particular adventure is only slightly more difficult than the Rim to Rim tour. Four Season Guide’s 5-day option features one night of camping at a secluded beach right on the banks of the Colorado River, which is one of the biggest highlights of having the opportunity to hike the Grand Canyon. The Hermit Trail is a bit more adventurous and requires hikers to negotiate boulder fields, some exposure to heights and steep descents.

#3 Deer Creek/Thunder River Loop… If you are seeking a more challenging backpacking trip, this is the Grand Canyon trip for you. Deer Creek – Thunder River Loop is for fit, experienced backpackers or novices in excellent physical shape. This tour features some of the most spectacular scenery in the Grand Canyon including the stunning Deer Creek Narrows, Deer Creek Falls and Thunder River.

Be ready to see where Thunder River explodes right out of the canyon wall and cascades down through a shady oasis toward Tapeats Creek. Four Season Guides will take you along some gnarly trails so this is not a trip for those with a fear of heights. The trails are occasionally quite narrow as they skirt considerable drop-offs, but the payoff is grand.

#4 Grandview Loop Four Season Guides offers 3-day and 4-day options with this Grand Canyon hike. Head down the Grandview Trail and follow in the footsteps of 19th century prospectors. The steep trail was first constructed by Pete Berry to access his copper claims on Horseshoe Mesa and the remains of his operation can still be seen today. Highlights of this trip include plenty of solitude, classic Grand Canyon scenery, remnants of an historic mining district, and a limestone cave (Cave of the Domes).

#5 Kanab Creek Wilderness  This trip, though not technically within the boundaries of Grand Canyon National Park, offers everything beautiful beneath Grand Canyon’s North Rim. The Kanab Creek Wilderness is 75,000 acres of deep sandstone and limestone gorges, slickrock expanses, freshwater springs, Native American relics and perfect solitude. Kanab Creek itself is the largest tributary system on the north side of Grand Canyon. Four Season Guides offer options for 4-day and 5-day trips.

Four Season Guides is a guide-owned and operated small business located in Flagstaff, Arizona. Four Season Guides is celebrating its 20th year in business and in guiding thousands of beginner to advanced adventurers through the delicate outback of the Grand Canyon and Southern Utah region.