Grand Canyon Lodge-Based Tours

The perfect blend of hiking & comfort!

Lodge-based Grand Canyon hiking tours are the perfect way to spend your days hiking and exploring the park with an experienced guide and enjoy the comfort of lodge accommodations each evening. Our carefully crafted itineraries aim to feature a variety of hiking trails offering unique perspectives, experiencing the must-see attractions and viewpoints, and making the most of our time to deliver an exciting, fun-filled, and comprehensive Grand Canyon hiking vacation.

The majority of these tours utilize lodging above the rim and embark on a variety of hikes, both along the rim and below, and return to the lodge in the evenings after a full day of exploring. Most are rated Intermediate difficulty and daily hiking distance range from 5 to 10 miles, with elevation descents and ascents rarely exceeding 2000 vertical feet. Only the Phantom Ranch hiking tour offers the opportunity to descend all the way to the bottom of Grand Canyon and stay at the only developed tourist accommodations below the rim. This is a considerably more strenuous endeavor and is intended for very fit individuals in excellent physical health and fitness.

All Grand Canyon lodge-based tours include the use of top-quality hiking daypacks, trekking poles, lodging for each night, all food for the duration of the trip, ground transportation to/from trailheads, and a licensed, professional Grand Canyon guide. The only things you need to bring are your personal clothing and footwear, raingear, personal toiletries, and water bottles or hydration bladder.

Determining which tour to join can be a difficult decision but perhaps the three key factors are: 1) the time of year you want to travel, 2) how many days you would like to spend hiking, and 3) what part of Grand Canyon most interests you.

North Rim, South Rim, or Down to the Bottom

Grand Canyon’s South Rim is by far the most-visited section of the park. Here you’ll find a multitude of lodges and restaurants, as well as easy access to a number of popular and scenic hiking trails. A South Rim Lodge-Based Hiking trip features three distinct hikes below the rim, each offering a different perspective of the inner canyon. The North Rim is more remote and offers far fewer lodging and dining options. However, that solitude is precisely the allure of this spectacular part of Grand Canyon. Hiking the quiet trails by day and retiring to the rustic cabins of the Grand Canyon Lodge in the evening.

If you would like to see Grand Canyon from multiple perspectives, we offer tours that visiting both the North and South Rims, as well as some of our favorite destinations in between. The Grand Canyon Complete and its cousin, the Marble Canyon & Vermilion Cliffs Lodge-Based tour, are fantastic options that provide a diversified hiking experience and will leave you with a better holistic understanding of what the greater Grand Canyon region encompasses.

With the beautiful red rocks of Sedona just a hop, skip, and a jump away, you can explore Grand Canyon and Sedona in a single trip. Our Grand Canyon & Sedona Lodge-Based tours are available as a 3-day or 4-day itinerary.

Phantom Ranch is the only lodge accommodation below the rim of Grand Canyon. It’s a strenuous 7-mile hike to the bottom of Grand Canyon, and you will descend nearly 5000 vertical feet to reach this historic site near the Colorado River. Of course, what goes down must come back up! While the allure of spending a night or two at Phantom Ranch appeals to many, it can prove overwhelming for the ill-prepared, so you will want to make sure you’re up for the challenge. If so, the Phantom Ranch Hiking Tour is the adventure for you.