Explore the fascinating highlights, history, geology & nature of Grand Canyon National Park with this entertaining, educational, point-by-point Waypoint Tour - your personal tour guide for Grand Canyon travel adventure.

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Grand Canyon National Park Tour Village & West

Welcome to Grand Canyon National Park! As you approach the Grand Canyon, you are crossing the Colorado Plateau, a 130,000 square mile bulge in the earth's surface spanning half of Utah and a good portion of Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado. Around its edges are the upthrust Rocky Mountains, the stretched-apart Great Basin, the contorted rocks of Arizona's Transition Zone, and ancient volcanoes. Despite all the geologic activity around it, the Plateau has managed to stay relatively flat and unfolded, but as a whole, it has been uplifted more than a mile.

It is the uplift, and the down-cutting, that have created the Canyon. About 5-10 million years ago the Colorado River began to carve its way down through the domed region on its way to the sea. Like a knife slicing through a layer cake, the mile-deep river canyon exposed multi-hued layers of time, - a geologist's dream come true. But, you don't have to be a geologist to appreciate the Canyon's grandeur. Erosion by wind, water and gravity not only widened the Canyon, it created an amazing variety of towers and spires, ridges and side canyons, shadows and highlights. The rainbow of rock colors is most intense in early morning or late afternoon light. If you are lucky, you will see a storm chase through the canyon, casting shadows and mist as it goes.

Sightseers have been coming to view the wonders of the Canyon since 1883. Prospectors soon found tourism more profitable than mining and built accommodations for them. One of the earliest visitors was President Theodore Roosevelt, a lover of the West's wide-open spaces. He pushed for federal protection and in 1893 the area became a Forest Reserve. In 1908, it received a promotion to National Monument and in 1919 the National Park was formed. The most recent upgrade was in 1975, when its boundaries were expanded, doubling its size.

As you enter the park, you'll receive a Visitor's Guide from the National Park Service, which is a great source of information on restaurants, lodging, parking, ranger talks, activities and other guest services within or near the park. It includes maps, hours, prices and other timely and helpful information.


Hermits Rest

The first sight you see at Hermit's Rest is an arch of carelessly piled stones with a broken mission bell swinging in an arch. In earlier days, a lantern hung from a projecting stone to guide weary travelers. Beyond is a stone building that looks like it grew from the land. Although it appears to be a haphazard jumble of stones with a chimney, it was carefully designed by Mary Colter, one of the first women architects, to blend with, not distract from, the Canyon.

Inside, the focal point is a massive vaulted fireplace. After it was completed in 1914, someone asked Colter, "Why don't you clean up this place?" She laughingly replied, "You can't imagine what it cost to make it look this old." Hand-hewn posts support large log beams of the front porch and a low stone wall extends to the rim where an historic viewfinder offers close-up views of the river. You are likely to encounter a highly intelligent raven who mimics a wide variety of animal and people voices, or a squirrel looking for fallen tidbits.

Hermit's Rest is the end of the line for the shuttle service and the Rim Trail, but Hermit's trail continues from here. Rated very strenuous, it descends for 8.9 miles to Hermit Rapid. Even a short trek into the depths of the Canyon will give you a different perspective, however. Fossils of sponges and corals are seen on the way down to the Coconino Sandstone. In the Sandstone you can see tracks of animals who climbed and slipped down the dunes 250 million years ago. Look for them on a large slab of rock about two thirds of the way through a well-cobbled section of the trail known as the White Zig-Zags. You won't see any dinosaur tracks or bones in the Canyon because those rock layers have been eroded away in this region. They have been found, however, in the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest National Parks in Arizona.

The junction with Waldron Trail is a good turning- around point. Each time you pause to catch your breath on the way back up the trail, you can enjoy a different panoramic view of the Canyon. Early spring wildflowers can be incredibly diverse, if winter brought enough moisture. Just below the rim, white blossoms cover fendlerbush and serviceberry shrubs. The pale-yellow desert brickell-bush and golden yellow stickleaf flowers are also common.

It's well worth the hike and a Klondike Bar from the snackbar is the perfect treat after a long hike!