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Weekend Warriors Arizona Hiking Guide
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If hiking up the rim of the Grand Canyon to some great views appeals to you, Whitmore trail is your hike. This hike is accessed from a river rafting trip on the Colorado River. The Whitmore trail is located at river mile 188.6 on river right. Be Aware of: Route finding. This is a moderate difficulty hike. 35 yr old Recommendation: It was a really nice change of pace to hike up the canyon wall instead of into the canyon narrows. We really enjoyed this short, steep hike. Elevation change: 1000 ft gain.
Distance: 3.0 miles round trip (to the top and back) Time: It took us about 2.0 hours total (we were racing before the daylight faded, so you may move more slowly) Time of year: Spring, Winter, Fall. Solitude: Excellent. We had this area all to ourselves. Map: Click here for map Ready for a change of pace? How about a hike that goes up the side of the Colorado River canyon instead of one that goes up one of it's narrow side canyons. The Whitmore trail has a long history, with the Bar 10 Ranch still offering assistance to river rafting companies today from this trail and their helicopter pad downstream. The ranch is 9 miles away from the rim wall, so you'll have the views at the top all to yourselves. The tricky part is finding the trail. If you head straight back towards the wall from the beach, you'll see a well worn trail along the base of the canyon wall. Take this trail as it heads up over the tamarisk and back down to the river. Keep your eyes open here for some rock art on the open rock to your left. They are high on the wall, making them easy to miss. As the trail heads back down towards the water, keep an eye out on your left for the trail heading up the wall of the canyon. The trail is in excellent shape so you'll make good progress up the wall of the Grand Canyon. Be sure to stop once in a while to enjoy the increasingly impressive views up canyon from the trail. Eventually, your climbing is rewarded with a Park Service boundary sign and views of the Grand Canyon as well as Whitmore canyon. If you explore around the top a bit, you can even see an old shack still used by the ranchers today.
[views up the Colorado River canyon from the Whitmore trail]
[Our beach is down there somewhere]
We did this hike in October 2007. |
