Bright Angel Trailhead - The Old Path Down

Photo: Grand Canyon National Park, public domain (cropped)

A stop on Grand Canyon South Rim, a free self-guided tour.

Look over the wall and follow the trail zigzagging down through layer after layer. Long before tourists came, the Havasupai used this route to reach a spring and fields along Garden Creek, where they lived for part of the year. The Park Service forced the last residents out in 1928. In 2022 the site, long called Indian Garden, was officially renamed Havasupai Gardens at the tribe's request.

Prospector Ralph Cameron, who settled on the rim in 1890, extended the trail to the river, named it Bright Angel and charged a one-dollar toll. Today it descends about 4,380 feet in roughly eight miles to the Colorado River.

If you head down even a short way, remember that the canyon is upside down: the easy part comes first, the climb out is the hard part, and it gets hotter as you descend. Rangers warn against hiking to the river and back in a day. Yield to mules, carry water and salty snacks, and check nps.gov for trail conditions.

Getting here: The trailhead is a few steps west of Kolb Studio along the rim.

Did you know?: Inside Bright Angel Lodge, Mary Colter's 1935 building next door, a fireplace is stacked from stones of the canyon's layers in the same order they appear in the walls, from river rock at the hearth to Kaibab Limestone at the top.

Photo op: Stand at the stone wall by the trail sign and frame the first switchbacks and the small rock tunnel below.

Nearby: Restrooms and water near the trailhead and at Bright Angel Lodge, which also has restaurants.

More on Wikipedia: Bright Angel Trail · Havasupai · Ralph H. Cameron · Bright Angel Lodge

Bright Angel Trailhead - The Old Path Down

Stops on this tour