GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK attracts nearly 5 million visitors each year, ranking it second only to Great Smoky Mountains in NPS visitation. The south rim, open year-round, receives 90 percent of the park’s visitors. The north rim is only open from mid-May through mid-October. Even though the rim-to-rim distance averages only 10 to 15 miles as the crow flies, it is a five-hour drive of about 215 miles between the South Rim’s Grand Canyon Village and the North Rim Village. Scenery, climate, and vegetation are significantly different between north and south rims, principally because of differences in elevation—the north rim is roughly 1,000 feet higher than the south. Experiencing these differences makes the rim-to-rim drive well worth the investment in time and automotive fuel.

The Canyon is awe-inspiring from either rim and from any vantage point, even more so if one ventures just a short distance on one of the trails leading down to the Colorado River thousands of feet below. At any point, however, only a small portion of the 277-mile long canyon is visible. For visitors seeking smaller crowds and somewhat cooler temperatures, the north rim is clearly the better choice. Featuring the historic Grand Canyon Lodge, built in the 1920s on the lip of the canyon, the north rim offers views at least equal to those on the south rim and far more breathing room in which to enjoy them. From the Lodge, a three-mile drive ends at Cape Royal, where a short trail leads to a favorite spot to watch sunset and enjoy what naturalist John Burroughs described as Grand Canyon’s “strange new beauty.” Branching off from Cape Royal Road is the short drive to Point Imperial which, at over 8,800 feet, is the highest viewpoint on either rim.

Contrasted with the north rim’s forests of spruce, fir, ponderosa pine and quaking aspen, the south rim features gnarled junipers, pinyon, and Gamble oak. For most, a trip to Grand Canyon consists of a relatively brief visit to the south rim’s Grand Canyon Village. Here, several miles of paved trail parallel the canyon rim. Vehicular access is via a 35-mile paved road running from Hermits Rest to Desert View. Though most of the south rim portion of the park is hardly wilderness, there are still opportunities for solitude and silence, particularly for those willing to face dawn’s chill or, to a somewhat lesser extent, to hike deep into the canyon.

Nowhere else on earth exists such a striking example of the power of running water than at Grand Canyon. From either rim, in crowds or in solitude, visitors witness an extraordinary example of nature’s power. This park should be on every American’s must-see list, and it is so vast that repeat visits never disappoint.