With summer just around the corner, in Arizona that means that the North Rim Grand Canyon National Park reopens to visitors after being closed for the season.

North Rim vs. South Rim

The North Rim is only open from May 15th- October 15th each year due to dangerous road conditions in the winter. So, if you want to visit the Grand Canyon North Rim in 2025, you better get to planning your trip!

The fact that this side of the canyon is only open for half of the year makes it a lot less visited than the South Rim. The South Rim is also much more easily accessible for people to visit coming from Phoenix or Flagstaff. 

Getting to the North Rim is also a little more challenging. The roads are more rural (hence why they close them in winter) and it’s not very close to a major city.

If you have to fly in to visit the North Rim, it would probably be cheapest to fly into Las Vegas.

With all that being said, after visiting both the North and South Rim, the North Rim is hands down my favorite despite it being difficult to access.

It offers a completely different experience than the South Rim. There’s just a lot more to do and see on the North Rim.

Plus, not having huge crowds everywhere you go makes it a much more enjoyable Grand Canyon experience.

If you’re already on board with taking a trip here this year, keep reading to find out the top 10 things you won’t want to miss in the park.

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1. Hike to Coconino Overlook

Hiking to Coconino Overlook will give you just a little taste of the North Kaibab Trail.

If you aren’t familiar, the Kaibab Trail is the trail that runs rim to rim in the Grand Canyon. 

If you’ve visited the South Rim before and hiked to Ooh Aah Point (one of the most popular hikes in the park) that was part of the South Kaibab Trail. 

Similarly, when you hike to Coconino Overlook you will hike North Kaibab Trail to the viewpoint and back up.

Hiking to the overlook and back will result in a 1.3 mile round trip with about 450 feet in elevation gain.

This is a great hike to do for people visiting the park who aren’t frequent hikers but still want a nice challenge. 

2. Drive Cape Royal Road Scenic Drive

Located off of the main road through the park, the Cape Royal Road takes you through forests of Aspens and Ponderosa Pines. You’ll also find unique overlooks of the canyon and a variety of different hiking trails to check out.

As you drive into the park, the turn for Cape Royal will be on your left.

The scenic drive is quite a ways before you get to the lodge and all the main attractions of the park. So, I’d recommend hitting all the stops on Cape Royal all at once so you don’t have to drive back and forth.

Do note that RVs longer than 22 feet are not permitted on this road.

The Cape Royal Road is a 23 mile drive one way and takes about 30 minutes if you just drive straight through.

We pretty much stopped at all of the overlooks and trails that are off this road so it took us more like an hour and a half to get to the end.

You do not want to leave the North Rim without exploring all the attractions on Cape Royal. The drive is gorgeous and it became one of my favorite parts of the park.

3. Visit Point Imperial

Point Imperial is the Grand Canyon’s highest point standing at 8,803 feet!

You can find Point Imperial near the very end of Cape Royal Road. The walk to the viewpoint is short and completely paved. 

When we visited, a storm was beginning to roll in but I’m glad we stuck around long enough to walk out to the viewpoint.

It’s a very impressive view of the canyon, and honestly my favorite view in the entire National Park, North and South Rim combined.

4. Walk to Angels Window/ Cape Royal

Angels Window refers to a natural bridge formation in the canyon wall shaped like a window where you can see straight through to the other side. 

It’s a really neat sight to see and there’s even an overlook built out on top of the rock peninsula so you can walk right on top of it.

This viewpoint is called the Cape Royal Viewpoint. 

It is only a 1 mile round trip to the end of the overlook and it’s completely flat and paved. From this viewpoint you get beautiful panoramic views of the Grand Canyon. 

After Point Imperial, this is my second favorite view at the North Rim. 

5. See the Greenland Lake

The Greenland Lake is a hidden gem at the North Rim Grand Canyon. It is on the park map and there is a sign for it on the drive to Cape Royal, but not many people stop at it.

It’s kind of hidden on the side of the road, but if you walk down the little pathway it will open up to a beautiful pond home to all kinds of wildlife.

It’s the only lake in both Grand Canyon National Parks and it is believed to be made from a sinkhole. 

There is a short trail (about 0.3 miles) that goes around to the right side of the lake leading you to an old cabin.

This trail can get a little overgrown in the summer so it may be hard to get to, but I still think it’s worth a quick stop.

A pond isn’t something you see everyday in the harsh deserts of Arizona!

6. Hike Cape Final Trail

If you have enough time for a 4 mile hike, the Cape Final Trail is a beautiful one to do. You’ll also find this trail off of the Cape Royal Scenic Drive.

There is a nice viewpoint a little over a mile of the way in so if you don’t want to hike the whole trail then you don’t have to to get amazing views.

Before you reach the viewpoints you will hike through a beautiful and serene Ponderosa Pine forest.

The good thing about this hike is that it probably won’t be as crowded as the North Kaibab to Coconino Overlook. It’s pretty deep into the scenic drive and the higher mileage will probably turn most visitors away. 

But these solitude views of the Grand Canyon North Rim are absolutely worth this trek.

7. Hike Cliff Spring Trail

The Cliff Spring Trail surprisingly turned out to be one of my favorite hikes in the park. It is located off of the Cape Royal Scenic Drive.

This trail is a 1 mile round trip with only 200 feet of elevation gain. So it is doable for most people. The terrain is rocky in spots but it’s still a rather easy trail.

The reason I love this hike so much is because as you descend into the forest area, you will come out to a rock overhang that you hike under. This is where you’ll find the natural spring. 

The spring is located approximately a half mile into this trail. It really just looks like some green plants growing out of the wall with water trickling down the rock.

How much water you see at the spring will depend on recent precipitation.

Other than the spring, you get some really unique views of the Grand Canyon towards the end of this hike. 

This is another not very popular trail in the park so you probably won’t be hiking with many other people which is great if you prefer more solitude on your hikes. 

8. See the Wahlalla Ruins

The Wahlalla Ruins are another stop you can take when driving the Cape Royal Scenic Drive.

There is a short 0.2 mile walk you can take to see some remains of about 10 rooms made by ancient civilizations who lived here during the Pueblo period. 

There’s also a nice overlook of the canyon just a short walk from the ruins.

There isn’t a whole lot to see here, but if you’re interested in human history I think it would be worth it to check out. Plus, this is a super quick stop that won’t take too much time. 

9. Dine in at the North Rim Grand Canyon Lodge

If you’re looking for places to stay near the North Rim Grand Canyon, the lodge in the park is going to be your best bet. The nearest towns are very small with not many options for accommodation.

One of the perks of staying at the lodge, is that there’s a restaurant onsite serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Since we were car camping on this trip, we ended up making most of our own food out of our car to save money.

However, even if you aren’t staying at Grand Canyon Lodge North Rim, you can still dine in at their restaurant. We dined in for dinner one night and it was a nice break from the camping meals.

Dining in at the North Rim Grand Canyon is sure to be an experience you won’t forget as you will receive beautiful canyon views from your table.

They have a pretty decent sized menu, but if you want more choices there is a deli next to the lodge that has even more food options. 

10. Watch the Sunset from Bright Angel Point

Since this is the North Rim, the sun will be setting towards your right. The best place to view the setting sun is going to be at Bright Angel Point. 

I will say, a lot of overlooks (especially Bright Angel) will get packed with people in the evening all wanting to watch the sunset so keep that in mind. 

But it is a nice and easy place to access to watch the sunset. Perfect if you’re staying at Grand Canyon Lodge. 

And that will conclude my top 10 list of things to see and do when you visit the North Rim Grand Canyon!

Once you visit the North Rim, you’ll never go back! I just think there’s a lot more to see on this side than the South Rim. The hikes have more variety, there’s more unique viewpoints of the canyon, and the overall atmosphere is super laid back.

I hope you got some fun inspiration from this post and put it towards planning your trip to this one of a kind National Park this summer. Thank you for reading!