Can you drive to the bottom of the canyon?

Most visitors don't know that you can also drive to the bottom of the canyon! You do so by taking Diamond Creek Road. The route starts in Peach Springs, Arizona, a small town on the historic Route 66. In order to drive on this road to the Grand Canyon, you'll need a permit, as it's on Hualapai land.



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Distance-wise, it's about 9.5 miles (15.5 km) each way but with an elevation change of over 4,300 ft (1300+ m) and it's really that elevation change that makes it a tough hike. The hike down generally takes 3-5 hours while the hike up, after a good overnight rest, will typically take 5-9 hours.

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The average distance across the canyon is only 10 miles, however, the drive between the park's South Rim Village and the North Rim Village is about 212 miles and takes about 4 1/2 hours to drive.

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Nestled at the Bottom of Grand Canyon Phantom Ranch is the only lodging below the canyon rim, and can only be reached by mule, on foot, or by rafting the Colorado River. Have questions about the lottery process? Click here for the lottery schedule, additional information and/or FAQs regarding the Phantom Ranch Lottery.

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Nearly five million people visit the canyon annually, but as we later learned, only about one percent of them hike all the way to the bottom, as we planned to do. Our chosen route was the South Kaibab trail. Created in the 1920s, the trail winds down 7.1 miles to our destination – Phantom Ranch – at the bottom.

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Vehicle Pass: $35 Admits one single, private, non-commercial vehicle and all its passengers. Organized groups are not eligible for the vehicle permit.

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There's a town in the Grand Canyon Supai Village is located at the base of the Grand Canyon within the Havasupai Indian Reservation. Inaccessible by road and with a population of just 208, it is the most remote community in the lower 48 states, and is the only place where mail is still delivered by pack mule.

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There are no rules against visiting the Grand Canyon without a tour service. There also aren't any significant barriers to doing so. So, yes, you absolutely can tour the Grand Canyon independently! To learn specifically how to do this by driving, check out our post on how to tour the Grand Canyon by car.

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There are hundreds of miles of roads in Grand Canyon National Park and other Grand Canyon Destinations.

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You will at least need a vehicle with high ground clearance to make the trip; 4WD is a great idea, but probably not required, depending on driver experience and skill. There are a couple of river crossings along the way, most on the northern end as you approach Diamond Canyon and the Colorado.

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Roughly 5.5 million tourists visit the Grand Canyon each year, but few realise that this vast abyss is home to a tiny village hidden 3,000ft in its depths: Supai, Arizona.

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You can do it by foot, following the many inner-canyon trails including the popular Kaibab or Bright Angel trails from the South Rim (note that Kaibab has a North Rim trailhead as well). But never forget that while it's easy to make the descent, it's far, far more challenging to return to the rim.

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A permit is not required for day hiking or day horseback riding in the canyon. Livestock use is limited to Corridor Trails only. Entry and/or exploration of any caves and mines must be approved in advance through Grand Canyon National Park.

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With just one day at the Grand Canyon South Rim, you can see several viewpoints and even hike into the canyon. Unless you want a super relaxed Grand Canyon vacation on the rim or an adventurous rafting trip down below, one to three days at the Grand Canyon is usually enough time for the highlights.

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Can you take a helicopter to the bottom of the Grand Canyon South Rim? Helicopters are not permitted to fly to the bottom of the South Rim. However, Papillon does offer helicopter tours that land at the bottom of the West Rim of the Grand Canyon.

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