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A

visit to the Grand Canyon

that doesn’t involve elbow-

ing your way through

crowds to get a view,or booking a

year in advance to get a room?

Yes, it’s possible. Just shift your

sights to the North Rim.

Only 10 per cent of the six mil-

lion tourists who visit the Grand

Canyon each year make it to the

North Rim. There are some good

reasons: The season there is

shorter, the temperature’s cooler

and the amenities are fewer and

farther between. But if you’re

okay with roughing it a little, the

trade-off pays off in spades. You’ll

find stunning views you can’t get

on the South Rim, beautiful

campsites and lodges, and the

kind of quiet and solitude you’d

expect only in the backwoods.

Here are four ways you can get

up close and personal with the

Grand Canyon’s reportedly 70

million years of history along its

less-travelled North Rim.

BY MOUNTAIN BIKE

Imagine pedalling through a fra-

grant forest of ponderosa pine,

aspen and juniper, and popping

out right on the edge of the

Grand Canyon for your private

viewing. That’s what’s waiting on

the Rainbow Rim Trail.

The remote, 36-kilometre

Rainbow Rim Trail is the only

singletrack trail on the rim of the

Grand Canyon that’s open to

bikes. The trail cuts through the

1.6-million-acre Kaibab National

Forest, landing on the rim at five

different overlooks: Parissawam-

pitts, Fence, Locust, North Timp

and Timp. Each provides colossal

views of some of the Canyon’s

unique geological features, in-

cluding the Tapeats Amphithe-

atre, the Powell Plateau, Steam-

boat Mountain and the Great

Thumb Mesa. While you gaze out

at the Canyon, you can ponder

the phenomenon known as the

Great Unconformity, which de-

scribes the occurrence of 250-mil-

lion-year-old rock strata and 1.2-

billion-year-old rocks lying side-

by-side. Where the missing slice

went, no one knows. Something

to ponder as you continue on

your journey.

Most cyclists bikepack the trail

as an out-and-back trip, or set up

camp at Locust Point and do two

out-and-back trips from there.

There are no services along the

trail, so plan to bring all the wa-

ter, food and supplies you’ll need

for the trip. And don’t rush. Brew-

ing a coffee while the sun rises

over the Canyon is something

you’ll want to do more than once.

If you prefer a group experi-

ence, book a trip with one of sev-

eral outfitters that run tours of

the Rainbow Rim and nearby

trails. Escape Adventures offers a

four-day mountain biking and

camping excursion that will take

you along the Rainbow Rim Trail

and a section of the Arizona Trail

• not only do they provide bikes
  and guides, they’ll also make sure
  you’re fed and hydrated the
  whole way.

BY FOOT

Slow it down even more and

tackle the North Rim by foot. The

historic Grand Canyon Lodge on

Highway 67 makes a great home

base for a week’s worth of hikes.

Before you start, give yourself

time to acclimate to the eleva-

tion, which, at around 2,400

metres, is about 300 metres high-

er than the South Rim. That extra

height provides dramatic views,

but prepare for them to leave you

breathless in more than one way.

Start by stretching your legs on

the short, paved Bright Angel

Point Trail, which picks up right

behind the lodge and offers views

of the Canyon and the San Fran-

cisco peaks. Try it at sunrise or

sunset for best results. Next, head

out to the Cape Final or Widforss

trails for easy to moderate hikes

that range from six to 14 kilo-

metres return and wind through

forest to stunning lookout points.

The adventurous set can tack-

le the North Kaibab Trail, a 45-

kilometre trail that descends to

the base of the Canyon. The day-

trip version takes you 13 kilo-

metres to Roaring Springs and

back. Along the way, you’ll de-

scend switchbacks, glimpse the

majestic Bright Angel Canyon,

and pass through Redwall Lime-

stone tunnels and over a wooden

suspension bridge.

To really get to the bottom of

your Canyon obsession, try a

multiday rim-to-rim hike. Com-

pleting this hike requires a high

level of physical fitness and ad-

vance accommodation booking.

Most people camp or stay at the

almost hundred-year-old Phan-

tom Ranch, whose wood-and-

boulder cabins are located at the

base of the canyon, right next to

the Colorado River. Want to be

guided? Several outfitters, in-

cluding Wildland Trekking, offer

three- or four-day hiking tours.

BY MULE

Mules have been transporting

humans into the Canyon since

the late 1800s. Join the parade

and sign up for one of Canyon

Trail Rides’ excursions: Choose

from a one-hour ride along the

rim or a three-hour ride descent

into the Canyon to the Supai Tun-

nel.

BY CAR

Start your trip along the North

Rim Scenic Drive at the North

Rim Visitor Centre. First stop, the

General Store for doughnuts and

all your North Rim souvenir

needs. Then head out on Arizona

Scenic Byway 67 for a heart-ex-

panding drive to four Canyon

overlooks.

At Saddle Mountain, a short,

steep hike will bring you to a cou-

ple of quiet lookouts. Point Impe-

rial is the highest overlook in the

park at 2,683 metres; from here

you can see the iconic Mount

Hayden (keep your eyes peeled

for rock climbers scaling the

sandstone peak), the Vermilion

Cliffs and Marble Canyon. Cape

Royal provides an almost pano-

ramic view of the Canyon and the

Colorado River. If you’re feeling

adventurous, drive out to Point

Sublime for another rare per-

spective on the Canyon – but

note that you’ll need a high-

clearance vehicle with four-

wheel-drive to get there.

If you’re doing the North Rim

by car, best to fly into Flagstaff,

Ariz., and rent a car at the airport.

The drive to the North Rim Vis-

itor Centre is just short of four

hours non-stop, but you may

want to stop at Marble Canyon

for some slot canyon explora-

tions on the way. Or consider a

drive into Utah to explore Zion

National Park and the Kolob Ca-

nyon.

Special to The Globe and Mail

The writer was a guest ofEscape

Adventures. It did not review or

approve the story.

TheNorthRimoftheGrandCanyon

offersunparalleledviewsand

hastheRainbowRimTrailfor

mountain-bikeenthusiasts.

PHOTOSBYCHRISTINAPALASSIO/

THEGLOBEANDMAIL

Thecanyon

lesstravelled

TheGrandCanyonattractsmillionsofvisitorseachyear,

ChristinaPalassiowrites.ButitsNorthRimoffersa

chanceforquietandsolitudeawayfromthebigcrowds