South Kaibab Trail (Grand Canyon)

Trail: South Kaibab

Miles: 14.3

Type: Out and Back

My Time: Only did a section of the trail

Elevation Gain/Loss: 4872 ft.

Difficulty: Hard

Parking Permit: National Park Pass needed or pay entrance fee

Location: Grand Canyon National Park

This is one of the most popular trails located on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. This trail will allow you to go all the way down to the bottom of the canyon, if you choose. You can even do the infamous Rim to Rim hike starting from here! There are definitely a few options, so make sure to plan out what you want to do.

One of the biggest things separating the Grand Canyon and the South Kaibab Trail from most of the other hikes…Is you descend first! Then you will have to hike yourself up and out. So, typically you hike up a mountain or hill while using most of your energy and then you get to coast down. BUT, this is the opposite. You will “coast” down and then hike all the way up. With this being said, I recommend knowing your physical capabilities. In case you descend down too far on the trail and possibly, not have the ability to hike back out. Be smart!

Also, be prepared for harsh weather. As it gets extremely hot and extremely cold in the Grand Canyon. It ranges from 100 degrees to snowing and below freezing. Also pay attention to how the temperature changes from the top of the canyon, to the bottom. It is roughly 5000 feet of elevation change. For every 1000 feet of elevation change, it can vary ~5.4 degrees Fahrenheit. This means, it COULD drop or gain ~25 degrees Fahrenheit during this hike! If you come prepared with all the right equipment, food and water then you should easily be able to attack this hike…As long as you are physically capable. We had gone down this trail in October 2020 and it was in the 30s (Farenheit) before the sun came up and then once the sun came up, it jumped up to the 70s (Farenheit) real quick. This was mostly on the top of the canyon, so I could only imagine what it was towards the bottom. Also, unless you are right up against the Grand Canyon walls during sunrise or sunset, the trail is fully exposed. So expect to be in direct sunlight for majority of this hike.

Unfortunately I have not been able to go all the way to the bottom on the South Kaibab trail, as we were limited with time. With the short duration we had, we went down about 2 miles, then back up those 2 miles. I will tell you for our short experience on this trail, the hike down was great! The views were amazing but, as soon as we started heading back up, it was a completely different hike. Now we were in store for the huffing and puffing!

Much more tiring going up the trail (as expected) for sure! Good news is, it was a pretty constant trail, no major straight up sections. Just switchbacks and stairs which made it very easy to fall along. Now after doing this…I could only imagine what it would be like coming from the bottom and how exhausting it could be.

The views of the Grand Canyon are not the same when you are inside of it. It is spectacular! If you’ve only been to the top of the Grand Canyon, then you have not experienced it to its fullest. Even if you are limited on time or if you just want to go down a little bit, I highly recommend giving it a shot. Even if it means just going down about a half or 1 mile. Whatever you’re capable of and have time for…you won’t regret it, I PROMISE. The Grand Canyon is such a vast canyon, when you were inside, it makes you realize how small we are as humans. It’s just unreal!

If you’ve been reading my blogs then you know I like to go early morning to beat the traffic and crowds. Per usual we caught the sunrise going down this trail. And let me tell you…it was freaking EPIC. One day I look forward to hiking all the way down to the bottom of the canyon. When this happens I will most definitely add a new blog depicting my experience.

Don’t forget to bring plenty of water, sun protection, sunscreen and all the necessary food/snacks you need.

As always pack it in and pack it out!

Follow and/or tag me @likes.to.hike