The River Trail is a

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or a small paved road (though it can also be a route along a navigable waterways) generally not intended for usage by motorized vehicles, usually passing through a natural area. Ho ...

Grand Canyon National Park Grand Canyon National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in northwestern Arizona, the 15th site to have been named as a national park. The park's central feature is the Grand Canyo ...

, located in the

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

. This trail connects the end of the

Bright Angel Trail The Bright Angel Trail is a hiking trail located in Grand Canyon National Park in the U.S. state of Arizona. Description The trail originates at Grand Canyon Village on the south rim of the Grand Canyon, descending 4380 feet to the Colorado R ...

with

Phantom Ranch Phantom Ranch is a lodge inside Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona. It sits at the bottom of Grand Canyon, on the east side of Bright Angel Creek, a little over half a mile north of the Creek's confluence with the Colorado River. Opened in 1 ...

and the

South Kaibab Trail The South Kaibab Trail is a hiking trail in Grand Canyon National Park, located in the United States, U.S. States of the United States, state of Arizona. Unlike the Bright Angel Trail which also begins at the south rim of the Grand Canyon and lea ...

Description

Though it has no official trailhead, the River Trail is an important link in the trail system in

Grand Canyon The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a mile (). The canyon and adjacent rim are contained within Grand Canyon Nati ...

. This trail connects the

at its western terminus with

and the Bright Angel Campground via the silver suspension bridge. One mile (1.6 km) beyond the silver bridge is the eastern terminus and junction with the

. Heading north on the South Kaibab Trail leads to the

Black Suspension Bridge The Black Suspension Bridge (also known as the Kaibab Trail Suspension Bridge) spans the Colorado River in the inner canyon of Grand Canyon National Park. The span length is . The bridge is part of the South Kaibab Trail and is the river crossi ...

and across the river to the

North Kaibab Trail The North Kaibab Trail is a hiking trail in the North Rim side of the Grand Canyon, in Grand Canyon National Park, located in the U.S. state of Arizona. Access Access to this part of the park by car is seasonal, open from mid-May to mid-October ...

junction.

Condition

categorizes the River Trail as a ''corridor trail'', and receives regular maintenance and patrols by park rangers. On 31 July and 1 August 2006, passing thunderstorms eroded long sections of the River Trail at an area called the sand dunes, exposing power and water lines that run along and under the trail's road bed. The sand dunes are an area of trail made up of beach sand that winds have blown up the side of the inner gorge along the south bank of the

Colorado River The Colorado River () is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The river, the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), 5th longest in the United St ...

. The trail was briefly closed to mule traffic but remained open to hikers. Repairs were expected to take seven to fourteen days.

Water availability

The primary water source along the River Trail is the

. If water is to be taken from the river for drinking, it must be either filtered, treated, or boiled before consuming. Due to the proximity to

and the Bright Angel Campground, hikers who are not in a life-or-death need for water should proceed across the silver suspension bridge past the mule corral, where a water spigot is located near the restroom building before the junction with the

and

Camping

Camping is not allowed along the River Trail. Hikers must proceed to the Bright Angel Campground where they can camp with a permit issued by the

Backcountry Information Center. Use of the campground overnight is regulated by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

, and they call for a maximum number of groups (7 to 11 people) and parties (1 to 6 people), as well as a maximum total number of persons.Grand Canyon National Park Use Areas
/ref> The closest campground to the River Trail is the Bright Angel Campground, located about north of the junction with the silver suspension bridge. The three letter code indicates the park's use area designation: Use permits are available on a first-come, first-served basis from the park's Backcountry Information Center. Requests are taken beginning on the 1st day of the month, up to four months before the requested first night of camping.

Hazards

Hazards hikers can encounter along the River Trail include

dehydration In physiology, dehydration is a lack of total body water that disrupts metabolic processes. It occurs when free water loss exceeds intake, often resulting from excessive sweating, health conditions, or inadequate consumption of water. Mild deh ...

, sudden rainstorms, flash flooding, loose footing, rockfall, encounters with wildlife, and extreme heat. At the

, additional hazards include

hypothermia Hypothermia is defined as a body core temperature below in humans. Symptoms depend on the temperature. In mild hypothermia, there is shivering and mental confusion. In moderate hypothermia, shivering stops and confusion increases. In severe ...

(due to the river's consistently cold temperatures),

trauma Trauma most often refers to: *Psychological trauma, in psychology and psychiatric medicine, refers to severe mental and emotional injury caused by distressing events *Traumatic injury, sudden physical injury caused by an external force, which doe ...

(due to collisions with boulders in rapids), and

drowning Drowning is a type of Asphyxia, suffocation induced by the submersion of the mouth and nose in a liquid. Submersion injury refers to both drowning and near-miss incidents. Most instances of fatal drowning occur alone or in situations where othe ...

.Grand Canyon National Park Summer Hiking
/ref>

References

External links

Grand Canyon National Park, Official site

OpenStreetMap

OpenStreetMap GPX file download

Hike Arizona
{{Grand Canyon trails Hiking trails in Grand Canyon National Park National Recreation Trails in Arizona