I've been to 20 national parks and forests around the US. The North Rim of the Grand Canyon is the most underrated.

Wed, 08/28/2024 - 05:36

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The author sits on the edge of a canyon with rich, green canyons in front of her. — The author enjoys the view from Rainbow Rim Trail.
Joey Hadden/Business Insider

The Grand Canyon's North Rim offers a peaceful alternative to the crowded South Rim.
The South Rim has around 4 million visitors annually while the North Rim sees less than 1 million.
I visited the North Rim and felt like I'd discovered a hidden gem in the national park.

I never feel smaller than when I'm sitting on the edge of the Grand Canyon, a natural world wonder visible from outer space.

I've been to the national park three times — and I know I'll travel back again and again throughout my life.

With expansive views of eroded rocks that formed over millions of years, it's easy to see why the Grand Canyon is one of the most visited national parks in the US and has been overcrowded in recent years.

In the summer, I've seen people pack themselves onto the edges of the canyon, obstructing views of one of the most beautiful places in the country — but only on the South Rim.

But in my experience, the other side of the canyon known as the North Rim is the park's best-kept secret. While the South Rim has roughly 4 million annual visitors, the North Rim has less than 1 million, according to Southwest Media Communications.

I visited the South Rim once in 2022 and the North Rim twice — most recently in 2019.

While the South Rim was packed with cars and crowds when I went, I've only had a peaceful, remote experience on the North Rim that took me out of the stress of my busy lifestyle. It's a hidden gem in the otherwise crowded national park.

The North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park is one of my favorite places in the US.

grand canyon rainbow trail — A wide view of the Grand Canyon from the North Rim.
Joey Hadden/Business Insider

From Yosemite in California to Acadia in Maine, I've visited many US national parks. Each has surprised me with unique geographic features and diverse plant life — but the North Rim of the Grand Canyon amazed me the most.

With a higher elevation than the South Rim, it has cooler temperatures, snowy winters, and more plants and trees.

Unlike the more popular South Rim entrances open year-round, the North Rim entrance is only accessible from May to October for overnight stays and through November for day trips (depending on the weather).

The North Rim of the Arizona national park isn't as accessible as the South Rim.

A map of Arizona with a red map marker on the North Rim — A map of Arizona shows the North Rim.
Google Maps

The northern side of the national park lines Kaibab National Forest.

It's harder to reach the North Rim than the South Rim from other popular destinations in Arizona, like Phoenix and Sedona, because of the roadway.

The last time I went to the North Rim, I was coming from Sedona, and it was a four-and-a-half-hour drive.

But I experienced fewer crowds and saw a unique perspective of the canyons.

Sign at the entrance to Grand Canyon National Park in a subalpine meadow in autumn; behind is a spruce-fir forest with quaking aspens, Populus tremuloides, Kaibab Plateau — The North Rim entrance to Grand Canyon National Park.
Wild Horizons/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Although it has fewer visitors, I expected to see some crowds at the North Rim since it is smaller than the South Rim and has only one entrance (the South Rim has two).

I was thrilled to be wrong: the North Rim entrance had no line during my July 2019 visit. Although some clusters of people were at viewpoints, I rarely encountered other hikers on trails.

Outside of the national park, I found the most beautiful campsite I'd ever seen — and it cost nothing.

Inside an open blur tent zipped open to show the edge of a canyon — A view of the rim from the author's tent.
Joey Hadden/Business Insider

The North Rim has fewer lodging options than the South Rim, but I found a free campsite outside the park that was unlike any other I'd been to.

I discovered it on freecampsites.net during my first trip to the North Rim in 2015. I was so impressed that I returned for my 2019 trip.

The site is in Kaibab National Forest's Locust Point area and borders the canyon's rim. There are miles of rough forest roads on the way, but I thought it was worth the trek when I pitched my tent about a yard away from the edge.

It's important to note that this is a remote campsite without bathrooms. All that's provided is a fire pit right next to the edge — be careful not to fall.

From my campsite, I saw a Grand Canyon landscape unlike any I'd seen on Instagram.

Pine trees on the edge of a canyon topped with forests. — The North Rim of the Grand Canyon.
Joey Hadden/Business Insider

My campsite was right off of Rainbow Rim Trail, which goes from the North Rim to the South Rim. The views were mesmerizing.

While the South Rim is home to the canyon's most iconic scenes that are mostly red and brown, the North Rim is lush with forests. The canyon beneath my campsite was filled with rich green trees that starkly contrasted the warm-toned canyon rocks.

In the park itself, I avoided looking up popular hikes and simply stopped when I saw trails I was interested in hiking.

Most of these hikes were entirely free of people during my stays. Aside from whistles of birds and breezes through the tall trees, the trails were quiet. I had truly detached experiences from the rest of the world.

These hikes took me to unique rock formations that made me wonder how they came to be.

grand canyon — A unique rock formation on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.
Joey Hadden/Business Insider

The formation that stumped me most was this rock with a triangular hole near the top that towered over the others.

The North Rim's peaceful atmosphere and surprising landscape helped me reach a place of presence I'd never before experienced at a national park.

During most of my national park experiences, crowds make it difficult to live in the moment.

But sitting on the edge of the North Rim, I easily forgot about work and my busy lifestyle. My mind was clear up there — and I can't wait to return.

Although my last visit was in 2019, the North Rim remains significantly less popular than the South Rim.

I can only hope for more isolated experiences in the future.

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I've been to 20 national parks and forests around the US. The North Rim of the …