Grand Canyon National Park – 4 Days On The South Rim

ByChristine Updated on

Driving up to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon in Arizona, even once inside of the park, you would have no idea that the canyon lay ahead, not until you are walking up to it, only steps away, and the trees clear and you are suddenly at the edge. What a shocker this must have been to early explorers.

It felt like a bit of a shock to us too after driving through flat terrain until the very last moment. Maybe that adds to the feeling that even the most amazing pictures can’t prepare you for seeing the real thing in person!

A 4 day itinerary for Grand Canyon National Park’s South Rim is an ideal length of time. If you want to cut it down to 3 days, pick only one of the two major trails to hike. Here’s what you’ll want to plan to do.

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Mather Point

We got our first views of the Grand Canyon along Mather Point.

As many pictures as we have seen and as many descriptions from friends and family who have been here, it doesn’t compare to seeing it ourselves. It is wide and deep, and yes grand. Layers and layers of different colors, stacked and swirling, down down and into the far distance. Wow!

This stop has been particularly meaningful to me because the Grand Canyon was something that my Mom had always wanted to see. Even before actually going, she knew it was a place that would speak to her soul and when she was finally able to go, made her so happy. It wasn’t a trip Kevin and I were able to go on, but my Dad and sister and her younger sister and husband from Germany joined her. So it is a place that is not only amazing of its own accord, but in which I felt especially close to her.

Riding The Park Shuttle Along The Rim

We hopped the park shuttle and rode along the western branch of the South Rim, hopping on and off to look at various overlooks, and hiking for a ways along the Rim Trail.

From one overlook we saw the Bright Angel Trail that we would hike the next day.

Bright Angel Trail

On our second day we hiked the Bright Angel Trail down to the rest hut at mile marker 3 and then up up up back to the rim.

This 6 mile round trip distance felt good to us, but there are other options. For a less challenging day you can already turn around at the 1.5 mile rest house for 3 miles round trip.

Or you can go further than we did to Havasupai Gardens for a 9 mile round trip or Plateau Point for a 12.5 mile round trip hike. Don’t try to go down to the river and back as a day trip.

Desert View Drive

The next items are what we wanted to do…that is until the government shutdown and the National Parks were closed. So, we were locked out. How disappointing!

We were so grateful though that we arrived in time to see the canyon and some of the park before the shutdown occurred. It would have been awful if we hadn’t at least gotten that chance.

On day 3 we recommend driving the Desert View Drive along the eastern branch of the South Rim looking at all of the overlooks.

South Kaibab Trail

On day 4, hike the South Kaibab Trail. Like with Bright Angel Trail, we would have picked a day hike turn around point such as Ooh Aah Point at 1.8 miles roundtrip, Cedar Ridge at 3 miles roundtrip, or Skeleton Point at 6 miles roundtrip length.

I’d like to say we’d go to Skelton Point which would be a 6 mile roundtrip like we did on the Bright Angel Trail. But with it being day 4, the other days and hikes might have worn us out enough to pick Cedar Ridge instead.

What To Do Next

Though the South Rim is more popular, we’ve also been to the Grand Canyon’s North Rim and we highly recommend a trip there too!

Christine is the co-founder of Never Stop Adventuring, and an avid traveler who started traveling the world as a child growing up in a military family. She even lived in Germany for numerous years. Since then she has been to 48 U.S. states, 17 countries, and traveled the U.S. in an RV for over 7 years.

With her 3 kids, the adventures continued family travel style. She has planned and coordinated travel with kids for the last 10 years and shares family travel tips and tricks, destinations, costs and even the mistakes so you can be empowered to take your own family trips with confidence!