Grand Canyon Backpacking: Bright Angel

This guided backpacking trip in the Grand Canyon on the Bright Angel Trail can be scheduled as a two or three day journey. The trip will take us into the Grand Canyon via one of its most classic trails. As Native Americans once did, we will hike in their footsteps along the Bright Angel Fault to enter the inner canyon.

Hiking past ancient pictographs along the way, we will descend Jacob's Ladder stopping to look at the Brahma and Zoroaster Temples before arriving at the spring and cottonwood tree filled oasis of Indian Gardens. This area was still farmed by Havasupai families around the turn of the twentieth century. Indian Gardens will serve as our basecamp allowing us to stow away our main packs. Indian Gardens allows for a sense of mental peace within the inner canyon that feels amazing as its many natural spring’s produce a vegetated riparian area filled with huge trees, reeds, and wildlife.

The rest of the trip we travel light, and can hike Garden Creek to the water filled and beautifully sandstone sculpted Tapeats Narrows. Depending on the length of trip, ability and interests we may head down the Devil's Corkscrew to the Colorado River making it to the bottom of the Grand Canyon.

The final day is spent climbing from Indian Gardens back to the canyon rim, enjoying the huge views along the way out over the North Rim and across the entire Grand Canyon. The three day option includes additional sites to be explored and hiking to Plateau Point, which has some of the most spectacular views of the surrounding region

This is a great backpacking adventure for new Grand Canyon hikers and families because by dropping our equipment at Indian Gardens, the hike to the bottom of the canyon and back becomes much more feasible and the overall hiking experience much less arduous, although any hiking in Grand Canyon is always a challenge not to be taken lightly.

  • - Time: Year Round
  • - Difficulty Rating: 5/10
  • - Distance & Elevation: 9 - 16 miles ~ 3060 - 4380 feet
  • - Number of Days: 2 - 3
  • - Pricing: Click Here
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