While hiking is a popular way to experience the Grand Canyon, the trails are strenuous and can be dangerous. Depending upon how prepared you are and what the canyon serves up at any particular time, your trip can be a vacation or a challenge, a revelation or an ordeal. Before you set out into the canyon, be sure to have done your research, and bring plenty of water.

Only the South Kaibab, Bright Angel, and North Kaibab Trails are maintained and patrolled by trail crews on a regular basis. These three trails meet at the bottom near the only bridges that span the Colorado River, creating a popular cross-canyon corridor. These wider corridor trails offer expansive views, reliable water sources, great camping, and the opportunity for hiking in and out on different trails. Backcountry Rangers highly recommend this area, especially for a first Grand Canyon adventure. The hiking distance from the North Rim to the bottom of the canyon is twice as far as from the South Rim to the bottom. Three nights are the minimum recommended for a round trip from the North Rim.

Grand Canyon National Park encompasses more than 1.2 million acres, the vast majority of which are inaccessible due to the predominance of cliffs and inhospitable to all but plants and animals able to survive in the desert. If you choose to hike from rim, to river, to rim, you will have to deal with an elevation differential of more than 10,000 feet from start to finish.

Despite the fact that canyon hiking is extremely demanding, requests for backcountry permits far exceed the use that the canyon's fragile desert environment can sustain without serious damage. Therefore, overnight camping in the canyon and in undeveloped areas along the rim is carefully monitored and controlled, and demand usually exceeds availability. If you wish to camp anywhere in the park, other than in developed campgrounds on the rims, you must obtain a permit from the Backcountry Office. The earlier you plan your hike and apply for permits, the more likely you will be to get the dates and itinerary of your choice.