The highest viewpoint in Grand Canyon National Park (8819ft) takes in the entirety of Marble Canyon as it cuts northeastward into the Painted Desert beneath the imposing Vermillion Cliffs. Directly below, Nankoweap drainage seems impossible to access, but once housed a bustling community of ancient Puebloan farmers. The prominent pinnacle to the southwest is Mount Hayden, named after prominent Arizona pioneer Charles T Hayden, who helped found the city of Tempe.
Point Imperial
Grand Canyon National Park
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
11.3 MILES
Strategically located on the southernmost tip of the North Rim high above the great westward turn of the Colorado River, Cape Royal takes in almost every…
Grand Canyon National Park North Rim
6.84 MILES
Grand Canyon's remote, wild and forgotten North Rim is far less developed, and sees far fewer visitors that its southern counterpart. In part this is due…
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18.5 MILES
Forged by millions of years of erosion by the Colorado River, the Grand Canyon captures the history, scale and beauty of the American West. Overlooks peer…
17.83 MILES
In 1905 Ellsworth and Emery Kolb built a small photography studio on the edge of the rim, which has since been expanded and now holds a bookstore and a…
18.28 MILES
The marvelously worn winding staircase of Mary Colter's 70ft stone tower, built in 1932, leads to one of the highest spots on the rim. From here, slats in…
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7.02 MILES
Enter the front door of the lodge and see...the Grand Canyon, somehow looking even larger framed by the massive windows of the sunroom. Built in 1937 out…
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16.79 MILES
Walk about 1 mile along the mostly level and shaded dirt road to marvelously uncrowded Shoshone Point, a rocky promontory with some of the canyon’s best…
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16.65 MILES
This outdoor interpretative display traces the history of the canyon's formation – each meter equals one million years of geologic history, for a total of…
Nearby Grand Canyon National Park attractions
1. Grand Canyon National Park North Rim
6.84 MILES
Grand Canyon's remote, wild and forgotten North Rim is far less developed, and sees far fewer visitors that its southern counterpart. In part this is due…
7.02 MILES
Enter the front door of the lodge and see...the Grand Canyon, somehow looking even larger framed by the massive windows of the sunroom. Built in 1937 out…
7.08 MILES
An easily accessible overlook that gives unfettered views down into Bright Angel Canyon: a maze of mesas, buttes, spires and side canyons. The South Rim…
9.78 MILES
A favorite of the many Kaibab National Forest overlooks, this viewpoint makes a hauntingly spectacular picnic or camping spot. From the bald 1-acre…
10.19 MILES
Around 900 years ago, as the growth of the village on Unkar delta outpaced its farming output, a group of Ancestral Puebloans established a summer…
11.3 MILES
Strategically located on the southernmost tip of the North Rim high above the great westward turn of the Colorado River, Cape Royal takes in almost every…
14.99 MILES
A spectacular overlook with incredible river views, Plateau Point is accessible via a 1.5-mile spur trail off the South Rim's inner-canyon Bright Angel…