In early October, Leigh and I enjoyed a post-summer get-away to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and Zion National Parks.

We’d finally had enough of our hot Arizona summer, and had grown tired of our local scenic drives. We needed a get-away! To our delight, Leigh managed to reserve three nights at the Grand Canyon Lodge when she called one morning. The timing would be great - immediately following the retreat that Leigh was helping organize in Sedona and near what should be peak fall foilage season. I looked at the map and decided to tack on three more nights outside of Zion. We hadn’t ever been to the North Rim, and even though we had been to Zion fourteen years earlier, it would be fun to revisit. We could skip the shuttle in the canyon this year (with Covid and all) and explore the less frequented areas.

The South Rim is only about a 2.5 hour drive from Sedona, but getting around the canyon to the North Rim takes almost five. As we started driving north toward Flagstaff, we were disappointed with the smoky haze. I hadn’t checked the smoke maps recently. As it would turn out, the haze was bad for the first day or two, but then it steadily improved. By the end of the week, and the drive back home, the visibility was much improved.

Our first stop was Navajo Bridge at Marble Canyon, as we crossed the Colorado River. Then we stopped in at historic Lees Ferry in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and enjoyed a picnic lunch. After a few more hours of travel, we made it to the lodge, checked-in and settled, in time to enjoy sunset views over the canyon.

We enjoyed sunrise the next morning along the rim, but soon started getting ready for a day of driving and exploring along Cape Royal Road. The early morning views were a little hazy, but not too bad. We reached Cape Royal around 9 AM and had a pretty terrific view for our breakfast there.

Afterward, we took the Cape Royal Trail and peered through Angels Window.

Later, we explored the cooler Cliff Spring Trail. Yes, there was a tiny trickle of water there.

The Vista Encantada lookout provided terrific views on the drive back towards the lodge.

The aspens along the way were pretty great too.

More sunset and sunrise photos of course.

The next day we drove out Cape Royal Road again on a mission to hike the Cape Final Trail. We were not disappointed. Here is a view from the first stop along the rim. Spectacular!

Later, at Cape Final proper, we stopped to rest and enjoyed breakfast.

We recovered that afternoon back at the cabin. Later, Leigh snatched one of her best sunset photos along Bright Angel Trail that evening.

On our last morning on the North Rim we headed out early to the Transcept Trail. This trail leaves directly from the lodge, connecting the campground. It was a great start to the day with great views, refreshing cool breezes, and colorful aspens interspersed among the pines.

We returned to our cabin in time to shower, pack, and check out. Then it was onward toward Zion National Park. We ate inside a restaurant for the first time in forever in Utah. How daring and what a treat!

Update 2023-05-29:
This entry’s been sitting in drafts for more than two years - presumably because I never finished the Zion half. The North Rim half’s pretty great though. Published!

Update 2023-06-02:
A curated photo album, including the Zion NP half, is now linked on the Photos page.