Navajo Point

Navajo Point is a roadside overlook on Desert View Drive, a few minutes west of Desert View. At 7,461 feet (2,275 m), it's the South Rim's highest viewpoint; the observation deck at Desert View Watchtower sits a little higher. Stop for the view of the Colorado River below and the Watchtower across the canyon, or for the aviation memorial now set here. If you've already made several overlooks, the panorama may feel familiar; the memorial gives this one another reason to get out.

Look north along the Colorado River and west across the layered canyon. Rafts can be visible far below when river traffic and visibility line up. The Watchtower makes a useful landmark in a photo: include it with the canyon so the picture shows this particular stretch of rim, not just another wall of cliffs. Sunset is popular here, though the light and river activity are never guaranteed.

The stone memorial and wayside plaque at Navajo Point commemorate the June 30, 1956 midair collision of a TWA Super Constellation and a United Airlines DC-7, 21,000 feet over the Grand Canyon. All 128 people aboard died. The memorial used to be at Desert View Point and was moved here, so don't confuse the two overlooks when looking for it. The disaster prompted a major push to modernize U.S. air safety, culminating in the modern Federal Aviation Administration.

The cliffs below the rim are a stack of rocks with very different ages. The inner gorge exposes igneous and metamorphic rocks formed about 2 billion years ago; layers above them were deposited over hundreds of millions of years. The Colorado Plateau rose between about 70 and 30 million years ago, and the Colorado River began cutting down through it roughly 5 to 6 million years ago. From this high rim, the river far below makes that long erosion story easier to picture.

You can drive straight to the overlook on Desert View Drive. Parking is limited, with space for only a very small number of smaller RVs or campers. There’s parking and the scenic view here; restrooms, a market and a trading post are at the developed Desert View area farther east, not at this overlook. Because Navajo Point is popular at sunset, give yourself flexibility if the small lot is full.