Nankoweap Granary Trail

Nankoweap Granary Trail is an out-and-back from the upper river camp at Nankoweap, river mile 52, to storage rooms in a cliff alcove above the Colorado. Plan on about 1.2 miles round trip and around an hour. The short distance hides a steep, rocky climb, so choose it if your river trip leaves time for a demanding side hike. This is the river-side granary walk, separate from the much longer Nankoweap Trail that descends from the North Rim.

Start at the back of the upper camp and follow the established path toward the southwest wall. The granaries are visible from the base of the climb and help orient the approach. The trail crosses rough rock, climbs sharply and finishes with a little scrambling near the site. Take your time on the narrow ledge. The mapped route starts at the upper camp; the approach from another delta camp may differ.

Four storage rooms sit beneath an overhang in the cliff. Ancestral Puebloan people built and used them about a thousand years ago; the delta below provided crops to store. From the ledge, the Colorado runs away both upstream and downstream. Frame the rooms with some of the river in view to show how high the site sits above the canyon floor.

This is not a road-access trailhead. Reach Nankoweap on a Colorado River trip and start from the upper camp at river mile 52. Arrange river access and camping before planning the hike. The National Park Service permits the stabilized approach but asks visitors to stay on the ledge below the granaries. Leave the structures and artifacts untouched; pets are prohibited below the rim, except qualifying service animals.