Widforss Trail

Widforss Trail is a 10-mile (16 km) out-and-back from the North Rim forest to the rim-side rocks at Widforss Point. Allow about six hours for the full walk. The route gives you a strong canyon view near the start and again at the end, but the middle is a real forest hike, not five miles of nonstop overlooks. Choose it if you want a long walk through pines and aspen with a couple of big canyon openings; pick a shorter rim walk if the view is your only goal.

The first 2.5 miles have the self-guided stops, but they are only the start of the trip. At more than 8,000 feet, the full distance takes more effort than the mileage alone suggests.

From Cape Royal Road, take the dirt road a quarter-mile south to the one-mile drive to the Widforss Trail parking area. A self-guiding brochure is available at the trailhead. The walk begins around 8,100 feet; no water source is listed along the route, so carry what you expect to need for the full day. North Rim access is seasonal, so check road status before setting out. Ordinary pets are not allowed on Widforss; leashed pets are limited to the Bridle Trail and part of the Arizona Trail.

The trail leaves the parking area through forest and skirts Harvey Meadow; the canyon is not visible right at the start. The first glimpse comes about a mile in. For roughly the first 2.75 miles, the path stays along the rim, with ponderosa pines giving way to open canyon views. Fourteen numbered stops on the first 2.5 miles point out natural and geologic features; marker 10 is near a particularly large ponderosa, and the guided portion ends at sculptured rocks with a view across this stretch of the canyon.

Around mile 2.75 the trail turns away from the rim, and the canyon drops out of view until close to Widforss Point. The path crosses a valley with ferns and aspen, curves toward the Transept, then climbs onto a broad, flat bench. You pass an aspen grove around mile 3.5. The last mile and a half meanders through forest with little elevation change. The path is well used and easy to follow, but this is the quiet, tree-covered part of the hike; save enough energy for the same miles back.

The trail ends near a Kaibab Limestone knob across a small valley. There is no clearly defined path onto the knob; hikers usually find a rock ledge near the end for the canyon view. From there, look across to South Rim landmarks such as Yaki, Yavapai, and Mather Points, then pick out Wotan’s Throne, Horseshoe Mesa, and the San Francisco Peaks. Transept Canyon also gives you a striking on-route frame: pale rim cliffs above darker, layered inner-canyon walls, with pines at the edge.

The trail is named for Gunnar Widforss, who painted Grand Canyon landscapes in the early 1900s. The trail’s interpretive stops connect natural and geologic features to the subjects in his work. Harvey Meadow has its own story: it was an early tourist camp, and game warden and mountain-lion hunter “Uncle” Jim Owens lived in a small cave across the meadow.