Hi Rob,

That’s always a critical question with any Grand Canyon trip, but access from the North Rim gets trickier in spring. But yes, spring (when I took the trip) and fall are the prime seasons for this hike.

If you’re a subscriber to The Big Outside, you’ll find more info about seasons, our itinerary on this trip, water, and other logistical details and tips on planning it yourself. A subscription gives you full access to all of my blog’s stories, including the trip planner section in stories about specific trips, where I share details of the itinerary and other logistics and planning tips.

I also offer Custom Trip Planning, where I’ll help you plan this or any trip you read about at my blog, customizing an itinerary ideal for you and helping you with other insights about the trip, including navigating a competitive permit process.

I hope one of those options works for you.

Thanks for the question. Good luck.

Hi Michael,

Good to hear from you again and it sounds like you had very good conditions for a beautiful hike. Thanks for sharing all of those details. You noted that being there in early May gave you moderate temps, which is fortunate. For the benefit of everyone reading this, I’ll add that I’ve also seen very hot temps even in April—in fact, my most-recent trip there, which I wrote about in this story, was this past April 5-10, and we had mostly very nice temps but still some hot afternoons.

Good to hear from you again, Michael. Keep in touch.

The hike along the river to Deer Creek was really nice scenery and by taking the high route we again avoided the most exposed section. By camping at Deer Creek, we were able to walk back down to the narrows in the late afternoon and have it to ourselves (river parties having moved on), with great flat light for photography. We felt we could have pushed all the way to the rim in one day on the climb out, but very much enjoyed spending the afternoon in ample shade at our water cache on the Esplanade and camping there, breaking the climb into two days.

Hi Ron,

Thanks for the kind words and your question. This hike usually would not be possible in mid-March, mostly due to road access, although wintry weather in the upper canyon would present its own challenges, too. This is a wonderful trip but does have challenges that some other canyon hikes do not have. I get into much more specific detail about the hiking seasons and other details of this trip in the planning section at the bottom of this story (which does require a paid subscription to The Big Outside to access).

See my Custom Trip Planning page if you’d like my help planning your trip.

Good luck and get in touch anytime.

Sorry, but I haven’t experienced any energy vortex in the Grand Canyon. But it’s a beautiful place that I find energizing!

Thanks, Matt. For three to four days off the South Rim, I’d suggest South Kaibab to Hermits Rest or “Hermits Rest to Bright Angel, but it sounds like you’ve probably done those trails.

Have you backpacked the Escalante Route, Lipan Point to New Hance or Grandview? I write about that in this story, which also has photos from the Tanner and Beamer trails, a great out-and-back hike from Lipan Point. See my e-guide “The Best Backpacking Trip in the Grand Canyon.”

From the North Rim, I’ve only hiked this loop and the North Kaibab and I’d highly recommend the Thunder River-Deer Creek Loop—although it’s a tough hike in three days and not easy in four days.

See also my story “5 Epic Grand Canyon Backpacking Trips You Must Do.”

Good luck.

That does not surprise me, Mitch. Thanks for the comment.

Thanks, Barry. I hope you tick it off your list.