Where is the Grand Canyon?

Grand Canyon is in the northwest corner of Arizona, close to the borders of Utah and Nevada. The Colorado River, which flows through the canyon, drains water from seven states, but the feature we know as Grand Canyon is entirely in Arizona. Most of the Grand Canyon lies within Grand Canyon National Park and is managed by the National Park Service. > Jump to a larger map

Why is the park separated into South and North Rims?

A 277 mile long (446 km) canyon separates the park into South and North Rims. The Grand Canyon of the Colorado River is a mile-deep, (1.6 km) and creates a barrier that bisects the park. Even though the average distance across the canyon is only 10 miles/ 16 km, be aware that it is a five-hour drive of 215 miles/ 346 km between the park's South Rim Village and the North Rim Village.

Scenery, climate and vegetation are noticably different between north and south rims because of differences in elevation. It is almost like having two parks in one and it takes time, planning and effort to be able to visit both sides of the Canyon in one trip.

The mile-deep Colorado River creates a barrier that splits the park into north and south Rims. In this illustration, the North Rim is shown in yellow and the South Rim is shown in blue.

How Do I Get to the South Rim?

The South Rim of the Grand Canyon is open all year and is located on the "Arizona" side of the Canyon. The South Rim recieves 90% of the park's visitation.

The South Rim has an airport and rail service and is close to Interstate 40 and to the transportation centers of Williams and Flagstaff, Arizona. A large city with a major airport, Phoenix, Arizona, is also on this side of the canyon.

Grand Canyon National Park (SOUTH RIM) is located 60 miles north of Williams, Arizona (via route 64 from Interstate 40) and 80 miles northwest of Flagstaff (via route 180). Grand Canyon lies entirely within the state of Arizona.

Commercial airlines serve Phoenix, Flagstaff, and Las Vegas. There is limited air service into Grand Canyon Airport (just south of the park) from Las Vegas and elsewhere.

Greyhound provides bus service to Flagstaff. Shuttle service between Phoenix and Flagstaff, and between Flagstaff and Grand Canyon Village is offered by Open Road Tours (800-766-7117) and Flagstaff Express Shuttle services (800-563-1980), call for prices and schedules.

Amtrak provides rail service to Flagstaff with connecting bus service to the canyon. Grand Canyon Railway offers train service from Williams (for additional information call: 1-800-THE-TRAIN).

Download Going To The South Rim (224kb PDF File) 2 pages

Download the Winter 2009 South Rim Guide here (1.91MB PDF File)

How Do I Get to the North Rim?

The North Rim of the park is more remote and is only open from mid-May through mid-October. The North Rim receives 10% of the park's visitation.

The North Rim is located on the "Utah" side of the Grand Canyon and the entrance station is 30 miles south of Jacob Lake on Highway 67. (The actual rim of the Grand Canyon with visitor services is an additional 14 miles south.) The entrance to the Grand Canyon National Park NORTH RIM is located 30 miles south of Jacob Lake on Highway 67; the actual rim of the canyon is an additional 14 miles south. Jacob Lake, AZ is located in northern Arizona on Highway 89A, not far from the Utah border. Grand Canyon lies entirely within the state of Arizona. There is no airport or rail service to the park. (that means that the North Rim village may only be reached by road).

Commercial airlines serve Phoenix, Salt Lake City, and Las Vegas. There is limited air service into the St George, UT Airport from Salt Lake City, UT. (St. George, UT is 156 miles/ 251 km to the west of the North Rim)

There is no public transportation to the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park other than the Trans Canyon Shuttle (928-638-2820) which runs between the north and south rims of the park once each day, in each direction, and the travel time is about 4 1/2 hours each way..

Visitor services and facilities inside the National Park on the North Rim are only open from mid-May to mid-October. The road from Jacob Lake to the North Rim (Highway 67) is subject to closure due to snow from mid-October to mid-May. Read more about off-season visits

Download the 2008 Season North Rim Guide here for reference (1.80MB PDF File) The 2009 edition will be available in May, 2009. This is a 16 page newspaper.