Ultimate Full Day Tour

We will whisk you through the pines and up to the South Rim. In a few minutes you will be walking into the forested ledges of our first outdoor vista, Yavapai Point. For many, this is a first view of Grand Canyon, so we allow time to take it all in. You will carry our provided binoculars to pick out distant sights: the Colorado River, Phantom Ranch, or the mule-riders on Bright Angel Trail.

Here at the South Rim, we acknowledge the depth of the Canyon and the even greater depth of geologic time. The rock layers formed one by one with great pauses called unconformities between each layer. Then, much later, raindrop by raindrop, grain by grain, and landslide by landslide, the Grand Canyon grew. Now it is 277 miles long and averages about 10 miles wide, all in Arizona.

We will walk west on the Hermit Rest Trail. Soon we arrive with our checklist at the fossil hunt. We will see the sea life of the Permian Period: brachiopods, crinoids, and corals. These mark the incursion of the Kaibab Sea, 270 million years ago, when you would have been snorkeling here in shallow water. But now we are peering closely at the teeming limestone.

We will walk a bit of the level Rim Trail, focusing now on the diverse plant life of the area and any wild animals or birds we may encounter —you will take home colorful handouts about these. You might spot a huge elk with 6-foot antlers, or a California Condor soaring above the abyss with the ubiquitous ravens. The condor has the widest wingspan (9.5 feet) of any bird in North America.

Depending on time and traffic, we will stop at all of these. At the South Rim you will sit comfortably on folding chairs in view of the Canyon. Your guide will lead a memorable session on Grand Canyon rocks and their ages. You will pass around larger rock specimens and place smaller ones on your geology handout.

Here also, we will piece together the four eras of Grand Canyon's geologic history, from great mountains to shimmering seas. We will imagine the rock layers that existed at the end of each chapter and the missing strata of the Great Unconformity. Your guide will paint a verbal picture of each long-lost landscape.

By now, the magic of late afternoon shadows transforms the Canyon into a distant Shangri-La. It is also the best time for final photos and the most likely time to see an elk or deer cross the road.