Hearst Tanks

Hearst Tanks is a small, historic stock-water catchment on the South Rim near Grandview Point, sitting at roughly 7,438 feet elevation on the rim rather than down in the canyon. The name traces back to William Randolph Hearst, who owned the Grandview Point property from 1913 until the National Park Service acquired it through condemnation in 1941. In those decades Hearst never built the family retreat he'd planned; the land was mostly leased out for cattle grazing, and tanks like this one were dug to catch and hold runoff for livestock rather than for any scenic purpose.

What to know

• It's a man-made impoundment, not a spring or natural pool
• Located on the Grandview Point USGS quadrant, at rim elevation rather than below it
• Reflects the ranching-era history of Grandview before it became parkland

There's no reliable water for hikers anywhere in the Grandview Trail area today, so treat any old tank you come across as a historical relic of the Hearst grazing years, not a water source.