Mather Point

Mather Point is the first big canyon view most South Rim visitors get, and for a lot of people it's the one that makes them stop the car. It sits on a limestone outcrop at 7,120 feet, just a short paved walk from the Grand Canyon Visitor Center, and the guardrail overlook drops roughly 4,500 feet straight down to the Colorado River. Named for Stephen Mather, the first director of the National Park Service, it's become the postcard shot of the park for good reason.

What you'll see

The view is wide and dramatic rather than framed and intimate — layered canyon walls stretching toward the North Rim about 10 miles across, with the river visible in the depths below on clear days. A few lookout points sit within a half-mile of flat ground near the main overlook, and if you walk about 30 minutes along the Rim Trail in either direction, the crowds thin out fast and the photos get better.

• Rating: 4.9 stars from over 14,000 Google reviews
• Access: paved, wheelchair-friendly path from the Visitor Center; reachable by the free park shuttle
• Open: 24 hours, every day
• On site: restrooms and a small snack bar near the main overlook

Parking lots near the Visitor Center fill up on busy days, especially midday in peak season, so arriving early or taking the shuttle is the easier bet. It's an easy stop — most people spend anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour — and it works well as the first or last viewpoint on a South Rim visit.