Ariel Point Trail

Best Time for Ariel Point

Like the rest of the North Rim, this route is only accessible during the park's North Rim operating season; facilities and roads close seasonally, so confirm current access before planning around it. A GPS track is worth carrying regardless of season, since the faint roadbed is easy to lose.

Trail Tips for Ariel Point

• This is a faint, seldom-traveled route best suited to hikers comfortable navigating without a clearly marked path.
• Carry a GPS track or downloaded offline map — old trail markers disappear entirely in burned sections.
• There's no infrastructure of any kind out here, so treat it as a genuine backcountry route, not an extension of the maintained rim trails.

Getting to Ariel Point

Start from the Komo Point Trail junction on the Walhalla Plateau and follow the old roadbed south, passing a junction with the Walhalla Connector along the way. Old trail markers survive on some trees but disappear in sections burned by past fire, so this route asks for real navigation confidence rather than a marked path to follow.

What to Expect on Ariel Point Trail

Ariel Point is a quiet, little-visited overlook on the Walhalla Plateau on the North Rim, reached by following an old logging road rather than a maintained park trail. The unsigned route branches south off the Komo Point Trail and crosses forested, fairly level ground before dropping toward a rocky outcrop at the rim with an open, unprotected view into the canyon — with none of the crowds found at Cape Royal or Point Imperial.