Greenland Lake Trail
A sinkhole lake and 1890s salt cabin on the Walhalla Plateau, currently closed after fire damage
About
Greenland Lake sits just off Cape Royal Road on the Walhalla Plateau, about a mile and a half north of Vista Encantada on the North Rim. It's an intermittent lake fed by snowmelt and rain, formed when mildly acidic water dissolved the limestone below the surface and the ground above eventually collapsed into a sinkhole; silt and clay settled into the bottom and now hold the water in. Aspen ring the shoreline along with ponderosa pine and Douglas fir, and the lake is a reliable water source for deer and other wildlife on an otherwise dry plateau.
The cabin
A narrow trail once looped roughly 200 yards around the lake to a wood cabin built in the 1890s, its roof pitched steeply to shed snow. The cabin was used to store salt for cattle grazed on the plateau in that era — a small, practical structure rather than a scenic destination in itself.
The National Park Service has closed the Greenland Lake pullout and trail due to extensive damage from the 2025 Dragon Bravo Fire, with no reopening date announced. Cape Royal Road itself remains open in season as the route to Point Imperial, Cape Royal, and other North Rim stops, but Greenland Lake is not currently a place to pull off and visit.
Planning Around the Closure
Check the park's current North Rim status page before planning a stop here, since this closure doesn't follow the same seasonal pattern as the rest of Cape Royal Road.
What to Know
- A narrow trail once looped roughly 200 yards around the lake to a wood cabin built in the 1890s, used to store salt for cattle grazed on the plateau in that era.
- This is the only lake found anywhere in Grand Canyon National Park, a detail worth knowing even while it's inaccessible.
- Continue on to the other Cape Royal Road stops that remain open rather than planning a trip around this one.
Current Status
The National Park Service has closed the Greenland Lake pullout and trail due to extensive damage from the 2025 Dragon Bravo Fire, with no reopening date announced. Cape Royal Road itself remains open in season as the route to Point Imperial, Cape Royal, and other North Rim stops, but Greenland Lake is not currently a place to pull off and visit.
What Greenland Lake Normally Offers
Greenland Lake sits just off Cape Royal Road on the Walhalla Plateau, about a mile and a half north of Vista Encantada on the North Rim. It's an intermittent lake fed by snowmelt and rain, formed when mildly acidic water dissolved the limestone below the surface and the ground above eventually collapsed into a sinkhole. Aspen ring the shoreline along with ponderosa pine and Douglas fir, and the lake is a reliable water source for deer and other wildlife on an otherwise dry plateau.
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