Hermit Creek Trail

Best Time to Hike to Hermit Creek

Given the length and elevation change, cooler shoulder-season months are considerably more forgiving than summer heat on this exposed, rocky route.

Trail Tips

• Santa Maria Spring at 2.5 miles offers year-round water, but it must be treated before drinking.
• Hermit Creek itself was once the site of the Fred Harvey Company's Hermit Camp (1911–1930), a rim-tram-served backcountry resort that predated Phantom Ranch.
• Camping at Hermit Creek requires a backcountry permit for the designated site.

Getting to Hermit Creek

Well-defined switchbacks through Kaibab Formation and Coconino Sandstone carry the upper 2.5 miles, dropping nearly 2,000 feet, passing Santa Maria Spring along the way before continuing to Hermit Creek itself. Day hikers need the free shuttle to reach the trailhead March through November; backpackers with a permit can drive in year-round.

What to Expect on Hermit Creek Trail

Hermit Trail drops off the South Rim just west of Hermits Rest and follows an old 1911 Santa Fe Railroad route down to Hermit Creek, a perennial stream in the canyon's interior. The full round trip to the creek runs about 16.4 miles with roughly 3,740 feet of elevation change, and the National Park Service rates it for experienced desert hikers only — conditions are rougher than the corridor trails, with crumbling rock paving, rockslide debris, and route-finding required in spots.