Hermit Trailhead
A steep, historic descent into the canyon's Supai cliffs
About
Hermit Trailhead is where the South Rim stops being a paved overlook and starts being backcountry. Reviewers rate it 4.8 stars across 66 reviews, and the trail itself lives up to that: wide-open canyon views from the first steps, with none of the crowds that pile onto Bright Angel or South Kaibab a few miles east.
What to expect
This is a genuine wilderness trail, not a maintained corridor route — the surface is loose and unpaved, and reviewers who've hiked both note it's noticeably harder going than the park's two main corridor trails. One visitor's rule of thumb: budget roughly twice as long to climb back out as it took to descend. The trail connects toward Santa Maria Spring, Dripping Spring, and the Boucher Trail loop, with the Tonto Platform and Hermit Camp reachable for those going deeper — a full Boucher Trail loop and back can run 10 hours for an experienced hiker.
Good to know
- Access: the trailhead itself is open 24 hours; a short walk from the trailhead leads to Hermit's Nest, a rustic log-cabin-style gift shop
- Difficulty: unpaved, loose surface — better suited to hikers with wilderness trail experience
- Location: Grand Canyon Village, South Rim
Good intro to the park's wilderness trail system if you've already done the main two and want something with fewer people and rougher footing.
Best Time to Start Down
Time your visit around the shuttle schedule March through November, and plan an early start regardless of season to beat the heat on the exposed upper switchbacks.
Trail Tips
- A spring-fed water station is at the trailhead itself; Santa Maria Spring (2.5 miles in) and Dripping Springs (about 7 miles via a side trail) are the next natural sources.
- The National Park Service rates this trail for experienced desert hikers only, calling conditions rockier and more demanding than the Bright Angel or South Kaibab corridor trails.
- Round-trip options range from a short out-and-back to Waldron Basin (about 3 miles) up to the full 19.4-mile push down to the Colorado River.
Getting to the Trailhead
From March through November, day hikers must reach the trailhead by free shuttle bus — no personal-vehicle parking is available during that stretch; December through February the road opens to all traffic.
What to Expect at Hermit Trailhead
Hermit Trailhead sits just west of Hermits Rest on the South Rim, at the start of one of the canyon's classic unmaintained corridor trails. The trail dates to 1911, built by the Santa Fe Railroad to reach its Hermit Camp tourist facility below the rim, which ran electricity, a tramway, and Harvey Company dining a decade before Phantom Ranch existed. It drops nearly 2,000 vertical feet in its first 2.5 miles through steep, rocky switchbacks in the Supai Formation.
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