River Trail

Best Time to Hike River Trail

This is inner-canyon terrain — full sun, no shade, and river-corridor heat that regularly tops 100°F in summer, making cooler months considerably more comfortable.

Trail Tips

• Classified as a corridor trail with regular NPS maintenance and ranger patrols.
• Rockfall damage closed a section along with the Silver Bridge from late 2024 into mid-2026; check current NPS trail status before you go, since this stretch has a recent history of closures.
• This trail is only reached after a full rim-to-river descent — plan it as part of a longer inner-canyon trip, not a standalone hike.

Getting to River Trail

Reach it from the bottom of either the Bright Angel Trail or the South Kaibab Trail. Along the way it passes both river crossings: Black Bridge, built in 1928 and still the main route for mule strings, and the Silver Bridge, a suspension bridge that also carries the transcanyon water pipeline.

What to Expect on River Trail

The River Trail links the bottom of the Bright Angel Trail to the South Kaibab Trail along the south bank of the Colorado River, tying the two corridor trails together near Phantom Ranch. It's roughly 1.5 to 2 miles long with little elevation change compared to what you've already done to get down there, but the tread is carved into exposed rock above the water and rated moderate rather than easy — this was some of the most difficult trail construction ever done in the canyon.