Yavapai Point

The Rim Trail at the Grand Canyon National Park is a relatively easy, paved and lot of its length, accessible trail, which can be very rewarding for a day-trip, day-hike or just a simple visit by car. Normally Mather point, Yavapai Point and Bright Angel Trailheads are 3 most popular areas at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. The trouble is, as they are popular, it is often very crowded, espcially during major holidays. This thankgiving week as I was planning on visiting the Grand Canyon, I thought I should try and visit it either early in the morning or late at night (at moonlight!, that didn't happen). The best way to get to Yavapai Point early in the morning is if you can stay at one of the National Park Lodges, or if you camp at the Mather Campground. I decided to do the second and was able to get there right after sunrise.

I had the view out of the Yavapai point all to myself at that hour. It is a very calming feeling to share the view with my family. My second reason to visit this particular location is to walk the Trail of Time.

https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/the-trail-of-time.htm

The Trail of Time begins at Yavapai Geology Museum. Walking west along the paved trail from the museum, you first arrive at the Million Year Trail, a short trail, 150 yards (136 meters) which transitions from human time scales to geologic ones and serves as an "on-ramp" to the main trail that covers 2 billion years of geologic time in 2.83 miles (4.56 km).

For those who haven't walked the trail of time, it is basically a portion of the Rim Trail with frequent markers (usually a marker representing 1 Million Years, but it changes scale early on to fit the human history). The rocks of the Grand Canyon keeps a record of abour 2 Billion Years. The trail describes each major rock formation through geologic time with a polished sample of each rock type clearly marked at the side of the trail. The concept is as you walk the trails, with the description of the information of the description boards and the samples, you essentially are walking the history of the Grand Canyon area through geologic time.

This is especially educational for the kids, but adults can enjoy it too along the gorgeous view of the Canyon from the Rim trail. Kids have something to talk about at frequent interval and that keep them interested.

My kids particularly like the funny names. Conglomerate is especially popular. They say it is a rock made up of rocks, which is rather apt if you ask me.

They can appreciate the complexity of the history of the Canyon and enjoy the view while walking. It was a bit on the chilly side at this time of the year. However, the cold is manageable. We had limited complaints during camping and most of it was mitigated by making a large campfire. I highly recommend this trail for the families.