Grand Canyon- North Rim Offroad Style

[VCCruzr]

Not being a fan of huge crowds, long lines, and crowded campgrounds, I decided to take my family to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon for their first time there. There were 2 locations that I wanted to camp, both of which require a "high clearance 4x4" says all the literature.

The first stop was Point Sublime which is 18 miles off the Highway 67 in the park. It was a nicely graded dirt road which ran through some scenic aspen meadows and pine forest. Here are a few pics of the drive in.

 

[VCCruzr]

After an hour and a half of this scenic drive we arrived at the point and set up camp, literally on the edge of the canyon.

 

[VCCruzr]

Point Sublime Scenic Shots

Some shots of the surrounding view:

 

[VCCruzr]

More shots:

 

[VCCruzr]

Swamp Point

The first morning after a nice bacon and egg breakfast, we hopped in the cruiser and drove another 24 miles of the pine forest road over to Swamp Point. This is where the trailhead is for 14 mile long North Bass Trail which is said to be the most difficult trail down the canyon to the Colorado River. We just hiked down a mile or so and found this really cool old cabin, "Teddy's Cabin" which was built in the early 1900s. Here a few pics:

 

[VCCruzr]

Toroweap Or Bust

After spending our second night on Point Sublime, we got an early start, packed up, and headed out of the park and back north on Highway 89 until we came to the little town of Fredonia, where we topped off the cruiser and the spare gas can with fuel for the 61 mile offroad haul to Toroweap. Although this was a really nicely graded dirt road, the huge thunderstorm we had to drive through made it interesting, with lightning and flooding for about 5 miles. Once we punched through the storm, it was back to smooth sailing. The scenery here was quite different than what we had back in the park. It looked a lot like the slick rock you see in Moab.

 

[VCCruzr]

Toroweap Overlook

After unloading and, setting up camp, and waiting for the thunder showers to blow by, we hiked the 1.5 mile Toroweap overlook trail which started just yards from our campsite. When we arrived at the overlook, we could not believe our eyes. We were staring down a 3000' shear cliff (says the literature) to the Colorado river below us.

 

[orionkhan]

The North Rim is the way to go! We did it last summer. It's on the top of our "repeat" locations list. Did you hit any of the spots in Utah along the way? Last year we stopped in Zion for a couple of days. Wish I had taken more time for that trip. A lot to see.

 

[VCCruzr]

When it was time to leave, we had 3 options for the route home. The 61 mile return of the Sunshine Route we took in, the 56 mile Clayhole Route to the town of Colorado City (impassable in wet conditions), and the 90 mile Main Street Route to St. George Utah. We chose the Main Street Route as it was noted to be the most scenic. It also was a more direct route in our direction of heading home. It was a great choice as the route started with a nice climb up Mt. Trumbull and then dropped into Potato Valley. The scenery continued to be epic. We stopped and visited the Mt. Trumbull Schoolhouse which was originally built in 1918. The rest of the route was mostly cattle ranches until we climbed through Wolf Hole Pass and descended into St. George.

Here are a few pics of drive out, (wish we had stopped to take more)

 

[VCCruzr]

The North Rim is the way to go! We did it last summer. It's on the top of our "repeat" locations list. Did you hit any of the spots in Utah along the way? Last year we stopped in Zion for a couple of days. Wish I had taken more time for that trip. A lot to see.

Used the 4 day weekend for the North Rim only. Saving Moab, Bryce Canyon, Gooseberry Mesa, and others for another time. That entire area is amazing.

 

[KimoSabe]

Way cool, probably got to see a nice lighting show with that monsoon like thundercloud. Been year since I been in that part of our country, it's time to make some plans...thanks for sharing D....

 

[ontopofm]

Jealous. Very nice photos.

 

[sdnative]

Wow, amazing trip! Very jealous.

Just curious how you planned to handle an emergency should it arise, since it seems you were many miles from the nearest town and alone. Not criticizing at all, just curious as I want to visit these same types of areas with my family.

 

[Diesel 80]

Great pics! Thank you for sharing.

 

[VCCruzr]

Wow, amazing trip! Very jealous.

Just curious how you planned to handle an emergency should it arise, since it seems you were many miles from the nearest town and alone. Not criticizing at all, just curious as I want to visit these same types of areas with my family.

The distance was definitely a concern so I packed way more food and water than needed. Also, I packed a few spare parts (hoses, dizzy cap, plug wires, plugs), extra battery, battery jump box, all my tools, and my ipad with the factory service manual downloaded. Plus, being there on the weekend, I figured there would be a good chance of others being out there. I passed a half dozen vehicles on the route and there was one other group camped at Toroweap. The one thing I didn't have which would have made me feel more comfortable was a HAM radio, Point Sublime had cell reception, Toroweap did not.

 

[VCCruzr]

Way cool, probably got to see a nice lighting show with that monsoon like thundercloud. Been year since I been in that part of our country, it's time to make some plans...thanks for sharing D....

Yes, we got a lightning show everyday on this trip. They were spectacular!


Here are some links for information on the 2 areas we visited:

Point sublime

http://www.zionnational-park.com/grand-canyon-sublime.htm

Area Map - North Kaibab Ranger District

http://www.fs.usda.gov/main/kaibab/maps-pubs



Toroweap/Tuweep

http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/tuweep.htm

Area Map - Arizona Strip Map

http://www.amazon.com/Map-Arizona-Strip-Visitors/dp/B005N3B6X4?tag=ihco-20

 

[Dan2722]

Fantastic! I am sooooo ready to get back out in the wilds.

How were the temps this time of year?

 

[VCCruzr]

Fantastic! I am sooooo ready to get back out in the wilds.

How were the temps this time of year?

Temps were very mild due to the monsoonal moisture. Point Sublime was mid 70s during the day and low 60s at night. Toroweap was 10 degrees warmer.

 

[Brentbba]

Nice report Derrick!

 

[SOCALFJ]

Looks like a good time! Thanks for posting Derrick!