loading spinner
Arizona

Hiking Grand Canyon from Rim to River: An Adventure to Phantom Ranch

Program No. 8144RJ
Hike and learn about the ancient landscapes of the Grand Canyon on some of its most awe-inspiring trails. Plus, spend two nights within the Canyon at historic Phantom Ranch!

Enroll with Confidence

We want your Road Scholar learning adventure to be something to look forward to—not worry about. Learn more

Protecting the Environment

We offset a portion of the emissions created by your travel. Learn more

Prefer to enroll or inquire by phone? 800-454-5768
Select your type of room
Price will update based on selection
Prices displayed below are based on per person,doubleoccupancy.
DATES & starting prices
PRICES
Apr 21 - Apr 26, 2024
Starting at
2,349
DATES & starting prices
PRICES
Apr 21 - Apr 26, 2024
Starting at
2,769

At a Glance

Hiking in the Grand Canyon is one of the most rewarding experiences for any seasoned backpacker and shoulder season hikes provide an opportunity for solitude and scenery not found during other times of the year. On this program, hike into the Grand Canyon and enjoy expert-led presentations and day hikes on the rim. At the bottom of the canyon, spend two nights at Phantom Ranch beneath towering rock walls, under ancient cottonwoods and adjacent to Bright Angel Creek.
Activity Level
Outdoor: Challenging
Physically demanding backpacking program for experienced backpackers. Hiking 17 miles in two days (up to 9.5 miles in one day) carrying 20-pound backpack over steep, rocky trails with 4,600-foot elevation change each day; two days of lighter hiking. Elevations up to 7,000 feet.
Micro Group
Micro Group
These adventures feature our smallest group size, with 12 participants or fewer.

Best of all, you’ll…

  • Spend four days hiking in the Grand Canyon; travel down the South Kaibab Trail and back up the Bright Angel Trail; spend a day at Phantom Ranch hiking in the inner Canyon.
  • Enjoy rare reservations at remote and historic Phantom Ranch.
  • Hike with naturalists who truly know and love Grand Canyon; listen to canyon and river stories and learn about your surroundings a vertical mile deep into this natural wonder.

General Notes

For less-strenuous Grand Canyon hiking programs, see "Hiking Grand Canyon: Adventures On and Below the South Rim" (#6112) or "Hiking Granite Gorge and Havasupai" (#7704) Special cancellation policy applies. Call or go online for details. Due to the nature of this program, listening devices are not available.
Featured Expert
All Experts
Profile Image
Lisa Kearsley
The author of “The San Juan River Guide,” Lisa Kearsley inherited an appreciation for the Southwest from her father, who was a biology professor. She earned a bachelor’s in zoology from the University of California and a master’s in biology from Northern Arizona University. Lisa has worked at the Grand Canyon as an interpretive park ranger teaching natural history programs and has studied the effects of Glen Canyon Dam on area campsites.

Please note: This expert may not be available for every date of this program.

Profile Image of Lisa Kearsley
Lisa Kearsley View biography
The author of “The San Juan River Guide,” Lisa Kearsley inherited an appreciation for the Southwest from her father, who was a biology professor. She earned a bachelor’s in zoology from the University of California and a master’s in biology from Northern Arizona University. Lisa has worked at the Grand Canyon as an interpretive park ranger teaching natural history programs and has studied the effects of Glen Canyon Dam on area campsites.
Profile Image of Joel Kane
Joel Kane grew up roaming Appalachian Pennsylvania but has called the Southwest home for years. After serving in the Navy, he earned a bachelor's degree in geology from the University of California/Los Angeles. He later worked as an interpretive park ranger for the National Park Service at Fossil Butte National Monument in Wyoming, Zion National Park in Utah, Oregon Caves National Monument in Oregon, and the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. He is pursuing his master's degree in geology at Northern Arizona University/Flagstaff.
Visit the Road Scholar Bookshop
You can find many of the books we recommend at the Road Scholar store on bookshop.org, a website that supports local bookstores.
Grand Canyon: Time Below the Rim
by Craig Childs and Gary Ladd
Prepared by the Book Division of Arizona Highways magazine, this book is written and photographed by 2 of the leading authorities on the subject matter. There's no place on earth like the Grand Canyon, and there's no book about the Canyon like this one. "Grand Canyon: Time Below the Rim" connects you with remote sections of the Canyon most people will never see: the waterfalls, the streams, the thousands of side canyons, the prehistoric rock formations, the rock art and other remains of an ancient civilization, and the entire course of the Colorado River through the Canyon.
I Am the Grand Canyon: The Story of the Havasupai People
by Hirst, Stephen
I Am the Grand Canyon is the story of the Havasupai people. From their origins among the first group of Indians to arrive in North America some 20,000 years ago to their epic struggle to regain traditional lands taken from them in the nineteenth century, the Havasupai have a long and colorful history. The story of this tiny tribe once confined to a toosmall reservation depicts a people with deep cultural ties to the land, both on their former reservation below the rim of the Grand Canyon and on the surrounding plateaus. In the spring of 1971, the federal government proposed incorporating still more Havasupai land into Grand Canyon National Park. At hearings that spring, Havasupai Tribal Chairman Lee Marshall rose to speak. "I heard all you people talking about the Grand Canyon," he said. "Well, you're looking at it. I am the Grand Canyon!" Marshall made it clear that Havasu Canyon and the surrounding plateau were critical to the survival of his people; his speech laid the foundation for the return of thousands of acres of Havasupai land in 1975. I Am the Grand Canyon is the story of a heroic people who refused to back down when facing overwhelming odds. They won, and today the Havasupai way of life quietly continues in the Grand Canyon and on the surrounding plateaus.
Living at the Edge: Explorers, Exploiters, and Settlers of the Grand Canyon Region
by Anderson, Michael F
A comprehensive look at the pioneer history of the Grand Canyon Region, from its earliest residents to the creation of the national park at the end of the pioneer era (circa 1920). Included are close to two hundred historic photographs, many never published before, and 12 custom maps of the region. 184pp
Carving Grand Canyon: Evidence, Theories, and Mystery
by Ranney, Wayne
Ranney explains how rivers in general can physically carve canyons, looks chronologically at the numerous theories that have been presented by successive generations of geologists regarding the Grand Canyon's formation, and describes a plausible sequence of geologic events that could create such a landscape. Numerous color photographs, detailed illustrations, and maps are provided. Annotation ©2005 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR 160pp; 2nd edition 2012.
Field Guide to the Grand Canyon
by Whitney, Stephen R
This book describes and illustrates the area's plants and animals, and offers fascinating in-depth information on the natural history and geology of this dramatic region. 272pp
Over the Edge: Death in Grand Canyon
by Ghiglieri, Michael P.; Myers, Thomas M.
Gripping accounts of all known fatal mishaps in the most famous of the World's Seven Natural Wonders. Two veterans of decades of adventuring in Grand Canyon chronicle the first complete and comprehensive history of Canyon misadventures. These episodes span the entire era of visitation from the time of the first river exploration by John Wesley Powell and his crew of 1869 to that of tourists falling off its rims in Y2K. These accounts of the 550 people who have met untimely deaths in the Canyon set a new high water mark for offering the most astounding array of adventures, misadventures, and life saving lessons published between any two covers. Over the Edge promises to be the most intense yet informative book on Grand Canyon ever written.
Hiking the Grand Canyon’s Geology
by Abbott, Lon, and Cook, Terri.
Geologists Abbott and Cook (Prescott College, Prescott, AZ) present the Grand Canyon though scientists' eyes for rim walkers, day hikers, and serious backpackers. An overview introduces readers to the area's geological history, followed by detailed narratives of 18 hikes. For each hike the authors explore a geological theme, focusing on aspects of the canyon's evolution that are particularly well-illustrated along its length. Basic information such as trail length, elevation change, and difficulty level starts each chapter. Thoroughly illustrated with b&w photos and diagrams as well as 20 color plates. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR 304pp
Beyond the Hundredth Meridian: John Wesley Powell and the Second Opening of the West
by Stegner, Wallace
Here Wallace Stegner, a Pulitzer Prize-winner, gives us a thrilling account of Powell's struggle against western geography and Washington politics. We witness the successes and frustrations of Powell's distinguished career, and appreciate his unparalleled understanding of the West. "Stegner's most exciting work." (San Francisco Chronicle) 496pp
The Exploration of the Colorado River and Its Canyons
by Powell, John Wesley
Full text of Powell's 1,000-mile expedition down the fabled Colorado in 1869. Superb account of terrain, geology, vegetation, Indians, famine, mutiny, treacherous rapids, mighty canyons. 240 illustrations. 432pp
Down the Great Unknown: John Wesley Powell's 1869 Journey of Discovery and Tragedy Through the Grand Canyon
by Dolnick, Edward
On May 24, 1869 a one-armed Civil War veteran, John Wesley Powell and a ragtag band of nine mountain men embarked on the last great quest in the American West. The Grand Canyon, not explored before, was as mysterious as Atlantis—and as perilous. The ten men set out from Green River Station, Wyoming Territory down the Colorado in four wooden rowboats. Ninety-nine days later, six half-starved wretches came ashore near Callville, Arizona. Lewis and Clark opened the West in 1803, six decades later Powell and his scruffy band aimed to resolve the West’s last mystery. A brilliant narrative, a thrilling journey, a cast of memorable heroes—all these mark Down the Great Unknown, the true story of the last epic adventure on American soil.
Breaking Into the Current: Boatwomen of the Grand Canyon
by Teal, Louise
In 1973, Marilyn Sayre gave up her job as a computer programmer and became the first woman in twenty years to run a commercial boat through the Grand Canyon. Georgie White had been the first, back in the 1950s, but it took time before other women broke into guiding passengers down the Colorado River. This book profiles eleven of the first full-season Grand Canyon boat women, weaving together their various experiences in their own words. Breaking Into the Current is a story of romance between women and a place.
The Emerald Mile: The Epic Story of the Fastest Ride in History Through the Heart of the Grand Canyon
by Fedarko, Kevin
In the spring of 1983, massive flooding along the length of the Colorado River confronted a team of engineers at the Glen Canyon Dam with an unprecedented emergency that may have resulted in the most catastrophic dam failure in history. In the midst of this crisis, the decision to launch a small wooden dory named “The Emerald Mile” at the head of the Grand Canyon, just fifteen miles downstream from the Glen Canyon Dam, seemed not just odd, but downright suicidal. The Emerald Mile, at one time slated to be destroyed, was rescued and brought back to life by Kenton Grua, the man at the oars, who intended to use this flood as a kind of hydraulic sling-shot. The goal was to nail the all-time record for the fastest boat ever propelled—by oar, by motor, or by the grace of God himself—down the entire length of the Colorado River from Lee’s Ferry to Lake Mead. Did he survive? Just barely. Now, this remarkable, epic feat unfolds here, in The Emerald Mile.
An Introduction to Grand Canyon Prehistory
by Coder, Christopher M.
People have inhabited Grand Canyon for the past twelve thousand years. Evidence of their lives exists throughout the canyon; but it is up to their ancestors and archaeologists to interpret those remains for us. This book provides a popular look at the architecture, art, and tools of prehistoric Puebloan peoples, as well as information about modern-day Native American tribes. With illustrations and color photographs.





Important registration tip:
If you want to attend the live lecture, please do not wait until the last minute to enroll.
If you enroll after a lecture is complete, we’ll send you a recording of the event.