The Grand Canyon is one of the most popular national parks and hikes in the US and one of the best ways to avoid the crowds is to go in the winter. This year 3 friend me and I did a quick trip down to Arizona to do a 1 night rim to rim hike in the Grand Canyon, here are a few tips and things you should know when planning a Grand Canyon winter hiking trip.

Arizona gets winter too

As a strong and proud Canadian I’d thought our Ontario winters has hardened me and that any winter weather the Grand Canyon throw at me would be a joke – practically summer. Well it was defiantly not summer conditions in the Grand Canyon. Its easy to forget that the rim of the Grand Canyon is over 2,500m high which means you are feeling with some serious altitude at the top. The bottom rarely if every gets snow, but the top certainly does. The snow storm at the rim on our second day there was the biggest snow storm I saw all year. Come prepared to hike in winter considers, but also consider how you get there. Our car didn’t have winter tires which is something that we defiantly noticed as none of the roads were plowed and leave the park took us 3 times as long as it should of.

The north rim is closed

If you are doing a multi-day hike it is still possible to hike up part or all of the way to the North Rim, but the roads and transport there will be closed. The South Kaibab Trail and Bright Angel Trail are the most common winter hiking trails.

Dress in layers

Remove as needed to prevent sweating as much as possible. When you get to your camp site remove all sweaty under layers as soon as you get there. Any wet layers will keep you cold, but also have the potential to freeze.

Drink lots of water & wear sunglasses and sunscreen

Just cause its winter doesn’t mean you can’t get burned, the snow reflects the sun even more. Take more water then you think, there are places to fill up alone the way, but you can never have to much water.

Day light hours are shorter

It will get dark earlier in the day, if you want o avoid hiking in the dark look up the daylight hours for when you are hiking and plan accordingly. We got delayed early in the morning so we actually ended up starting later then we planned and ended the hike in the dark. Walking down the trail as the sun was setting was beautiful, but in general you’ll likely want to avoid walking in the dark or come prepared with headlamps.

You must have your permit displayed at all times

Although we didn’t get asked for it you must always have your permit on display. Of course this means you have to enter the lottery for the permit 4 month in advance.

Leave an itinerary with friends or family, hike with a partner & know your limits.

This is basic hiking / backpacking advice, but is still very important to remember. As they love to remind you down is optional, up is mandatory. Hundred of people have to be rescued from the Grand Canyon every year and taking these basic precautions will