Cliff Spring Trail

Hike to a cool, shady spring on the north rim of the Grand Canyon.

Trail description

This enjoyable, short trail begins by dropping down into a small valley with mature golden-barked ponderosa pines and Kaibab Limestone outcrops. Within a few hundred feet of the highway, you come to a tipped boulder with a small granary tucked under it. The rock walls of this food storage feature were built hundreds of years ago, so please do not touch them or climb into the granary.

Continue down the valley until you reach a larger canyon, where you go left following the stream bottom. In a few hundred feet you reach a pouroff where you go to the right and follow a ledge with a large overhang that glows a rich gold in late afternoon. Because of the pouroff, the ledge is suddenly a few hundred feet above the canyon floor. Continue to follow the ledge as it snakes along the base of the cliff until you reach an alcove. Inside the overhang is Cliff Spring, which has dripping water that falls into shallow pools on the alcove floor. It would have been a valuable source of water to early canyon dwellers.

When you arrive at the spring, you’ll begin to get some nice views into the main canyon. An unmaintained trail continues past the spring, which becomes increasingly indistinct along the base of the cliff. A couple hundred feet past the spring, you get a nice view of the San Francisco Peaks on the southern horizon, near Flagstaff. After enjoying this tiny taste of the hidden nooks and crannies of the Grand Canyon, return the way you came.

Directions

Drive 3 miles north of the Grand Canyon Lodge to the road going to Point Imperial and Cape Royal. Turn right and drive to the Angel’s Window overlook parking lot, 0.6 mile before Cape Royal. A white painted crosswalk leads to the trailhead across the highway.