Established trails within backcountry areas of the park are assigned one of the following designations by the
National Park Service: • Corridor Trails: recommended for beginners • Threshold Trails: recommended for experienced hikers • Primitive Trails: recommended for highly experienced hikers • Routes/Wild: recommended only for experts familiar with route finding in the Grand Canyon These designations define the expected daily use of a trail, as well as its level of management, maintenance, and patrol by park personnel or backcountry rangers.
Corridor trails from the
South Kaibab Trail A
corridor trail receives the highest
hiking and
stock use by visitors to the park and
mule use by park concessionaires. To accommodate this, the
National Park Service regularly patrols and maintains corridor trails. Backcountry rangers recommend that hikers taking their first trip into the inner canyon use one of the park's corridor trails. These areas include three campgrounds: Havasupai Gardens, Bright Angel, and Cottonwood, each of which have ranger stations, water, and emergency phones. The following are designated as
corridor trails: •
Bright Angel Trail •
North Kaibab Trail •
Plateau Point Trail •
River Trail •
South Kaibab Trail The
South Kaibab Trail and
North Kaibab Trail are officially part of the
Arizona Trail system which crosses the park from south to north, although they retain their original names in all park publications and signage.
Threshold trails A
threshold trail receives lower visitation than corridor trails, but will receive more than primitive trails. The National Park Service does not regularly maintain threshold trails, but reconstructs sections damaged by environmental forces, or to prevent further trail erosion. Maintenance will also be done to protect historical features along a threshold trail.
Cairns are permitted, but are to be placed discriminately. The following are designated as
threshold trails: •
Clear Creek Trail •
Dripping Springs Trail •
Grandview Trail •
Hermit Trail •
Thunder River Trail • Waldron Trail
Primitive trails and
Tower of Set A
primitive trail receives the least visitation of all trails. The National Park Service does not regularly maintain primitive trails, but reconstructs sections damaged by environmental forces only in cases where its existing condition creates a hazard. Multiple trail eradication is done to prevent accidental off-trail hiking. Cairns are permitted, but are to be placed discriminately. The following are designated as
primitive trails: •
Beamer Trail •
Bill Hall Trail •
Boucher Trail •
Deer Creek Trail •
Havasu Canyon Route (
a portion of this trail is within the park). •
Kanab Creek Trail •
Lava Falls Trail •
Nankoweap Trail •
North Bass Trail •
New Hance Trail (a.k.a. Red Canyon Trail) •
South Bass Trail •
South Canyon Trail •
Tanner Trail •
Tonto Trail •
Tuckup Trail Routes A
route is a footpath that does not fall under the definition of
trail because it was not deliberately constructed, or contains portions of trails that have fallen into such disrepair that they can no longer be identified on a map. Routes may exist due to cross-country hiking or animal use. Due to their difficulty, routes receive the lowest visitation of all footpaths within the park. The National Park Service only maintains routes to minimize damage to nearby natural resources. The following do not fall into any of the above trail designations, and are classified as
routes: •
Escalante Route •
Esplanade Route •
Royal Arch Route ==Above-rim trails==