sunrise in the Grand Canyon, South Rim
 

Any ideas for the best spot to watch the sunrise?

We were going to hike some of the Bright Angel trail but should we start out at one of the lookout points, watch the sunrise and then start the hike or get an ealry start on the trail and be somewhat in the canyon while the sun rises? Any suggestions? thanks

rlm

The most popular sunrise points are Hopi, Grandview, Moran, and Lipan points.

When we were there, we played it by ear. Sometimes, it was too cloudy to enjoy a sunrise, so we just went back to sleep for a couple of more hours.

This kind of depends on when you're going (because of the hiking part). If you're going soon, you can watch the sunrise and then go hiking. If this is in summer, you should be on the trail early to avoid the heat and watch the sunrise from the trail.

BA won't give you much a view - the trail is in a side canyon, so you're pretty much going to be looking out at a pretty narrow view of the main canyon. Any of the viewpoints on the S. Rim would give you a better vantage point.

Hopi seems to be the favorite for sunsets. The operator at El tovar suggested Mather Point for sunrise, and it was pretty awesome. We stopped at Desert View and Gr4andview on the way in about mid afternoon, and they were great. I think Desert View would be fantastic for sunrise, but it is at the far eastern end of the road.

I watched the sunrise at Mather, then took the shuttle back to the Village and hiked part way down Bright Angel. That is what I would suggest doing.

www.mikepintucson.blogspot.com

I can't remember from which point we watched the sunrise, but it was windy and VERY cold. This was in late March. I thought I brought enough layers, but I was wrong.

The sun rising over the canyon was spectacular, though, and well worth a short time of shivering.

Hope you enjoy your trip!

MikePinTucson thanks for the link to your website. We are kicking around going to Tuscson and I appreciate the info you provided.