Featured Destination Story

Tonto Trail

Grand Canyon , AZ

The dynamic interplay of soft and hard layers of stone created an open benchland at the rim of the Inner Gorge called the Tonto Platform. Easily visible from several South Rim overlooks, the greenish Tonto rocks have eroded into an obvious exception to the striking vertical cliffs that characterize most of Grand Canyon. The Tonto Trail follows this natural trans-canyon route for 95 unmaintained miles, from Red Canyon, at 3,600-foot elevation on the east, to Garnet Canyon on the west at 2,800 feet.

All of this makes the Tonto Trail unique among Grand Canyon pathways. Most trails descend from the rim towards the Colorado River, but the Tonto Trail offers passage by foot up and down the canyon, parallel to the course of the river. Because of its length, most hikers approach the Tonto Trail not as a single unit, but rather as a series of installments, breaking the route down into four or five sections defined by rim-to-river trails and the natural lay of the land.