Grandview Trail: Hiking Guide to Horseshoe Mesa in the Grand Canyon

Pete Berry built this trail in 1893 to haul copper ore out of the Grand Canyon, not to give tourists a nice walk. He carved switchbacks into Kaibab limestone with hand tools, installed ore buckets on cables, and operated the Last Chance Mine for years before the Grand Canyon even had a railroad spur. When tourists started showing up at the South Rim, Berry pivoted. He started guiding parties down his mining trail and built a small hotel at the rim. For about a decade, the Grandview Trail was the Grand Canyon tourist trail.

The railroad arrived at the South Rim in 1901 and redirected visitor flow to Bright Angel. Grandview fell out of the main circuit, lost its maintenance budget, and went back to being a rugged canyon path. That’s exactly what it is today.

The result is one of the best trail experiences on the South Rim. Steeper than Bright Angel, less traveled, less maintained, and far quieter. The historic mining ruins at Horseshoe Mesa are a genuine attraction, not just a turnaround point.

Trail Overview

The Grandview Trail starts at Grandview Point on Desert View Drive, 12 miles east of Grand Canyon Village. From the rim, it drops 2,400 feet over 3.2 miles to Horseshoe Mesa, a flat horseshoe-shaped plateau with panoramic views into the inner canyon and the ruins of Pete Berry’s copper mining operation.

The most popular day hike is the round trip to Horseshoe Mesa: 6.4 miles with 2,400 feet of elevation gain. It’s a full day for most hikers. A shorter option, the Coconino Saddle, sits at 1.1 miles from the trailhead and makes a reasonable turnaround for hikers who want a taste of the trail without the full commitment.

The trail continues past Horseshoe Mesa on three separate routes: Last Chance Camp, Cottonwood Canyon, and Hance Creek. All three require backcountry permits and are multi-day routes. Day hikers should plan to turn around at the mesa.

No water exists on this trail until well past Horseshoe Mesa, and even then it’s unreliable. Carry everything you need from the trailhead.

Getting There

Drive Desert View Drive east from Grand Canyon Village. Grandview Point is 12 miles east and well-signed. The parking area at the trailhead is free. No shuttle serves this location.

From Flagstaff, take US-180 north to AZ-64 and enter the park through the South Entrance, then continue east on Desert View Drive. From Williams, take AZ-64 north directly to the South Entrance.

The lot is smaller than the main visitor area lots. On spring and fall weekends it fills by 9am. Arrive by 7am if you want a guaranteed spot. If the lot is full, drive 0.5 miles west to the pullout at the Grandview Point overlook and walk back to the trailhead.

No dogs are allowed below the rim on any Grand Canyon trail.

Trail Description

Trailhead to Coconino Saddle (0 to 1.1 miles)

The trail drops hard right away. The first mile descends through Kaibab Limestone on a series of tight switchbacks with loose, rocky footing. The rock here is pale gray and rough-textured, and the trail surface is uneven enough that you’ll want solid ankle support from your footwear.

Canyon views open within the first quarter mile. By the time you reach Coconino Saddle at 1.1 miles, you’re already 1,000 feet below the rim and looking out at a genuine canyon panorama. This saddle is the first good stopping point, and for hikers who want a shorter day, it makes a satisfying turnaround. The views are excellent and you’ve seen a real slice of the trail’s character.

Coconino Saddle to Mining Equipment (1.1 to 2.5 miles)

Below the saddle the trail continues through Toroweap and Coconino formations, descending on a mix of rock ledges and packed dirt. The canyon walls close in somewhat here, and you lose the big open views until you get lower. The trail narrows in a few spots and requires attention underfoot.

Around mile 2.5, you’ll see remnants of Pete Berry’s mining operation: ore buckets, cable anchors, and rusting hardware left in place for over a century. The NPS has left most of it as-is. It’s a strange and striking thing to see mining equipment at this depth in the canyon, a reminder that people hauled copper ore up this slope by mule for years before anyone had a paved road to the rim.

Mining Equipment to Horseshoe Mesa (2.5 to 3.2 miles)

The last 0.7 miles flattens slightly as you approach the mesa. The trail becomes clearer and the terrain opens up. You arrive on Horseshoe Mesa from the north end and walk out onto the flat plateau.

The mesa is about 0.3 miles long and sits at roughly 4,800 feet elevation, about 3,200 feet below the South Rim. From the edges you can look down into the inner canyon depths, out toward the canyon’s middle section, and back up to the rim. On a clear fall day the light hits the canyon walls at a low angle in the morning and makes the reds and oranges almost glow.

The mine ruins are concentrated near the center and south end of the mesa. The main mine shaft is gated for safety. Cabin foundation remnants and ore processing debris are scattered around. Don’t enter any mine structures. Old tunnels are unstable.

Beyond Horseshoe Mesa

Three trail routes branch off from the mesa’s south and west ends: Last Chance Camp, Cottonwood Canyon, and Hance Creek. All require backcountry permits and significant miles of additional hiking. Last Chance Camp sits about 1.5 miles past the mesa and is where the unreliable copper mine seep water source is located. Don’t continue past the mesa without a permit and a solid plan.

What to Bring

Water is the top priority. Carry at least 3 liters per person for the Horseshoe Mesa day hike. If temperatures are above 70F, carry 4 liters. There is no water on this trail. None. The seep at Last Chance is past your turnaround point and unreliable anyway.

A daypack with hydration capacity matters here more than on the corridor trails. A hydration reservoir keeps water accessible without stopping to pull out a bottle.

For footwear: hiking boots with ankle support are the right call on Grandview. The loose footing on the upper switchbacks and the rocky descent through the Coconino formation are harder on trail runners than on boots. This isn’t a smooth packed-dirt trail.

Sun exposure is a factor on the upper third of the trail before you drop into the canyon proper. A sun hoodie and wide-brim hat both earn their weight here.

Bring food. The round trip to Horseshoe Mesa takes most hikers 5-7 hours. You’ll be hungry.

Safety Notes

Call 911 in any Grand Canyon hiking emergency. The NPS search and rescue team operates out of Grand Canyon Village and responds to calls across the park.

Grandview is one of the few South Rim trails without regular ranger patrols or emergency phones on the trail. If something goes wrong below the rim, help takes longer to arrive than it does on Bright Angel. Tell someone where you’re going and when you expect to be back.

The biggest danger here is the same as any canyon trail: the return climb. Going down takes about 2 hours for most fit hikers. Coming back up takes 3-4 hours. Many people underestimate this and start the climb too late in the day. Turn around at Horseshoe Mesa no later than 11am in spring and fall. Start the hike by 6:30am at the latest.

Summer is a poor choice for this trail. The mesa sits low enough that temperatures can hit 100F or above from June through August. The NPS advises against below-rim hiking in summer. If you do go in warm weather, start before sunrise and be back at the rim before 9am. That means turning around well before the mesa.

Winter brings ice to the upper switchbacks. The limestone gets slick when wet. Traction devices (microspikes) are worth carrying from November through March. Check conditions at the Grand Canyon Visitor Center before you go.

Related Trails

The Grandview Trail pairs well with the South Kaibab Trail if you want to compare the canyon’s maintained corridor trails to something rawer. South Kaibab has better infrastructure, no water, and spectacular ridgeline views. Grandview is quieter, more historically interesting, and more physically demanding.

The Hermit Trail is another South Rim option with a similar character: less maintained than the corridor trails, less crowded, and more rewarding for experienced hikers willing to do the work.

If Horseshoe Mesa is your introduction to the inner canyon and you want to go deeper on a future trip, the Bright Angel Trail is the logical next step. It has water sources, ranger patrols, and a gentler grade, and it’ll give you a sense of how much more canyon there is below where Grandview ends.

For skills that matter specifically on Grandview, see the heat management guide before your first hot-weather hike.