Horseback Riding the Grand Canyon’s North Rim

Dream Packer Trail Adventures blogger Judy Nelson shares an adventurous multi-day trial ride along the Grand Canyon's North Rim.

by Judy Nelson

What a great idea! Camp and ride on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. The horse campground here is available with a Backcountry Permit. It is limited to six horses and six people.

Here is the website for more information. The North Rim is open from about May 15 to about October 15, depending on when the snow closes the road. We got our reservation in late February. At that time, we were told the month of June was "wide open." I would have loved to look at something like this blog before we went. We really had very little idea of what to expect.

grand canyon horseback riding

Check out the views!

June 17th: It took some time to check in with the Backcountry office to get the instructions and directions to the horse area campsite. We had the required travel papers (negative Coggins, etc.) for the horses. We were given the combination to the gate (yes, a gated private campsite) and instructions on how to avoid the mules on the trails. We found the campsite and unloaded the horses into their temporary home.

grand canyon horse camp

The horses' digs at camp.

The camp had probably not been used this year judging from the grass in it. Our horses made quick use of the grass. There was a roomy corral with partial shade and a large water tub. The campsite was absolutely wonderful! We had plenty of room all to ourselves–– three picnic tables, plenty of tent sites, three nice outhouses that had hardly been used at all and were roomy. We were about a hundred yards from the mule barns, so we could occasionally see the mules come and go. We were allowed to ride down into the canyon with our permit, but it had to be at certain times according to the mule schedule. We had done this before on mules, so we weren't in any hurry to do it. Maybe next time. There is no cell service, thus no Internet. So, be prepared. There are pay phones at the lodge.

grand canyon views from horse camp

View of the canyon from about 100 yards from our camp.

We noticed there were almost no flies and no mosquitoes. Yay! And we didn't have to worry about bears or squirrels. The first night was very cold, around 34, but the day time temperatures were in the 70s. It was breezy most of the time, but comfortable.

Our ride on the first day was the Uncle Jim Trail. A nice, partial loop ride through forests and up to some rim views.

uncle jim horse trail grand canyon


June 18, 2013 on the Uncle Jim Trail. Total distance: 5.11 miles, Maximum altitude:8,517 feet; Total elevation change: 900 feet; Trail condition: 70% dirt, 30% rocky.

grand canyon horseback riding north rim

Riding the Uncle Jim Trail on the first day.

uncle jim grand canyon north trail

More of the beautiful Uncle Jim Trail.

The second day's ride was later in the afternoon on the Ken Patrick trail through the forest. This particular section of the trail was the same as the beginning of the Uncle Jim trail. Once past the mule turnaround, it was very little used and we saw no one else. Lovely, secluded forest riding, limited to hiking and horseback riding only. I think the reason it was so secluded, is that are no spectacular views of the canyon. Who would imagine this much solitude so close to the crowds at the Grand Canyon?

ken patrick trail

June 19, 2013 on the Ken Patrick trail; Total distance: 5.37 miles; Maximum elevation: 8,522 feet; Total elevation change: 982 feet; Trail condition: 70% dirt, 30% rocky.

ken patrick horse trail

Riding along the lesser trod Ken Patrick trail.

ken patrick trail horseback utah

Horseback riding through the forest.

The next morning for the third day's ride, we packed lunches then loaded the horses and drove to Point Imperial. Beautiful morning. We were the only ones there when we arrived. Here is link to Ken Patrick Trail maps.

ken patrick trail to point imperial

 

June 20, 2013; Total distance: 3.34 miles; Highest elevation: 8,765 feet; Total elevation change: 636 feet; Trail condition: 50% dirt, 35% rocky and 15% hell.

A few other tourists trickled in as we got ready. My plan was to ride down the Ken Patrick trail, which according to the map intersected with the Cape Royal road after about three miles. Riding down and back at six miles seemed like a good option with the trail close to rim with supposedly good canyon views. We began and it was just simply wonderful with the changing views of the canyon as we rode.

horseback riding ken patrick trail grand canyon

The sign for the Ken Patrick trail.

ken patrick trail views

More great views from the trail.

After about a half mile, the trail turned north and became somewhat rocky…no big deal. (I WOULD RECOMMEND TURNING BACK HERE.)

Then, all of a sudden, the trail got very steep. I watched as Bob and Shrek negotiated the heavy dirt and logs that were originally steps of some sort. They were in disrepair, some rolling off and some disintegrating. Both of us were already so far down and there was NO place to turn around. We had to proceed. Bob dismounted and suggested that I do the same. We were on such precarious ground that Ellie didn't want to. She stepped on a log that gave way. I couldn't get her to hold still enough and there was no place for me to dismount. We went forward a little, even though she was very much hesitant.

There was a 90 degree turn nearer the bottom, and I was able to dismount and proceed leading her. She followed, but lost footing as logs crumbled and often bumped into me. I thought at one point she would come crashing down and push me ahead of her–– adrenalin rush. Bob had made it down to the bottom of the ravine and then I did too. Whew, that was intense. I wondered how we would ever get back up.

grand canyon horseback trails

The colorful atmosphere along the Ken Patrick trail.

We both mounted again, traveled a few yards, then came to a place where the trail went between two trees that were extremely close together and there was no place to go around. Bob said he didn't think we could get through, but he dismounted and led Shrek through and made it. I thought I could get through if I put my legs up on Ellie's neck. She would have none of that. So, I dismounted again and attempted to lead her through. I had to put the saddlebags on top. She came through, barely, scraping the sides. The trail then went along a steep hillside with no room to mount, a drop off on one side and heavy thorn thicket on the other. So, lead it was. At one time, this trail probably had logs as there were metal stakes every few feet. Now these were bare and dangerous. A horse stepping on one could puncture a hoof. This went on for about a hundred yards. A couple of times, I stumbled in the crumbly dirt, trying to lead a horse. I went into a thorn thicket. One time, Ellie's back legs slipped off the hillside, and I thought she would go down and take me with her. (This was supposedly a "maintained" trail.) Unfortunately, I did not get photos of this dangerous area.

After about 15 minutes, we came upon a clearing where the trail opened up again and we were able to rest and remount. I said "No way am I going back that way." Bob said we had no choice and I said the road intersected this trail at two miles (according to the sign) and I would stay with the horses, while Bob hitchhiked his way back to get the trailer. We proceeded to some more beautiful views, but the trail was lightly used and was overgrown with locust thorns.

We reached the two-mile mark (according to the GPS) and no road intersection. We kept going. At about 3.1 miles, THERE WAS THE ROAD! There were about 10 rock stairs to it, but there was a place to hang out in the shade with grass for the horses. Even though we had only gone three miles, it seemed like 10, physically and emotionally.

I waited while Bob grabbed a water bottle and a couple of granola bars and began hiking along the road, looking for a ride. He said expect him to be gone about two hours if he ended up hiking the whole way. He was actually only gone about 40 minutes. He got a ride at the intersection back up to Point Imperial, picked up the trailer and drove back to get us. We loaded the horses and back to camp for lunch and naps. We were both thrashed.

(If you want to do the last portion of the trail without the dangerous areas, I would recommend parking at the place where we came out. There is room for one trailer parked here. Refer to the map above to our take out point).

Later in the afternoon, we went to the People Campground (about 3 miles away) for showers and then went to the Lodge to wait for our 6pm dinner reservation. I recommend dinner at the lodge. The food was good and priced within reason. Here is the link to the lodge with menus.

grand canyon views from lodge dining room

The view from our dining table at the lodge.

All in all, we loved this trip and definitely plan on going back. We now know what parts of the trail to avoid and can try some of the ones we missed the first time around. Be sure to take a look at my other post on riding the North Rim on mules.
 

About the Author: Judy Nelson writes Dream Packer Trail Adventures, a blog with extensive information and photos on riding in Utah. She has owned horses for about the last 20 years, but has been horse crazy for most of her 68 years. She is fortunate to have a spouse who loves horses as much as she does and they are trail riding partners with their two Morgan horses (who happen to be siblings). They have "Ellie", a 15 year old chestnut mare and "Shrek", a 13 year old Dark Bay gelding. They also have a third horse, who is just being trained, a 4 year old Curly Black Tobiano Missouri Fox Trotter filly named "Kachina". Nelson is active in the Back Country Horsemen of Utah (which focuses on service projects and trail maintenance) and is the Trail Riding Advisor for the Rocky Mountain Morgan Horse Club (which covers Utah, Wyoming and Idaho.)