Backpack Trail Guide

Trails / Arizona / Grand Canyon

South Kaibab and Bright Angel Trails to Bright Angel Campground

Grand Canyon National Park, National Park Service (South Rim corridor trails)

Fall color along Bright Angel Creek
“Fall color along Bright Angel Creek” by Grand Canyon National Park , CC BY 2.0 · Source · Resized for the web

This is the classic Grand Canyon backpacking trip: down the South Kaibab Trail from the South Rim to the Colorado River, a night at Bright Angel Campground beside Bright Angel Creek, and back up the Bright Angel Trail. The Grand Canyon Trust describes it as hiking a vertical mile into the canyon. The National Park Service notes many hikers prefer this direction, down the South Kaibab and up the Bright Angel.

This route is closed. A deadly flash flood tore through Bright Angel Canyon on August 29, 2026, destroying nearly all the footbridges over Bright Angel Creek. The National Park Service has closed Bright Angel Campground, Phantom Ranch, both bridges over the Colorado River, and the Bright Angel Trail below the Tonto Trail junction until further notice. The description below is of the trip as it was before the flood. Check the park’s website before planning anything.

Every overnight below the rim needs a backcountry permit, and the heat can be deadly.

The hike

The NPS describes the South Kaibab as a well-defined, well-maintained trail with wonderful, expansive views. There’s no public parking at the South Kaibab Trailhead, so hikers park at the Visitor Center and take the Kaibab (Orange) Route shuttle. The park’s handout puts the trailhead at 7,260 feet. It lists Cedar Ridge at 1.5 miles, Tipoff at 4.4 miles, and Bright Angel Campground at 7.0 miles and 2,480 feet. It says the hike down typically takes four to six hours.

The South Kaibab follows a ridgeline. The NPS says it has little shade and no water for its whole length, and that hiking up it is not recommended because of dangerous heat and lack of water. That’s why most backpackers go down this way.

At the bottom, the trail crosses the Colorado River. The NPS says the Black Bridge on the South Kaibab route is open. The Grand Canyon Trust says Bright Angel Campground sits half a mile north of the river on the banks of Bright Angel Creek, with 32 sites, open year-round. Phantom Ranch is nearby.

The way out is the Bright Angel Trail. The Grand Canyon Trust calls it the park’s most popular rim-to-river route, with views, rest houses, seasonal water, and shade at Havasupai Gardens. The NPS says it is tucked deep in a side canyon along a massive fault, and that most of its elevation change comes in the upper four miles, through a series of switchbacks that seem endless. The Grand Canyon Trust describes a suspension bridge across the river that also carries the transcanyon waterline, the final switchbacks known as the Devil’s Corkscrew, and Havasupai Gardens at about 4.5 miles from the rim, with cottonwoods, flowing water, and a ranger station.

The park has been doing construction on that route. NPS pages say the River Trail between Pipe Creek and the South Kaibab junction was closed through June 30, 2026, for work on the Transcanyon Waterline. Because this connects the two trails at the bottom, check its current status before counting on the loop.

The 2025 Dragon Bravo Fire changed things too. The NPS reopened the North Kaibab Trail in May 2026 for foot traffic only, with repairs continuing. National Park Explorer reports that the park found the fire raised the risk of flash floods and debris flows in the Bright Angel Creek watershed, and that new flash-flood signs were going up around Phantom Ranch.

Water is the constant concern. The NPS says potable water is normally available year-round at Bright Angel Campground but isn’t guaranteed because of pipeline breaks, so hikers should carry iodine tablets or a filter. It says water at the South Kaibab Trailhead was off when checked. On the Bright Angel Trail, water stations are seasonal. The NPS stresses that carrying your own water is still necessary even where stations exist, and that too little water leads to dehydration and heat stroke.

Tips

Camping

Camping below the rim is only in designated campgrounds with a backcountry permit. The Grand Canyon Trust lists Bright Angel Campground with 32 sites and Havasupai Gardens Campground, on the Bright Angel Trail, with 15 sites, both open year-round and both requiring a permit. It says a few walk-in permits may be available daily at the backcountry permit office. Dogs aren’t allowed on these trails.

Inside Intel: The NPS handout notes the preference directly: when camping at Bright Angel Campground, many hikers go down the South Kaibab and up the Bright Angel. One AllTrails reviewer who hiked up from Phantom Ranch in late August said the views change little after Havasupai Gardens and the last 3 miles, especially the last 1.5, are the roughest. That reviewer’s advice: go slow, and use the water stations to wet your clothes and hair in the heat. If you can get a permit for Havasupai Gardens instead, it splits the climb out.

Trail facts

The Lowdown

Fuel for the climb out of the canyon:

The Bright Angel climb gains about 4,400 feet, so dinner at the bottom matters. See which meals testers keep coming back to.

See the picks →

Where this comes from

This page draws on the sources below, along with other guides and trip reports. Links go to the original pages.

Before you go: This page is based on published trail guides, trip reports, and reviews, along with official park and agency information where we could find it. It’s meant to help backpackers discover new trails, not to replace current, official information. Conditions, closures, permits, campsites, and water sources change, and some details here may be out of date or wrong. Confirm everything with the managing agency and check current conditions before you head out, and don’t rely on this page alone for safety or navigation. Backcountry travel involves risk.