South Rim Visitor Center is open today from 9 am to 4 pm. Follow link for a list of visitor services with hours of operation. Midday South Entrance lines are long. Arrive before 9 am or after 4 pm for shorter wait times. The North Rim reopens on May 15. More
Saturday, March 22, 2025 - Mostly Sunny —South Rim High 60°F (15°C) —Low: 34°F (1°C)
Trail closures: Bright Angel Trail between Havasupai Gardens and including the Silver Bridge CLOSED. River Trail CLOSED. Phantom Ranch CLOSED. Plateau Point and Plateau Point Trail CLOSED. Hikers visit this link for details and water availability. More
Grand Canyon National Park's "Minute Out In It" is a collection of short films of the park's nature and culture in action. Enjoy these sights and sounds from the Grand Canyon and be sure to look and listen for them during your next visit to the park.
The Apache Crown Dance is a ceremonial dance that "celebrates ancestors, community, and traditions while honoring gifts from the Creator." The dancers embody the Gaan (Mountain Spirits), wearing masks and ornate wooden crowns replete with deep symbolism. The dance is done with five members, each with a specific role. Spend a Minute Out In It with the Apache Crown Dancers, from White Mountain Apache--one of the 22 federally recognized tribes in Arizona--as they conduct ceremony at the Grand Canyon.
Dr. Cameron Hummels was selected as Astronomer in Residence for the fall of 2023. "My research focuses on the formation and evolution of galaxies like our own Milky Way, over the billions of years that they've been forming. I do this through enormous supercomputing simulations, to follow their evolution, through internal processes like star formation and supernovae, as well as external, like the merging of other galactic systems." Spend a Minute Out In It with Cam teaching astronomy in the backcountry.
Annie McCone Lopez was Grand Canyon's Artist in Residence for winter 2023. During her time, she made several paintings, including a codex inspired by her Mexican heritage, and the connections that Grand Canyon shares across the southwest through water. "Water is life. My work tries to show that, for the people of the Canyon, water, the Little Colorado River, are serious subjects." Spend a Minute Out In It with Annie as she guides us through her codex, a piece as complex as the water issues in the southwest.
Laverne Greyeyes is a Navajo rug weaver. Her clan is the Deer Water, and her paternal clan is the Mexican. "I learned weaving from my mom. Through the years, when I was small, that's when we had sheep. We would sheer the sheep, card, spin, and dye the wool. We were doing it very traditionally growing up. The way my mom tells me, weaving has been in our family at least four generations." Spend a Minute Out In It listening to the soothing sounds of wood padding wool--the sound of Laverne's childhood.
Hopisinom (the Hopi people) have a traditional calendar that speaks to their connection to the changes in seasons through ceremony. Each moon cycle is named to coincide with the time of year. This time of year, Hopi farmers create windbreakers in the fields to capture the topsoil around the plants. Trees are budding out, the days are longer, warmer. The planting season is near. Spend a Minute Out In It watching Kwiyamuya, the April Windbreaker Moon, rise over Ongtupqa (Grand Canyon).
Dr. Adeene Denton is a planetary scientist interested in giant impacts on Trans-Neptunian Objects. She is also a professional dancer. As Grand Canyon's 9th Astronomer in Residence, Adeene presented several programs on her research and created a dance piece, titled, "Chasing Canyons," which explores the connections between the geology of the Grand Canyon, canyons found on Mars, and how humans are driven to explore both. Spend a Minute Out In It experiencing canyon formation through the lens of modern dance.
Sunny Dooley is a Diné storyteller residing in Dédeez’á’ Bigháá Ní’didhchíí’byildiz - High Ridge Pine Tree Valley. She shares Hane', or Blessingway stories, and is a former Miss Navajo Nation, 1982. As a storyteller, Sunny shares what has been passed down through generations, having learned the skill from her mother. Spend a Minute Out In It walking to the Canyon with Sunny, as she imparts the wisdom of preserving language and the oral tradition, in one of the most complex and beautiful languages on Earth.
It’s a heavy lift to protect public lands! The Boeing-Vertol 234 helicopter recently extracted equipment from Phantom Ranch for the Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) Rehabilitation Project. Without a WWTP at this popular destination at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, the local creek and river would be spoiled by waste. The original plant was built in the 1980s--for 1980s visitation--the new plant will be built for the 21st century and beyond. Spend a Minute Out In It hitching a ride on the sling of the 234!
Jennifer Hoffman is a professor and astronomer at the University of Denver (DU), where she holds the Womble Chair of Astronomy and directs DU's historic Chamberlin Observatory. Hoffman enjoys exploring the connections between science and art, history, storytelling, and other ways humans experience the world. During her residency, she gave several interactive programs that connected visitors with the cyclical changes in the sky. Spend a Minute Out In It observing the change of the season from Hopi Point.
Hopisinom have a traditional calendar that speaks to their connection to the changes in seasons through ceremony. Each moon cycle is named to coincide with the time of year. This time of year, the spiritual beings called Katsinam have returned to the Hopi villages to purify the people. In February, the Katsinam distribute bean sprouts and initiate Hopi children into the Katsina Society. Spend a Minute Out In It watching Powamuya, the February Purification Moon, rise over Ongtupqa (Grand Canyon).
"What are those folks doing in the creek?" Grand Canyon National Park has been conducting a multi-year project to reduce the number of non-native fish in Bright Angel Creek in order to benefit native fish populations. Grand Canyon's native fish are uniquely adapted to the characteristics of the Colorado River and its tributaries and have suffered serious declines due to human-caused changes to their habitat. Spend a Minute Out In It with our Fisheries Crew as they use electrofishing to restore native fish.
Spend a Minute Out In It on the Upper Bridge of Bright Angel Campground. Feel the snowflakes on your face, the cold water beneath. Smell the sweet creek life through the frigid air. We receive these kinds of gifts from the Canyon with every visit--what do we give in return?
With an average temperature around 20 degrees F warmer than the Canyon rims, with scorching highs often exceeding 115 degrees F in the summer shade, the desert riparian biome of Phantom Ranch at the bottom of the Grand Canyon rarely gets snow. The winter storm on January 16th, 2023 proved an exception, as snow made it down the depths of the Canyon to the Colorado River. Spend a Minute Out In It touring the iconic sites of this Canyon refuge, all adorned with a lovely layer of snow, as fresh as it is rare.
The Yavapai-Apache Nation (YAN) is located in the Verde Valley, Arizona, and is comprised of 5 tribal communities: Tunlii, Middle Verde, Rimrock, Camp Verde and Clarkdale. With 2,596 total enrolled tribal members, the YAN consists of two distinct people, the Yavapai and Apache. The Yavapai refers to themselves as Wipuhk’a’bah and speak Yuman, while the Apache refer to themselves as Dil’zhe'e, and speak Athabaskan. Spend a Minute Out In It with Jerry Whagado, a member of the Yavapai, "The People of the Sun."
"Fetishes are part of our religious culture. The six directional animals--the mountain lion, the bear, the badger, the wolf, the eagle and the mole--these animals have the most significance to Zuni." Jeff Shetima has been carving fetishes since he was twelve years old. Held by the Zuni as sacred icons for centuries, fetishes have since been secularized and sold as a way to celebrate their rich culture with the world. Spend a Minute Out In It watching Jeff carve a mountain lion, the guardian of the north.
Leo Chee has lived in Cameron, Arizona, a small community on the Navajo Nation just east of Grand Canyon, his whole life. He is self-taught in many traditional crafts such as silversmithing and wood-carving. "It's a lot of work. Especially the polishing, polishing a bracelet like this. Because that polisher spins real fast, and if you make a mistake it'll grab it and throw it at you!" Spend a Minute Out In It watching Leo work at Desert View Watchtower as part of the park's Cultural Demonstration Series.
For most of the year, the Grand Canyon Black Tarantula (Aphonopelma marxi) spends most of its time in burrows, only moving short distances at night to hunt. In fall, it can be seen wandering the Canyon by day, in search of a mate. For the Navajo, the tarantula is called Naał’aashii, and is a respected invertebrate created in the First World. Spend a Minute Out In It with Naał’aashii, as it walks the juniper forests of the Fourth World, forecasting to Navajo Country the upcoming winter weather.
Bryan Joe is a second-generation silversmith, having learned the trade from his father, and now teaching it to his son. "The craft has been in the family since my dad started 50 years ago. He learned the basics from his uncle, who in Navajo I call my 'Nali,' and from there went on to start his business. He was only 23 and ran with some of the best galleries in the Four Corners. Not a lot of people know that." Spend a Minute Out In It with Bryan in the Hopi House, passing down tradition one bead at a time.
"Kachinas are spiritual deities. This kachina doll represents the Manangya (lizard), one that I saw on my last pilgrimage through the Canyon. The design shows the South and North Rims, as you're at the bottom looking up into the night sky. Every night you'll have that experience. During our prayers when we talk about the day's journey, we look up, and the stars show themselves to you." Spend a Minute Out In It listening to why Cory Ahownewa puts his heart into carving traditional Hopi Kachina dolls.
"All the materials I use come from the Earth. I don't buy anything in stores to make pottery." Darlene James is a descendent of Nampeyo, the famous Hopi potter who revived the traditions of ancient pottery at the turn of the twentieth century. Nampeyo demonstrated her craft in the Hopi House on the South Rim from 1905-1907. Over 100 years later, Darlene keeps the tradition alive, demonstrating her masterful craft in the very same building. Spend a Minute Out In It making art from the clay of canyon country.
"I grew to love the dark--That I could see so little and within it, just enough." Lauren Camp was selected as Grand Canyon's fourth Astronomer in Residence to explore through the written word the subtle emotions, aesthetic qualities, and complex thoughts we all feel under the vastness of the night skies. The Grand Canyon has welcomed a long history of poets who have attempted to capture its beauty with the pen--spend a Minute Out In It listening to Lauren read a night poem created during her residency.
One of the most historic ways to arrive to the Grand Canyon is on the old spur line created by the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway. Since 1901, the train has carried passengers from Williams, AZ to the South Rim daily. Due to the rise of the automobile, passenger service ceased in 1968. In 1989, passenger service continued--ten years later, Grand Canyon Railway was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Spend a Minute Out In It exploring the history "underneath" this timeless trip!
On May 4th, 2023, Grand Canyon National Park hosted a dedication ceremony for the renaming of Indian Garden to Havasupai Gardens. The Havasupai had lived in the beautiful riparian land, 3000-feet below the South Rim, since time immemorial. They were forcibly removed by the National Park Service in the 1920s. The Ram Dancers came to celebrate the name-change, and to spark a new era of collaboration between the NPS and the Havasupai tribe. Spend a Minute Out In It listening to songs of transformation.
The Dupkia Hoyam Dancers are a group from the Hopi Tribe who perform traditional dances in and around the Grand Canyon. The name Dupkia Hoyam means "Children of the Canyon" in the Hopi language. Singers Fred Nanacasia and Michael Wadsworth are also National Park Service employees for the park. Here, the group performs the Invading Young Buffaloes Dance. Spend a Minute Out In It with Dupkia Hoyam, whose families have been traditionally affiliated with the Grand Canyon since time immemorial.
“For me and the Havasupai people who came here today, we came to recognize this area as our own, and to officially change the name to Havasupai Gardens, and back to our traditional name, Ha’a Gyoh. To us, that is very important because it’s a symbol, almost saying that this is always going to be part of us now—forever. What was once taken away, is slowly being returned. The first step is a name, the second step is we are here—physically.” Spend a Minute Out In It in the first phase of healing: recognition.
" I believe more younger Havasupai need to be here, to remember that they come from very strong ancestors that learned how to farm, how to exist in a canyon. Once you learn that, you become one with the area. You feel a sense of belonging, a sense of identity. This is where they need to come--to see, to feel this land." Spend a Minute Out In It with the Havasupai people, as they celebrate the name change of Indian Garden to Havsupai Gardens, and pass on the knowledge of their lands to the next generation.
