Grand Canyon Guide to Scenic Viewpoints

Discover Scenic Views

Scenic Grand Canyon Vistas

Because Grand Canyon is 277-miles long, the options for scenic viewpoints are truly endless. No matter which side of the canyon you plan to visit, you will be able to stop at numerous incredible views, so you can take home the photos of a lifetime. The South Rim has the most popular and some say the best views, but the North Rim offers solitude and amazing places like Point Sublime. The West Rim is home to the Grand Canyon Skywalk, a unique glass bridge perched on the rim of the canyon and far flung destination like Tuweep has the much photographed Toroweap Point. No matter where you travel to at the Grand Canyon, there’s an awesome vista with your name on it. Read the guide below to find out about the best scenic vistas or check out our Grand Canyon scenic viewpoints map.

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South Rim Scenic Viewpoints

The South Rim is the most-visited part of Grand Canyon so a lot of the photos that you see were taken from these viewpoints. Because the South Rim is lower than the North Rim, you have wide, sweeping views from this side and you can gaze across at the temples and buttes that line the North Rim of the canyon.

Cedar Ridge
Cedar Ridge
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Scenic Vistas
Further down the South Kaibab Trail you come to Cedar Ridge. From the ridge you have a beautiful mid-canyon view, gazing down at the rock layers below you and an awesome vertical view back up to the rim above you. This is a 3-mile roundtrip hike.
Desert View Point
Desert View Point
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Spring
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Scenic Vistas
The most popular spot for sunrise and sunset along Desert View Drive, the Desert View Watchtower is a photographer’s dream.
Grandview Point
Grandview Point
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Spring
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Scenic Vistas
This is a popular overlook on Desert View Drive that offers an expansive east-west view, as well as some nice glimpses of the Colorado River.
Hopi Point
Hopi Point
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Spring
Summer
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Scenic Vistas
The most popular of the Hermit Road overlooks for sunset, Hopi Point has a sweeping east/west view of the canyon and beautiful glimpses of the Colorado River as well.
Lipan Point
Lipan Point
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Spring
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Scenic Vistas
This is the second-most popular sunset spot on Desert View Drive since it juts out into the canyon and offers a spectacular panoramic view.
Colorado River Overlook
Little Colorado River Overlook
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Spring
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Scenic Vistas
Located in the Navajo Tribal Park, this overlook lets you view the Little Colorado River, a tributary to the Colorado River that formed the larger Grand Canyon. Aerialist Nik Wallenda’s famous 2013 tightrope crossing of “Grand Canyon” actually occurred here.
Maricopa Point
Maricopa Point
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Spring
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Scenic Vistas
One of many beautiful Hermit Road vistas, Maricopa Point is probably best known as the site of the 1893 Orphan copper and uranium mine. While the mining structures have already been removed the canyon’s rim, it will be a years-long project for the National Park Service to restore the mine site so that it is once again safe for visitors and wildlife.
Mather Point
Mather Point
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Spring
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Scenic Vistas
The most popular overlook on the South Rim, Mather Point is an easy, paved 10-minute walk from the Grand Canyon Visitor Center parking lots.
Mohave Point
Mohave Point
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Trip Season
Spring
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Scenic Vistas
Even though this is a less popular option for sunset along the Hermit Road, Mohave Point juts out into the canyon and offers quieter and beautiful sunset views. You can see the Colorado River below the overlook as well.
Monument Creek Vista
Monument Creek Vista
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Spring
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Scenic Vistas
A less-visited Hermit Road overlook, Monument Creek Vista is a quiet stop where you can take in the deep red colors of the Supai group and Redwall limestone rock layers.
Moran Point
Moran Point
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Spring
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Scenic Vistas
This Desert View Drive overlook offers close-up views of the sedimentary rock layers that make up the top of the canyon, but you can also see the much older igneous and metamorphic rock layers at the bottom of the canyon as well.
Navajo Point
Navajo Point
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Spring
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Scenic Vistas
Located just west of Desert View, you can gaze back at the Desert View Watchtower and see the Colorado River below you.

North Rim Scenic Viewpoints

Only open seasonally, the North Rim offers the highest viewpoints to be found along the canyon and you have many opportunities to see up-close views of the photogenic temples, buttes and mesas that form from eroding rainwater on this side of Grand Canyon.

West Rim and East Rim Scenic Viewpoints

West Rim Grand Canyon offers some unique viewpoints to visitors. Toroweap is certainly one of the most beautiful natural views of the canyon while the Grand Canyon Skywalk at Eagle Point is certainly the biggest adrenaline rush viewpoint thanks to the glass-bottomed platform that visitors can walk out on to see the canyon. While there is only one scenic viewpoint on the East Rim, it is also one of the most easily accessible and famous viewpoints as well.

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