On October 3-5, 2020, we went on another great trip while staying in Kanab. A three day car-camping trip to Toroweap Overlook (also known as Tuweep Overlook or Toroweap Point), a viewpoint within the Grand Canyon National Park on the North Rim. The overlook is the only viewpoint in the National Park from where the Colorado River can be seen 3,000 feet vertically below the rim. We got a two night Backcountry Permit at the Tuweep Campground, the only campground at the North Rim’s most remote viewpoint. We drove the 61-mile 4WD road out to Toroweap Overlook, and got the best campsite at the Tuweep Campground. After setting up camp we drove 1 mile to the Toroweap Overlook, and it is truly THE most spectacular view in all the Grand Canyon, because the canyon is less than a mile wide. Toroweap Overlook at an elevation of 4,600 feet, is on a broad platform called an Esplanade, with the Colorado River clearly flowing 3,000 feet straight below.
While we were there a man with bagpipes played “Amazing Grace” for us on the edge of the rim. It was so surreal. We walked along the Esplanade on landscape covered in eight, million-year-old lava flows and conical cones, for a breath-taking experience. To the West we viewed the largest rapid on nearly 300 miles of the park’s Colorado River, the Lava Falls Rapids. We went back to the campground for dinner and came back to watch the sunset over Lava Falls Rapids.
Day 1
Day 2
I got up early to watch the sunrise at Toroweap Point, there was only one other person there with me (Bob stayed in bed). It was such a peaceful, quiet, and surreal setting, Mother Nature at her best. After breakfast we took a drive out to the park entrance and stopped to see Adams Leaning Wheel Grader, a 1921 antique grader that was the original grader used to create and maintain the road to Toroweap Point. We returned and hiked the Tuckup Trail out to Cove Canyon for more closeup and endless views of the Colorado River. It originated as a cattle trail and many cowboy camps can be found along the trail. We hiked out for 3 miles before turning around and heading back to camp. Click on thumbnail to view images
Day 3
We woke up on our final morning to spectacular, beautiful views of the mountains from the tent. After a leisurely breakfast we went back to Toroweap Point for one more breathtaking scenic view from the rim. What makes Toroweap Overlook dramatically different than other Grand Canyon viewpoints is that it peers out over an abrupt gorge set in a broad corridor 3,000 feet below the rim. The overlook is the only viewpoint in the National Park from where the Colorado River can be seen vertically below. If you have the time and a 4WD vehicle this place is definitely worth the effort to get there. Click on thumbnail to view images
