Rim-to-Rim Gear Checklist

What shapes your gear on Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim

How far each campground sits from the rims

The Park Service puts Bright Angel Campground 9.5 miles from the South Rim and 14 miles from the North Rim. Cottonwood Campground is 6.8 miles below the North Rim. Hiking to Bright Angel Campground is 6.8 miles by the South Kaibab Trail and 9.3 by the Bright Angel Trail.

From Grand Canyon National Park (National Park Service): Backcountry Campsite Information and Grand Canyon National Park (National Park Service): Hiking FAQs

Where you sleep

Three campgrounds serve the corridor: Havasupai Gardens, Bright Angel and Cottonwood. A permit allows up to two nights per campground per hike, with up to four from November 15 through February 28. Every site has a picnic table, a pack pole and a metal food storage can.

From Grand Canyon National Park (National Park Service): Backcountry Campsite Information

Cost and permit

A permit or lottery application costs $10. Add $15 per person per night below the rim and $4 per person per night above it. Requests start in an early access lottery on Recreation.gov, and groups of 1 to 6 find more permits than groups of 7 to 11.

From Grand Canyon National Park (National Park Service): Backcountry Permit

The big day north to south

A June 1999 couple left the North Rim at 6:05 a.m. and reached Cottonwood at noon after 7 miles and about 3,000 feet of descent. It was low 60s at the top and about 105 degrees at camp. The next morning they walked 7 miles to Bright Angel and reached Phantom Ranch by 10:30 a.m.

From University of Delaware personal pages

The big day south to north

A 2014 father and son went down the South Kaibab, slept at Bright Angel and Cottonwood, and then climbed about 4,600 feet in 7 miles to the North Rim. They rode a hiker shuttle at 5 a.m. to start. The North Rim evening was in the low 50s and windy.

From Backcountry Post

Heat in The Box

A 1974 pair left Bright Angel camp at 8 a.m. instead of 6 and hit the narrow section north of camp as it heated up. They reached Cottonwood at 2:30 p.m., having drunk water as fast as it left their bodies. The camp thermometer had read 96 degrees the previous afternoon.

From Jeff Goulden (Substack)

How long the climb out takes

The Park Service says most hikers take 4 to 5 hours going down to Bright Angel Campground and 7 to 8 hours coming up. The 1999 couple left Bright Angel at 4:30 a.m. and reached the South Rim at 12:30 p.m., with a half-hour rest near the top.

From Grand Canyon National Park (National Park Service): Hiking FAQs and University of Delaware personal pages

What hikers carry on Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim

• A hat that stays on in wind

  A 1974 hiker watched a gust launch his friend's felt hat down a scree slope on the South Kaibab. The friend chased it, got it back, and the author called any hat essential protection from the Arizona sun.

  From Jeff Goulden (Substack)

• A warm layer, gloves and a cap for the rims

  A 2022 party planned for both ice on the rims and 100-plus degrees at the river. They kept a light jacket, a skull cap and gloves in a bottom pocket. Frost greeted the 1974 pair on the South Rim, and a 2014 hiker found the North Rim lodge area windy and in the low 50s.

  From Recoil Offgrid, Jeff Goulden (Substack) and Backcountry Post

• A water filter

  A 2022 party carried a squeeze filter plus a hydration bladder and two bottles, 3 liters of water at the start of the crossing. The Park Service says Cottonwood has treated water mid-May through mid-October, and that you should be ready to filter creek water the rest of the year.

  From Recoil Offgrid and Grand Canyon National Park (National Park Service): Backcountry Campsite Information

• A shade-and-soak plan at camp

  The 1999 couple spent the afternoon at Cottonwood in shade with their feet in Bright Angel Creek. The 1974 pair did the same on arrival at Bright Angel. In both reports the camp was 96 to 105 degrees.

  From University of Delaware personal pages and Jeff Goulden (Substack)

• Electrolyte drink or salty snacks

  The Park Service says to carry salty, high-energy snacks. The 1999 couple stopped at the 1.5-mile rest house and drank a half gallon of sports drink during the climb. The 2022 hiker kept electrolyte tablets in a belt pocket and never felt hungry and had to remind himself to eat.

  From Grand Canyon National Park (National Park Service): Hiking FAQs, University of Delaware personal pages and Recoil Offgrid

• A satellite messenger

  The 2022 group carried one in the lid pocket of the pack. The Park Service says emergency phones sit at the ranger stations and some rest houses, but that they do not always work, so the plan has to include walking for help.

  From Recoil Offgrid and Grand Canyon National Park (National Park Service): Hiking FAQs

• A very light shelter

  The 2022 party carried a one-person tent that weighs about 1 pound 7 ounces, and the author said the extra spend was worth it. The 1974 pair carried a heavy tent the whole way and slept in the open on their bags every night.

  From Recoil Offgrid and Jeff Goulden (Substack)

• A real headlamp with fresh batteries

  A day runner wrote that even a full moon left the canyon too dark and told readers to start with new batteries. The 1999 couple left Bright Angel at 4:30 a.m. and could read cards by about 5:15.

  From Liz Thomas Hiking and University of Delaware personal pages

• A separate night-time pee bottle

  The 2022 author kept a heavily stickered bottle in the main pack so he did not have to leave his warm tent. He marked it so nobody confused it with the water bottle.

  From Recoil Offgrid

Gear questions for Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim