The Climb Back Out of Cedar Ridge
Some places make their point before you’ve had time to understand them. On the South Kaibab Trail, the descent toward Cedar Ridge felt almost effortless at first. The path dropped away through steep switchbacks, the canyon opening wider with every turn.
It’s the kind of landscape that makes distance difficult to judge — everything feels impossibly close and impossibly vast at the same time.
Then came the reminder every canyon hike eventually gives you: whatever you walk down, you still have to climb back out.
South Kaibab doesn’t offer much shade, and the temperature can shift dramatically as you move through elevation. On the return, those same switchbacks feel very different. The climb becomes slower, quieter and much more deliberate.
Maybe that’s why the place stayed with me. The view was extraordinary, but so was the effort it asked for. Sometimes a place doesn’t need to teach you anything complicated. It just asks you to keep moving, one bend at a time.
A practical note for international travellers: in 2026, non-U.S. residents aged 16 and over visiting Grand Canyon National Park are charged a US$100 nonresident fee per person in addition to the standard entrance fee, unless covered by an eligible annual pass. It’s worth checking the National Park Service fees page before you go.