One of the Grand Canyon’s Most Popular Trails Just Reopened. Everything You Need to Know for 2026.

Some of the Grand Canyon’s most popular hiking routes—including the iconic Rim-to-Rim trek—will be closed for spring break and remain shuttered into early summer, according to the National Park Service (NPS).

Portions of the River Trail and North Kaibab Trail remain closed following the devastating Dragon Bravo Fire of summer 2025.

The closures have local guides concerned about when they’ll be able to resume operations.

“The overarching message from NPS that comes back, over and over again, is that of uncertainty,” Dan Logan, owner of Four Seasons Hiking, told Outside. Logan’s company offers sightseeing trips throughout Arizona, including the Grand Canyon.

And now, Logan and other guides are coming up with alternative routes to take would-be Rim-to-Rim hikers this spring, as they await updates from the NPS on the trails to the canyon’s North Rim.

“Instead of going all the way across the canyon from north to south, we go down the South Kaibab to Phantom Ranch, back up the South Kaibab to Tonto West, across the Tonto West to Havasu Gardens and up the Bright Angel to the top of the canyon,” said Kevin Chernilla, president and co-founder of the guiding company K2 Adventures. “It’s almost 21 miles going this way instead of the 25 miles going all the way across.”

What Is Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim?

Several million people visit the Grand Canyon each year, but a tiny percentage actually venture down to the Colorado River. An even smaller percentage of these hikers then trek across the canyon and ascend to the opposite rim.

Hikers on the South Rim can descend either the South Kaibab or Bright Angel trails and then ascend the North Kaibab Trail. The journey is about 23.5 miles one-way.

The Rim-to-Rim trek has become extremely popular with both hikers and ultrarunners in recent years. Guiding companies offer multi-day adventures across the canyon, and running groups organize Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim excursions. For those outings, runners cross from one side of the canyon and then back in a continuous push. 

The River Trail

In a March 9 update, the NPS reminded visitors of the closure of the Grand Canyon’s River Trail, a two-mile route that runs along the southern edge of the Colorado River. The River Trail connects the two main trails—the Bright Angel and South Kaibab—used to access the bottom of the canyon from the South Rim.

“Rockfalls along the River Trail in August caused a 50-foot section of the trail to collapse, requiring additional safety assessments and reconstruction work before it can safely reopen,” the NPS wrote.

This closure is scheduled to end on July 1. Until then, hikers aren’t able to complete the popular Rim-to-River-to-Rim loop hike. This loop takes hikers down to the canyon floor, along the Colorado River, and back up to the South Rim.

North Kaibab Trail

On March 25, NPS announced that the park’s North Kaibab Trail, which connects the North Rim to the canyon floor, is scheduled to reopen on May 15 for foot traffic only.

“Trail maintenance and rehabilitation work will continue along the North Kaibab Trail throughout the 2026 season,” NPS wrote on its website. “Hikers should anticipate temporary trail closures or delays while crews continue to repair the trail. Post-fire hazards and weather events may also result in additional closures.”

Workers are repairing damage from the Dragon Bravo Fire, a wildfire that ravaged the North Rim in summer 2025.

The North Kaibab Trail comprises the northern half of the Rim-to-Rim hike.

Logan told Outside that the River Trail closure could put hikers descending the South Kaibab in a dangerous situation, requiring them to either hike back up the steeper South Kaibab trail or embark on a lengthy traverse to reach the Bright Angel trail.

“Either option proves taxing on ill-prepared or overly ambitious hikers, especially when it gets hot,” Logan said. “There’s little water, sparse shade, and strenuous hiking. This will result in heat-related situations requiring emergency resources, and considering it’s forecast to be 91 degrees Fahrenheit at Phantom Ranch by the end of this week, this spring seems to be hinting at warmer-than-average temps.”

What You Should Plan For in 2026

With so much uncertainty surrounding the repair timeline, Logan and Chernilla both advise hikers to plan Rim-to-Rim trips for fall 2026 at the earliest.

“Considering that park crews won’t even begin to assess the damage and repair-related workload until mid-April, it seems unlikely the trail will reopen before the summer, when it’s not even fun to be hiking Rim-to-Rim anyway,” Logan said.

“We will begin hiking across the canyon via the North Kaibab and Bright Angel trails when everything opens back up, hopefully for our trips in the fall,” Chernilla added.

Both remain cautiously optimistic that Rim-to-Rim hikes can resume by the fall.

For a full list of trail closures, see the Grand Canyon’s Key Hiking Messages page.