Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA - most beautiful viewpoints of the Desert View Drive

We visit Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, USA. We drive along the South Rim of the gigantic canyon on Desert View Drive. From viewpoints such as Desert View, Lipan Point, Moran Point, Grandview Point, and Mather Point, we enjoy wonderful views of this mighty natural wonder.

The Grand Canyon is one of the most impressive natural wonders on Earth. Over millions of years, the Colorado River has carved this approximately 446 km (277 mi) long canyon into the rock. We enter Grand Canyon National Park via the East Entrance. This is where Desert View Drive begins, a panoramic road along the south rim of the Grand Canyon that stretches 37 km (23 mi) to Grand Canyon Village. This scenic route offers not only spectacular views of the Grand Canyon itself, but also of the vast landscape of the Colorado Plateau and the mountains on the horizon. Now in April, only the South Rim can be visited. The North Rim of the Grand Canyon, is still closed for the winter. And even here at the South Rim, the northwestern sections are still closed. There's still snow in the forests, after all, we're at an elevation of almost 2200 m (7000 ft)!

Our first stop is Desert View, just beyond the East Entrance. Here stands the striking Desert View Watchtower, an observation tower dating from 1932 in the style of the Ancestral Puebloan people. The first view of the Grand Canyon from Desert View is stunning! Far below us, the Colorado River winds its way through the canyon. The mighty rock walls glow in many different shades, from red to purple, and change their colors depending on the weather and time of day.

We continue to Lipan Point. From here, you have one of the best views of the Colorado River, especially of Hance Rapid, one of the river's largest and most dangerous rapids. The Grand Canyon is relatively narrow here, with only about 13 km (8 mi) to the North Rim, which is why migratory birds cross the canyon at this exact spot! The view to the south is also impressive: the air is clear, and on the horizon, we can see the snow-capped peaks of the San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff.

We continue to Moran Point. The American landscape painter Thomas Moran appreciated the wide panoramic view of the canyon and its diverse rock formations. The rock layers lie before us like a window into the history of our planet.

Desert View Drive takes us further west to Grandview Point. As the name suggests, an impressive panoramic view of the canyon awaits us. This is also the beginning of the challenging Grandview Trail, a steep and unpaved path formerly used by miners.

But we're not hiking today; instead, we're continuing on to Mather Point. This popular viewpoint is located near Grand Canyon Village. The National Park Visitor Center is also located here. In addition to large visitor parking lots, this is also a hub for the free shuttle buses that serve the national park. In the evening light, we take a walk along the rim of the canyon on the well-developed Rim Trail. In addition to the tourists, there are many mule deer roaming around looking for dinner and undisturbed by the visitors. The animals don't have an eye for the view, but we are once again overwhelmed by the expansive view of the central part of the canyon, the dramatic rock formations, and the play of colors in the evening sun. It's not for nothing that Mather Point is a popular spot for sunrise or sunset. It gets quite cold here in the evenings, and we're glad we have our thick jackets. But the view is breathtakingly beautiful!

We're staying at the Grand Canyon. Next on our itinerary is a hike on the South Kaibab Trail.

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You can find the complete channel playlist about our stay in the USA here:    • USA Roadtrip  

Visit in April 2024

Chapter:
00:00 Intro
00:43 Desert View
02:45 Lipan Point
04:29 Moran Point
06:50 Grandview Point
11:18 Mather Point
14:06 Outro