Rainbow Rim Trail

I have been waiting to ride the Rainbow Rim Trail on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon for years. We finally made it happen and had the best time. The Husband and I left the kids at home and headed north for a long weekend. It was just the two of us, the camper, and our bikes. ❤️

Rainbow Rim Trail

The Rainbow Rim Trail is a 22.6 mile trail on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. The trail is not in the national park but rather on Forest Service land right next to the park. The trail is open to hikers, horses and bikes but I think it sees bike traffic the most.

The Kaibab Plateau, where the North Rim is located, had a wet winter and it was still snowing the week before we arrived. I was freaking out a little bit because the trail is 20 miles down a dirt road and the ranger station was unsure of the road and trail conditions even the day before we arrived. They told us to stop by the station on our way to the trail and they would hopefully be able to give us a better report. When we stopped at the ranger station, as they told us to do, they referred us to the North Rim Country Store because they know the trail conditions better. Um, what? The Country Store is right across the street from the turn off to the Rainbow Rim so it wasn’t out of the way and it ended up being a great stop. The staff was knowledgeable and friendly and did indeed know the road conditions. One of the employees pulled out a big map, showed us a few things, and answered all the questions the ranger station was not able to. It still seems strange that the ranger station was less knowledgeable but whatever. The Country Store also has a coffee trailer and they make the best latte’s. Seriously. If you are headed to the North Rim be sure to stop in the North Rim Country Store and give them some love. They’re good people.

We planned our trip for early June and due to scheduled kid activities and vacation days at work changing the dates was not possible. We had everything necessary to live off the grid for a few days, so we figured we’d make the best of it and see what happened. Fortunately, the weather was perfect, the roads were mostly dry, the trail was dry, and we had the best camping spot.

The trail winds up through the forest and back down along the rim. The rim views are gorgeous but you spend a lot of time in the forest. I actually enjoyed riding through the forest more than along the rim. The aspen trees were just getting their leaves, the pine trees were huge, and the wildflowers were just starting to bloom. It was absolutely gorgeous.

I was surprised by the size of the size of the trees in this area. There were a few times I felt like I was riding amongst the redwoods. This particular tree was so tall we couldn’t get the entire thing in a picture. Every time we rode by it we stopped to take in its grandeur. Our itty bitty bikes are at the bottom to help with the size reference.

The trail is not hard, but it is at 7,500 feet, there is some exposure, and the grade is a tad steep in some areas. The first day we rode I was questioning my life choices until I adjusted to the higher elevation. I may or may not have stomped off the trail on day 1 thanks to items 1 and 3 mentioned above. Fortunately, after taking a break and eating a snack I regained my sanity and got back on my bike. Days 2 and 3 were much more enjoyable.

The clouds were constantly rolling in and out and we were continually treated to incredible scenes.

One afternoon a rainstorm rolled in so we decided to hop in the car and head to the Grand Canyon National Park North Rim.

If you don’t get a sign picture did the trip really happen?

Our first stop in the park was a coffee shop because it was cold and there is something wonderful about drinking coffee and staring at the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon Lodge has a lovey patio with Adirondack chairs and high top tables perfectly positioned so you can relax and stare off into the canyon. There is also cell phone signal in this exact location so we able to check in with the family which was a bonus.

From this spot you can see Grand Canyon Village on the South Rim as well as the San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff. It’s pretty incredible.

North Rim of the Grand Canyon looking south

After spending a few days basically by ourselves in the forest, all the people and tour buses at the North Rim were getting to us so we retreated for the car and headed back to our little slice of heaven in the forest.

Home sweet home

One of the things I love about the Grand Canyon is that every time you look at it it looks different. Sunrise and sunset are particularly beautiful and we walked to the rim, which was 10 steps one direction and probably 50 in another, every chance we had.

I had the best tacos of my life on this trip. They weren’t anything different than what we eat at home but they tasted 1,000 times better. Mountain biking + high elevation + camping + gorgeous dinner views = amazing tacos.

We were gifted a very nice bottle of wine and brought it with us. We’ve been saving it for a special occasion and decided this fit the bill. And then we proceeded to drink it out of plastic cups. #classy

We had the best time camping and riding the Rainbow Rim. This trip definitely tops my list of favorite trips and we will be back. If you like mountain biking, camping, and gorgeous views I’d recommend adding the Rainbow Rim to your bucket list.

Fall Break in Sedona

When I started this blog I wanted to give a voice to the less popular national parks and to write about family friendly activities. It’s easy to find information on the most popular parks but that’s not always the case for the smaller parks. I kept running into this issue when planning and decided to do my part to build out the content. What I did not expect is the joy I would get in looking back and reading about our trips. As time goes on memories fade. I am so glad I decided to start this blog to capture some of our memories in written form. Now, my blog is part for the world and part for me. This post, however, is all for me because I want to remember the last several days forever. (I wrote this post mid-October and never got around to hitting post. I’m not changing anything because I like the way it was written.) Read more

Ouray, Colorado – The Switzerland of America

I am in love with Ouray, Colorado, affectionally known as the Switzerland of America. The only thing it doesn’t have is mountain bike trails. It’s probably best that way because if it did we might have to move. We spent three glorious days in Ouray and it’s exactly what we needed. We had fun in Durango (which was our first stop on our summer road trip) but our campground was too noisy and crowded so we didn’t get to enjoy the peace that should come with camping. We have come to realize that we are campground people; not so much RV park people. Fortunately, our next stop was Ouray where we got the peace and quiet we were looking for. Read more

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We just returned from our eighth summer road trip. It’s crazy how fast the years fly by. These road trips are a must for our family and we make sacrifices all year long to make sure they happen. We have seen so many incredible places and the time we spend together is priceless. I’m always sad when it’s over but excited to start planning for next summer. This summer we stayed a little closer to home (I’m still recovering from driving to Montana last summer ) and visited Southwest Colorado. The beauty in this part of the country is just incredible. I felt like we were in a painting for the majority of our trip. Read more

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Great Basin National Park

Great Basin National Park in Eastern Nevada is one of the least visited national parks in the system. Several of my favorite travel bloggers have been to Great Basin and every one has said it is a hidden gem. We needed a place to spend a few days on our way home from Glacier National Park so we chose Great Basin. Read more

Glacier National Park

Summer is here and we just completed another road trip through this incredible country we call home. This summer we drove a little farther than normal – from Southern Arizona all the way to Northern Montana. It was a looonnnggg drive and the highways through Nevada and much of Idaho are crazy straight. A drive I definitely wouldn’t want to do alone. We learned a lot and had a lot of firsts. First time driving for three days in a row. (It was painfully long.) First time camping for two weeks straight. First time living out of a cooler for two weeks. (We didn’t realize we’d need an ice budget.) Once I finish recapping the trip I’ll write up our lessons learned. Read more

The Desert in Bloom

Allergies aside, spring is my favorite time in the desert. The trees and cactus are in bloom, and everywhere you look colors are popping out of the sea of green. It really is the most beautiful time in the desert. Read more

Lessons From Our First Backpacking Trip

We embarked on our first backpacking trip recently and chose White Sands National Monument as the location. One of the reasons we selected White Sands for this trip is because the backcountry sites are only 3/4 – 1 mile from the parking lot. You are walking through sand dunes but overall it is not a hard or long hike. We learned so much from this trip and I thought I would share our lessons learned in case backpacking is of interest or in case you would like to laugh at some of our silly mistakes. Read more