Skeleton Point - Grand Canyon Village, Arizona

Brad K.

Bathrooms and non-potable water available here. A good spot to stop as you're about 2/3 down to the river. It's also the confluence of the South Kaibab and Tonto Trails. There is a small shelter to here to get some shade. Otherwise, it's a very exposed spot to the sun and wind.

Jarrett S.

Easy 3 miles down (about 2 hours since we stopped for pictures along the way) and a pretty strenuous 3 miles up (about 1.5 hours of nonstop uphill). Amazing views the whole way and well worth the time and effort.

Pass Ooh Aah Point and Cedar Ridge on the way down (Cedar Ridge has a bathroom)

Beware of not used to altitude or longer hikes!

Uli S.

Sehr schöne Tour. Man sollte früh beginnen und zum Mittag wieder am Rim sein. Es wird sehr warm und - zum Glück - windig. Die Aussichten unterwegs sind beeindruckend. Je weiter man läuft, desto einsamer wird es, was sehr angenehm ist. Für den Aufstieg sollte man genug Wasser dabei haben. Durch die trockene Luft und Wärme benötigt man etwas mehr Wasser als üblich.

S L.

As the brochure mentioned, this would be the longest day hike you could undertake. My hubby (40) and I (35) were exhausted afterward!

However, you get to experience different views from the rim and "feel" all the layers of millions of years of geological strata. I wouldn't say this point offers the best view of the Colorado River since we could see more of it from the Desert View.

The hike took us 5.5 hours, with about 30 minutes stopped at Cedar Ridge and another 40 minutes at Skeleton Point for a snack break. Considering all the stops, the actual walking time would have been 4 hours, but breaks are necessary to catch your breath, eat, hydrate, and take lots of pictures while enjoying the view.

So, 1) plan the hike for 6 hours; 2) I personally think hiking poles are a must for this 6-mile hike; 3) bring plenty of water and snacks; 4) and ENJOY!

* We started at 7am, but definitely would start earlier if possible. The mornign shade was super helpful! Coming back was hard with the full Sun exposure!!

Patrik T.

Great short walk with some vertical meters but with beautiful views to Grand Canyon. Definitely worth to visit

Aniello S.

The South khabib Trail and everything you're going to want to know. For starters I highly recommend you before starting the hike or driving to the hike to look at the website and see if there's any warnings or concerns that you may want to know about. On the website it said that there was an ice cover at the beginning of the trail and spikes were recommended. I wish I listened to this and didn't take it as lightly. It was extremely slippery on the way down because of the snow and I really wish I did buy it a pair of $10 spikes I would have felt a lot more safe at the beginning of the trail. On the way back up the snow was a little bit melted and a lot easier to get back up than it was to get down but I still recommend you to check the website. I did this hike early in the morning so I was able to get one of the side parking lots off of the road near the hike. The spots get filled up very quickly so you can always park at the main parking lots for the Grand Canyon on the south rim and take a shuttle over. It wasn't a very hot day and I still recommend you to bring a lot of water. Also having Gatorade or any kind of electrolytes was extremely nice to have. I hiked all the way down to skeleton point and back up. I was extremely tempted to go all the way down to the river and I am more than happy I did not. At skeleton point if you go a little bit left about 100 ft on a side Trail you can clearly see the Colorado River Running. The hike on the way back is definitely difficult. I would consider myself in shape in a runner and this was still a challenging hike to do. It's super easy to go down and you go down a lot quicker than going up so you think you might be able to make it to the river which is true you can make it there but making it back up is the challenge. If it was any hotter I probably would have even regretted going all the way down to skeleton point. Ooh ah point is a very quick hike and most people can definitely do it if you have enough water. It's where you can see the east part of the canyon for the first time. A great place to take pictures and do a quick hike into the Grand Canyon and get the experience. If you don't go in the morning there will be a pretty big crowd of people. In between ooh ah point and skeleton point there is a bathroom but no running water. There are mules that go down and up to supply The Villages down there and to move equipment to maintain the trails. I was lucky enough to see them and it was a great experience. One of the coolest sceneries I've ever had on a hike before and is definitely worth it. Just highly recommend everyone to make sure they have enough supplies in are prepared for their hike and know what they're getting into. At skeleton point in a little crevice of a rock there is a old ammo box with a emergency water inside of it. Really fun hike highly recommend it just do what you are capable of doing and enjoy the view. If you have any questions feel free to ask below.

Marius R.

You are going deep and down to the canyon, then you come back. 600 meters down, 600 meters up. It is hard trail, do not forget to take at least 3 liters of water for each. We did it in 4:30 hours with a lunch enjoying the views. Keep in mind, from the Cedar Ridge there are almost no shadows until you reach Skeletons point. Also, go a minute down beyond the Skeletons point to get into shadow, there the view is even better.

Waleed

Third major checkpoint you’ll come across on your descent down. Personally it was underwhelming for the entire journey we took, but couldn’t go wrong with the exceptional views from all sides and the entire way through. Took my friend and I about 2 hours to reach this point from the start of the trail. Come prepared with plenty of water and snacks so you can make it down here and all the way back up!