North Rim Visitors Center to Cape Royale
- Distance Instructions
- Distance 45 miles
- Time 4 h 52 min
- Speed 9 mph
- Min altitude 7,766 ft
- Peak 8,615 ft
- Climb 4,140 ft
- Descent 4,137 ft
First dramatic view into the Grand Canyon
This hilly 45 mile out and back ride starts from the Grand Canyon North Rim Visitor Center. After a short but steep decent, you turn on to Cape Royale Road. As you meander through meadows and tall ponderosa pine trees, you quickly find that you are heading uphill. The high point for the ride comes quickly, among a grove of aspen trees. At the bottom of the next steep decent, if you turn to the left, you have the opportunity to head out to Point Imperial (see Grand Canyon North Rim Visitor Center to Point Imperial) . If you head to the right, you continue out to Cape Royale.
Grand Canyon pullouts have lots of informational signs.
A short and steep climb brings you to the first dramatic views down and into the Grand Canyon. The road continues, through a rolling section along the rim, giving you ample views down. There are numerous pullouts – each with informational signs about the views, fires, and natrual history of the area. You will think you are in the Pacific Northwest with the ample green growth along this stretch of the road before you begin descending again.
After several miles of descent, you will begin to see signs hinting that you are getting close to Cape Royale Point… but don’t worry! The road kicks up one last time to 11% making you give it one last big push. The top and the turn around point turns into a dirt parking lot. Pit toilets are to your right when you enter the parking lot. A half mile trail (no bikes allowed) is to your left. A picnic area is just in front of you. The half mile hiking trail takes you out to amazing vistas that allow you to overlook the Colorado River, looking all the way down into the Grand Canyon.
The return route is just as beautiful. While you end the ride on the main road at the Grand Canyon North Rim, traffic is not normally very heavy and tends to be friendly visitors who give you thumbs up as you climb up the last hill back to the visitors center.
The North Rim of the Grand Canyon is open from May 15 – November 15 yearly. There are limited services available early in the season and late in the season (the concessionaire closes earlier then the park – and opens later then the park). You can always check the Park Service website to find out if it’s open now.
- Bring plenty of water. There are no water filling locations on this route except at the Visitor’s Center (at the beginning). We took hydration packs and two water bottles each and this worked well for us.
- Bring food! While this seems like a shorter ride, you are at a higher elevation and it will take longer than you expect. Bring plenty of food to cover you for 3-4 hours.
- Walking shoes/sandals. This might not be necessary, but there is an optional half mile hike at the halfway/turn around point. You can do a short bit of this in road cycling shoes and still get amazing views, but if you can carry shoes with you, you will be much happier.
- Bike lock. If you plan on leaving your bike and doing the short hike, lock up your bike to any of the trees in the area.
