The North Rim of the Grand Canyon is 8000ft. It’s much cooler, heavily forested, and more rustic than the south rim. Most of the facilities, like the lodge, close by mid-October or at first snowfall. The North Rim is lesser-visited than its Southern counterpart. So less crowded, except at the lodge, which is the main destination for visitors. We were treated to wonderful fall colors and deer during the 80mi drive from Kanab.
We had a great morning exploring the trails & viewpoints along the north rim. Then we enjoyed a panoramic canyon view during lunch at the lodge restaurant. We wanted to see more and taking advice from our campground neighbor familiar with the North Rim. We drove the Cape Royal Road to access the many viewpoints along the canyon.
There was very little traffic on this long winding back-road that takes you east through dense forest then south along the canyon. The viewpoints by the lodge were wonderful but these other viewpoints are even better. For example, at Angels Window, you can walk out to the viewpoint for an unobstructed 260° panoramic view of the canyon from east to west.
After missing a spectacular sunset at Bryce Canyon, I had to stay & photograph sunset. Intermittent rain squalls were creating dramatic light so I knew it would be special. Photographing a Grand Canyon sunset at Cape Royal/Angels Window viewpoint is ideal. There were so many angles catching the changing light along the canyon from this location. The atmospheric conditions with intermittent cloud bursts over that canyon created haze and rainbows. As hoped, the sun broke through with amazing light, striking the canyon valley, pinnacles, and back-lighting the trees along the rim.
The only drawback of staying till dark was the slow nervous 2hr drive back to Kanab, trying not to hit deer or other wildlife. Arizona does not recognize Daylight Savings Time so by the clock, it took 3hrs to get back. We stopped at the Jacob Lake Inn for a break & wonderful, home-style dinner before driving a more relaxed hour back to Kanab.
