forest Cliff Spring trail North Rim Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaCliff Spring trail leads into an intimate side canyon with several hundred feet drop in elevation in just under half a mile through forest and past upper canyon walls.

Firecracker Penstemon Cliff Spring trail North Rim Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaOn a warm June day the Ponderosa Pine offered shade as I started downhill on the Cliff Spring trail.  The forest looked open and park-like with tall grass and lovely firecracker penstemon scattered about the forest floor.

granary Cliff Spring trail North Rim Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaSeveral large rocks along the trail provided a perfect place for Ancestral Puebloan people to build a granary, or food storage area sort of like our pantry.  Sealed clay pots with winter’s food supply and spring’s seed would have been stored in the protected area.  The Walhalla Plateau where Cliff Spring trail is located has over 400 documented archeological sites from summer occupation 1165 – 820 years ago.

forest cliff Cliff Spring trail North Rim Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaThe trail follows a drainage then flattens out.  Tree tops reach up next to the trail on one side while walking under overhanging cliff faces and hugging the walls at the head of this small canyon.  I see the profile of a wild rock-woman at the bend in the trail.

plant bird nest in hole Cliff Spring trail North Rim Grand Canyon National Park Arizona

 

iron patterns Cliff Spring trail North Rim Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaCliff walls of sandy limestone with crazy patterns, iron deposits, maidenhair fern growing overhead, and erosion holes where birds nest.  Quiet, yet so full of life.

 

Cliff Spring trail North Rim Grand Canyon National Park Arizona

Rounding a corner there is always wind.  Must be the shape of this canyon that somehow funnels whatever breeze to curve along the canyon walls.  Today the motion is a gentle caress yet some days the wind will work against you.

Cliff Spring trail North Rim Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaOver ten years visiting Cliff Spring I’ve watched this young pine struggling for enough light to grow tall like the twisted snag that lost the battle further along.

canyon view from Cliff Spring trail North Rim Grand Canyon National Park Arizona

 

 

The view is limited in distance yet multi-textured, sculptured, and colorful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cliff Spring trail North Rim Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaSurface water percolated through porous limestone to a dense shale layer were it seeps between the rocks leaving dark stains and damp areas where plants hang on to life.

rose bush Cliff Spring trail North Rim Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaThe wild roses are the best here, their wonderful aroma greets me before I even see them.

seep spring Cliff Spring trail North Rim Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaThere is something quiet and special about Cliff Spring.  Frequented mostly by birds and butterflies, I rarely see other people here of which I am glad so that I may enjoy the tranquility.

rose bud Cliff Spring trail North Rim Grand Canyon National Park Arizonarose bush Cliff Spring trail North Rim Grand Canyon National Park Arizona

 

And have time to stop and smell the roses.

 

 

 

 

spring Cliff Spring trail North Rim Grand Canyon National Park Arizona

The trail ends at a seep spring, just a shallow pool of water for wildlife, not for swimming.  It may appear the trail continues past the spring, that is what we Rangers call a social trail, unmaintained.  You are welcome to walk it but I don’t imagine you’ll get far before deciding it’s a little sketchy with steep drop offs.

hand print Cliff Spring trail North Rim Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaPlease don’t be fooled by the red hand-prints on the rock walls, they are not old.  It seems some folks like to leave their legacy and there’s red soil and water.  Although I don’t like to see this desecration it is better than scratching names in the rock and much easier to remove.  I just don’t get why it has to happen.

 

 

Cliff Spring trail North Rim Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaI sit for a while on a boulder covered with ancient ripple marks, listening to the slow yet constant drip of water.  Then reluctantly leave this special hidden canyon and head to Cape Royal for sunset and the milky way.

 

Parking is found in a wide paved area on a sharp curve across from the trail head about 1/2 mile from the end of the Cape Royal Road.  The trail sign is small and difficult to see, look for a crosswalk.  The trail is .8 mile round trip with 250 feet elevation change, forested and edgy along cliff faces.

Just one of many delightful trails on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.

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