Walhalla Plateau

Cape Royal Road cuts across Walhalla Plateau [1], a peninsula of rock extending south into Grand Canyon. The 23-mile drive winds past several scenic overlooks, picnic areas, trailheads, and other sights on the way to Cape Royal.

This forested plateau was a seasonal home for Ancestral Puebloans who hunted game and grew crops here in the summer, then moved to inner canyon villages during winter months.

The road begins three miles north of Grand Canyon Lodge [2], forking at about five miles. Turn right to proceed across the plateau to Cape Royal.

At the Vista Encantada overlook, six miles south of the fork, tables shaded by ponderosa pines make a great spot for a picnic. Carpets of pinecones and lavender-blue lupine spread out at your feet, and the woodsy picnic area is often visited by Kaibab squirrels and mule deer. From here, you have stunning views of Indian Country, from the Marble Platform across the Painted Desert to Navajo and Hopi lands.

Stop at Roosevelt Point, eight miles from the fork, to stretch your legs on the short, easy Roosevelt Point Trail, which leads through a recent burn. The overlook is named for Theodore Roosevelt, who enjoyed hunting trips to the North Rim during the early 1900s. Below, you’ll see the confluence of the Colorado and Little Colorado Rivers. The curtain of cliffs forming the South Rim is known as the Palisades of the Desert.

A dirt parking area on the left, about 12 miles south of the fork to Cape Royal [3], marks the trailhead for Cape Final. The four-mile Cape Final Trail [4], one of the North Rim’s most satisfying day hikes, leads across the Walhalla Plateau [1] to views of Unkar Delta, a large sandy bend along the Colorado River.

You can learn more about the Ancestral Puebloans (also known as the Anasazi) at Walhalla Overlook. This viewpoint, 13 miles from the fork, has views of Unkar Delta, where the Ancestral Puebloans wintered in the inner canyon’s warmer climes.