This outdoor interpretative display traces the history of the canyon's formation – each meter equals one million years of geologic history, for a total of about 2.1 billion years in just over a mile. Begin with the canyon's oldest rocks and walk forward in time from Verkamp's east to the Yavapai Geology Museum, or do the reverse. Rock samples from within the canyon line the trail, and specially positioned metal cylinders allow you to view these rocks on the far canyon wall.
Trail of Time
Top choice in Grand Canyon National Park South Rim
Transportation
- bus: Village
Contact
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
1.51 MILES
In 1905 Ellsworth and Emery Kolb built a small photography studio on the edge of the rim, which has since been expanded and now holds a bookstore and a…
16.4 MILES
The marvelously worn winding staircase of Mary Colter's 70ft stone tower, built in 1932, leads to one of the highest spots on the rim. From here, slats in…
10.17 MILES
Strategically located on the southernmost tip of the North Rim high above the great westward turn of the Colorado River, Cape Royal takes in almost every…
Grand Canyon National Park North Rim
9.94 MILES
Grand Canyon's remote, wild and forgotten North Rim is far less developed, and sees far fewer visitors that its southern counterpart. In part this is due…
9.76 MILES
Enter the front door of the lodge and see...the Grand Canyon, somehow looking even larger framed by the massive windows of the sunroom. Built in 1937 out…
1.97 MILES
Forged by millions of years of erosion by the Colorado River, the Grand Canyon captures the history, scale and beauty of the American West. Overlooks peer…
3.58 MILES
Walk about 1 mile along the mostly level and shaded dirt road to marvelously uncrowded Shoshone Point, a rocky promontory with some of the canyon’s best…
1.44 MILES
Commissioned by the Fred Harvey Company, designed by Mary Colter and completed in 1935, the log-and-stone Bright Angel Lodge offered canyon travelers…
Nearby Grand Canyon National Park South Rim attractions
1. Yavapai Point and Geology Museum
0.01 MILES
Views don't get much better than those unfolding behind the plate-glass windows of this little stone building, but if weather allows be sure to enjoy the…
0.61 MILES
Mather Point is the busiest and most popular overlook at the Grand Canyon, due in large part to its close proximity to the visitor center complex and main…
3. Grand Canyon Pioneer Cemetery
0.9 MILES
More than 390 people are buried at the Grand Canyon Pioneer Cemetery; the lives of many of them, including the Kolb brothers, John Verkamp, Ralph Cameron…
1.15 MILES
The arrival of the railroad in 1901 opened up the canyon to more and more tourists, and in 1905 John G Verkamp opened the Mission-style Verkamp’s Curios…
1.2 MILES
A beautiful Mary Colter–designed stone building, Hopi House has been offering high-quality American Indian jewelry, basketwork, pottery and other crafts…
1.23 MILES
This train depot, designed by Francis Wilson and completed in 1910, was built nine years after the first train arrived in the Village from Williams. A…
1.24 MILES
Built in 1905 as a railroad hotel, El Tovar was designed by Charles Whittlesey as a blend of Swiss chalet and the more rustic style that would come to…
8. Grand Canyon Village Historic District
1.26 MILES
The South Rim's historic district is comprised of several early-20th-century national historic landmarks clustered along and around the rim between Hermit…
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