I know you said South Rim, and
@Chris Jones' trip report will be invaluable (as well as very nicely done, kudos Chris!), but I'd like to suggest you think about taking some time to also go 'round the east end of the canyon, across the Colorado River through the Hopi Res and western edge of the Painted Desert, and on up around and down 67 to the Kaibab Plateau and the North Rim.
You'll likely see a number of endangered California Condors at the bridge across the Colorado at the east end. I was there a few years ago and counted maybe twenty. Wingspan of about nine feet. Majestic soaring creatures.
The North Rim is at a higher elevation, has Ponderosa Pine forests and huge groves of Aspen, is the only home to the unusual and rare Kaibab Squirrel (pic below), and has the magnificent old log-cabin style North Rim Lodge. The Lodge has a soaring interior, huge stone balconies perched right on the edge of the canyon from which you can watch the sun move across the canyon. There are great little log cabins you can rent there, too, that have been around for ages. North Rim is nowhere near as crowded or as commercial as the South Rim.
There are trails on the North Rim as well, though I can't vouch for what's available or not or new since I was there years ago.
I worked at the North Rim Lodge for a few weeks, helping them close for the season. Once we were all closed, a bunch of us decided to hike across the canyon. Friends took their car and drove around through the Painted Desert to the South Rim. We started hiking down from the North Rim and they hiked down from the South Rim, and on the second night we all met down at Phantom Ranch at the bottom of the canyon and camped for the night near the Colorado. Then they hiked up to the North Rim and we hiked up to the South Rim and drove the car back around.
I'll always remember sleeping out in the open those nights--we were down in the canyon on-foot for several days--just a sleeping bag on the ground and the canyon walls and starry skies above. Sleeping out at the very bottom of the canyon though, I felt something large and multi-legged scramble across my face in the middle of the night. I suspect from the way it felt, size-wise, and the way multiple legs touched down and lifted, it was a scorpion or tarantula. I remember not being frightened, though, and that it felt a natural progression of being outside and living on the road for so long.
Sunrise in the canyon is one of the most beautiful things you'll ever see on this planet. The way the rich sandstone colors on canyon walls come to life as the sun's light creeps past the edge of the opposite wall warms your heart and spirit like you wouldn't believe. It's like a slow shade being drawn in reverse as the dim light of pre-dawn makes way for the bright warm colors of another sunny day in the canyon.
If you are thinking about going 'round to the North Rim, check the weather. It can have snow when the South Rim is all warm and dry.
Be sure to post back and let us know what you ended up doing, where you went, and what trails you found and liked.
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