AllTrails is my favorite hiking and mapping app and corresponding website! It is free for nearly everything a person could want.
While it is fabulous for Grand Canyon, it is also wonderful for finding trails wherever you might be. AllTrails provides trail descriptions, topo maps, tips, photos and hiker reviews.
The pro version provides more advanced features like the ability to create PDF maps, custom maps, sync maps to your phone, download maps to your phone for offline use, as well as other features.
Chimani National Park Guide Apps
Chimani’s travel apps, focusing on U.S. National Parks from Acadia to Zion, include descriptions of park features, trails, and amenities. Audio tours, photography, event calendars, tide charts and sunrise/sunset times are included. “No service” when you’re out in the wilderness? No problem: Chimani’s apps work with or without WiFi or data signal.
Chimani’s apps are offered as free downloads on all major mobile platforms to help you plan your trip and guide your journey to more than 400 National Parks, National Monuments, and other outdoor destinations.
Grand Canyon Trail Map 4th Edition
Kent Schulte
Detailed topographic & trail map of 308,000 acres in central Grand Canyon. 1:40,000 scale covers 8 USGS quads. 291 miles of trails shown with trail ratings, descriptions and statistics. Most complete and accurate map of the area and thoroughly reviewed by rangers. Includes contours, quality shaded relief detail, UTM grid, hydrography with springs & drinking water, backcountry use zones for permit planning, and other trip information. Mileage now printed at trail junctions. Printed on waterproof, tear-tough paper. A better map than the Trails Illustrated map for the majority of trails in Grand Canyon.
Arizona Atlas & Gazetteer
Delorme
This isn’t something for your backpack but actually for your home and vehicle. I use this when planning the larger strategy on where to hike and laying out the trip. This atlas includes topo maps of the entire state and shows the back roads and differentiates between public lands, shows trails and jeep roads, fishing areas and launch sites. It highlights Grand Canyon’s South Rim Scenic Route and includes a lot more useful information on Arizona recreational and historical sites. A great resource! Also available for Utah and Colorado.
Jon’s DVD Hiking Guides – Grand Canyon National Park
Jonathan Shannon
Unlike many other offerings in hiking DVDs, this hiking guide offers information on each of the Corridor Trails (Bright Angel Trail and the North and South Kaibab Trails) as well as other trail trails at the canyon. It is divided into three sections: 1) South Rim Trails, 2) North Rim Trails, and 3) Grand Canyon Facilities. There is a guide to the DVD explaining whether each hike can be done as a day hike or a backpack trip, and then rates each on a 1 – 5 scale of difficulty. While no single book or DVD can completely prepare a person for hiking the Grand Canyon, this DVD does a great job in helping someone even plan which rim and trail they should consider doing. Nicely narrated with accurate and useful information with a backdrop of beautiful photography.
Hiking the Grand Canyon – The Corridor Trails
Kenneth McNamara
Most first-time hikers to the Grand Canyon begin hiking on the Corridor trails. These trails include the Bright Angel and South Kaibab from the South Rim and the North Kaibab from the North Rim. There is no such thing as an easy trail in the canyon, but these are definitely the first ones you should consider hiking before attempting ANY of the others. The video includes computer graphics and maps to show you what to expect on the trails, and includes tips and advice on making your journey fun and safe. The narrator’s voice gets on my nerves a little bit, and I’ve had others say the same, but the wealth of information provided makes it worth watching. Available in DVD.
Hiking Grand Canyon
National Park Service
This brief video will help backpackers prepare for the unique rigors of the Grand Canyon and serve as a palpable reminder not to take this hike lightly. Dedicated to the memory of a hiker who died in the canyon, the 20-minute video begins with a National Park Service Ranger outlining some of the trek’s difficulties, followed by several interviews of hikers who got dehydrated, hurt, or started a brush fire by burning toilet paper. The tape is most useful in stressing that the easiness of the beginning downhill climb will not prepare hikers for the most strenuous part of the hike at the end as they climb out of the world’s deepest canyon. Also helpful are the explicit instructions on what gear to pack (and for what season), what to wear, where to camp, weather alerts, and tips on saving energy.
The Hiking Grand Canyon video is now viewable as a videocast from the park’s website. The podcast is also as available as a free download from the iTunes Music Store: Hiking Grand Canyon Channel. This is a great video to help you prepare for hiking trips at the Canyon. It is the same hiking video that has been sent out with backcountry permits for several years and has helped many hikers properly prepare for an enjoyable inner canyon journey. Definitely worth viewing!
Southbounders
Ben Wagner
Have you ever been curious what it would be like to be a thru-hiker on the 2,170 mile long trail that runs from Maine to Georgia? I guarantee that it’s completely different from hiking Grand Canyon, and I know some of my hikers have longed to take that challenging trip. If you’ve ever been curious or have plans to hike the trail, this is a great film to watch! I’ve noticed that you can now even rent it through Netflix or download through Amazon Unbox.