• Distance: 16 miles round-trip to the Colorado River
• Duration: 2 days or more
• Elevation loss: 4,400 feet from rim to river
• Effort: Strenuous
• Trailhead: 30 miles west of Grand Canyon Village

Getting to the trailhead for this wilderness hike may require two hours or more, as well as a good map. You’ll be crossing the Hualapai Reservation, and you may be asked to pay a fee. From the west side of the village, head south on Rowe Well Road. Turn west, following signs for Pasture Wash or Forest Road 328, a rough dirt road that may be impassable in wet weather.

Even long after a rain, ruts remain, making high clearance a necessity and four-wheel drive recommended. (Whenever you’re traveling forest roads in remote areas like this, it’s a good idea to ask park rangers about current conditions before starting out.)

The rewards are scenic views that encompass the Shinumo Amphitheater monuments, backed by Powell Point, and the western canyon, plus a journey along the trail used by the first white man to raise a family at Grand Canyon.

Like many pioneer miners, William Bass supplemented prospecting with guiding tourists, including music teacher Ada Diefendorf, whom he married in 1895. He improved what was once an Indian trail to make it accessible by horseback. His mining camp is on the opposite side of the river, reached by the North Bass Trail. Bass built a cable-crossing to complete this rim-to-rim route, the first in Grand Canyon, by 1900.

The South Bass Trail descends from the rim to a series of switchbacks leading to the Esplanade, a shelf of reddish-pink and gray sandstone topped with delicate cryptobiotic crust. (Avoid treading on this miniature universe of erosion-preventing mosses, lichens, and algae.)

Here, the trail heads northwest before descending and turning south to the head of Bass Canyon. It follows the east side of the canyon, then drops to the dry creekbed, leading toward the river. The canyon ends in a pourover; look left for a trail climbing the west side. In about 200 yards, a break in the cliffs leads to the river and Bass Rapid. En route, you’ll see the Ross Wheeler, a rusty metal boat abandoned by a 1915 river expedition.

The beaches here and across the river are popular with boat parties, who stop to explore or camp. They often shuttle back and forth across the river, and you may be able to catch a ride to explore the other side, where the North Bass Trail leads to historic Bass Camp. If you’re limited to exploring the south side of the river, you can climb back up the route you took to the beach and walk another third of a mile west to a cairned scramble that leads down to Shinumo Rapid.