Two mighty but opposing forces—the uplifting of the massive Colorado Plateau and vigorous downcutting by the Colorado River—created the awe-inspiring Grand Canyon and its many tributaries. Neither pictures nor words can fully describe the sight. You have to experience the Canyon by traveling along the rim, descending into the depths, riding the waves of the Colorado River, and watching the continuous show of colors and patterns as the sun moves across the sky.

The Canyon’s grandeur stretches for 277 miles across northern Arizona; it’s as much as 18 miles wide—10 miles on average—and 1 mile deep. Roads provide access to developed areas and viewpoints on both rims. Trails allow hikers and mule riders to descend precipitous cliffs to the Colorado River. Yet most of the park remains as remote as ever, rarely visited by humans.

As one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, the Grand Canyon certainly lives up to its billing! The many rim viewpoints help you get the big picture. You’ll also find that the Grand Canyon contains countless canyons within canyons, each a little world of its own with distinct geology, plants, and animals. Trails and routes lead inside some of these canyon realms. A river trip down the Colorado rates as one of the world’s greatest adventures, opening up even more areas to appreciation and exploration.

The Grand Canyon’s spectacular scenery doesn’t end at the park boundaries! You can see the lower Canyon from the lands of the Havasupai and Hualapai tribes. Remote overlooks and trails of Marble Canyon—the uppermost part of the Grand Canyon—lie atop Navajo lands. If you’re looking for grand scenery and extreme solitude, then you’ll find them on the remote Arizona Strip beyond the North Rim’s developed area.

Just as the South Rim extends far downstream from the park’s developed areas, the North Rim stretches many miles with superb viewpoints and precipitous canyons. This lonely country has no services, no tour buses, and no pavement. It’s the place for adventurous travelers who enjoy wilderness and solitude. High-clearance 4WD vehicles do best here. You’ll need to bring all water, food, camping gear, and emergency supplies.

Lonely and vast, the Arizona Strip lies north of the Colorado River. This land of forests, desert grasslands, mountains, and canyons covers 14,000 square miles, but supports only 3,200 people. The Grand Canyon presents a formidable barrier between them and the rest of the state; all highway traffic has to follow a circuitous route around the mighty chasm.

At over one million acres, the Grand Canyon–Parashant National Monument covers most of the Grand Canyon’s rim west of Toroweap. It includes parts of Grand Canyon National Park, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands. Four wilderness areas lie within the monument—Mt. Trumbull, Mt. Logan, Grand Wash Cliffs, and the south half of Paiute. On a journey across this region, you’ll experience everything from cool ponderosa pine forests in the uplands to the extremely arid low-lying Mohave Desert.

East of the Grand Canyon, memorable landscapes beckon, such as Monument Valley and Canyon de Chelly in Navajo country. The timeless villages atop the Hopi mesas preserve a unique and ancient culture.

South of the Grand Canyon, the old railroad town of Flagstaff has a lively community of outdoor enthusiasts and students who appreciate the historic downtown and the many recreational opportunities in the surrounding high country. Flagstaff offers a taste of culture and city living, and it’s a handy base for exploring some of the more than 600 volcanoes of the San Francisco Volcanic Field, including Arizona’s highest summit—Humphrey’s Peak. You can explore trails and forest roads all day across this remarkably diverse landscape without ever crossing a paved road. Anglers enjoy the many lakes on the Colorado Plateau and the streams below it. Cool forests provide a delightful respite from the desert in summer. Then, when the snow flies, skiers zip down the runs on the San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff and the shorter runs on Bill Williams Mountain near Williams. Cross-country skiers strike out on their own or glide along trails near the San Francisco Peaks, at Mormon Lake, and near Williams.

This is a land of time. Massive cliffs are made of limestone composed of animals that lived in long-departed seas, sandstone formed from ancient desert dunes, and shale beds made of silt from now-vanished rivers and shores. Volcanic eruptions deposited layers of ash, cinders, and lava. Deeper in the Canyon lie the roots of mountain ranges whose peaks towered over a primitive land two billion years ago. Time continues to flow in the Canyon with the cycles of the plants and animals that live here, and with the erosive forces of water ever widening and deepening the chasm.