Mohave Point is the fifth stop westbound on the free Hermit Road shuttle bus service. It is also an eastbound shuttle stop for those wishing to return to Grand Canyon Village.
Due to time constraints, we rode the free shuttle bus from Hopi Point to Mohave Point instead of walking the Rim Trail. We then walked 1.1 miles of the Rim Trail from Mohave Point to The Abyss. The surface of this portion of the Rim Trail is rock and gravel. It even has a couple of sets of stone stairs to cross a low spot on the rim. In addition, the part of the trail a few hundred feet southwest of Mohave Point has some of the best views of the western section of Grand Canyon we've ever seen.
We also saw a small herd of elk grazing along the trail. The first pair of elk were heading toward us between the trail and the rim, but quickly headed over the rim to continue grazing. As I was taking pictures of the first pair, my wife pointed out the rest of the herd was passing behind us between the trail and Hermit Road. They seemed to be oblivious to us, so we quickly left the area continuing on our way toward The Abyss shuttle stop. We visited the park in March 2018.
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| One of several picnic tables at Mohave Point |
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| Colorado River just downstream of the mouth of Ninetyfour Mile reek |
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| Cope Butte (4528'), Whites Butte (4860'), Diana Temple (6683') and Marsh Butte (4721'), and Havasupai Point (6741') |
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Granite Gorge, lower ridges of Tower of Ra, Scorpion Ridge (5832'), end of Sagittarius Ridge (6181'),
and Point Sublime (7458') with Powell Plateau on the horizon |
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| A pair of turkey vultures (Cathartes aura) soaring on the thermals |
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| Tower of Ra (6129'), Osiris Temple (6613'), and Claude Birdseye Point (6982') |
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| The Alligator pointing to the mouth of Monument Creek and Ninetyfour Mile Creek |
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| View from The Alligator to Powell Plateau |
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| Loose rocks on the trail |
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| Trail passes through open forest |
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| Great Mohave Wall |
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| View northwest of western Grand Canyon |
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| Trail joins Hermit Road at first overlook |
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| View of The Alligator from the overlook |
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| Light and shadows below the North Rim |
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| Monument Creek watershed |
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| Banana yucca (Yucca baccata) |
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| The Abyss |
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| Great Mohave Wall and The Abyss |
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| Cathedral Stairs and Cope Butte |
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| Trailside picnic table |
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| View northwest from the picnic table |
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| Elk enjoying the view at a park bench |
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| Another elk comes to investigate |
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| Elk aren't native to Grand Canyon |
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| Sunbeams filter into the canyon |
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| The gravel trail parallels the paved road |
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| Typical trail surface and shade |
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| More sunbeams |
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| Second overlook on Hermit Road |
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| View northwest from Cope Butte to Powell Plateau |
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| Viewing The Abyss below the handrails |
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| Light is quickly fading |
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| More of The Abyss |
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| The far wall of The Abyss |
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| The Abyss - a 250 foot high cliff above a 400 foot high cliff with a total drop of over 1,000 feet |
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| Top of the stairs down |
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| More stairs |
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| The Abyss from slightly below the rim |
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| Shadow selfie on the stairs still to climb |
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| Lots of loose rock on the trail |
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| Paralleling Hermit Road again |
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| The trail is close to the rim |
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| Third overlook |
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| View northwest from the overlook |
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| The trail is even closer to the rim |
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| Spectacular view |
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| Late afternoon light from Cope Butte to Powell Plateau |
Entrance to Grand Canyon National Park requires an entry fee of $35 per passenger vehicle for a 7-day pass. Any of the America the Beautiful passes may be used instead.
The park website is
https://www.nps.gov/grca.
Thoughtful blog, thanks for posting
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