Story and photos by Cheryl Hartz
Deadly flash flooding devastated parts of the Grand Canyon this summer, taking the lives of two hikers. Several trails in the Grand Canyon closed.
Eighty-two people were rescued from the bottom of the Canyon through the night, 45 by air. Rafting trips were closed on the Colorado River for a day because of a massive debris field, which hadn’t happened before. Four teams with four dogs and other Search and Rescue teams searched for missing people.
We already had scheduled a September stay at the Tusayan-Montane campground, which wasn’t affected by the flood and broken water pipes that caused restaurants and lodging at the South Rim’s Grand Canyon Village to close.
The wonderful, wide and well-maintained Greenway Trail starts in Tusayan and runs 6.6 miles right into Grand Canyon National Park. Hikers, dog walkers, bicyclists and horseback riders all are welcome on this paved pathway. Elevation rises to over 7,000 feet inside the park.
Reading the description online, I got excited to try it. With an overall elevation gain of only 500 feet, it sounded like an easy bike ride and a good way to avoid the traffic lines entering the national park.
We parked in an empty parking lot on a Monday morning and started the ride on a long downhill coast. Then we had to climb. That was fine. But then came another coast. And another climb.
What the website failed to mention is that you gain and subtract that 500 feet a whole lotta times! Sometimes the gain is a long steady slope. Sometimes it’s a short steep climb. I had to walk the bike up one really long slope that ended in a steep climb. Whew!
I wasn’t ready for that. But I will be next year.
We made it halfway on this beautiful trail through the trees and actually were in the park when we turned around. We encountered few fellow bicyclists, most of them riding rented ebikes – even the friendly young guys who looked like firefighters on a training run.
My husband thinks I should get an ebike to make the steep parts manageable. It’s hard for me to accept, but I probably would take more rides with him, if I had that kind of back up.
Whatever we decide, I plan to ride the whole Greenway next time, and spend the day taking shuttles through the park to the trailheads and observation points. Then ride back, which is nearly one long coast.
The park offers a free shuttle back to Tusayan for bikers from Memorial Day to Labor Day. But we’ll be outside that window, so I’ll need to be ready for 13.2 miles. Can’t wait!
We drove to the Canyon one day. Electronic signs advised visitors to bring their own drinking water. Walking along the South Rim at the Grand Canyon Village was almost eerie without hordes of people.
We noticed by languages that the vast majority of visitors were European, Asian or Middle Eastern, despite the extra $100 per international visitor fee that 11 national parks implemented January 1, 2026.
Check the Grand Canyon National Park website for the latest on closures and water restrictions. You can read the park’s recovery and repair plan at NPS.gov.
Happy pedal pushing!
