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A recent article in the Arizona Republic noted some places in Arizona where you can hike to streams, waterholes and waterfalls. Among them was a suggestion for hiking to Ribbon Falls in the Grand Canyon. This hike begins at the North Rim and is not to be taken lightly. Although not mentioned in the article, my suggestion is this hike would be better taken in the fall or spring – not in the heat of the summer.
Ribbon Falls is a 16.8 mile hike round trip so you certainly do not want to attempt to hike it in a day! Hiking in the Grand Canyon involves a lot of planning, especially if you want to stay overnight at Phantom Ranch or one of the Campgrounds. Reservations for Phantom Ranch need to be made 13 months in advance. Back Country Permits also sell out quickly for the Inner Canyon Campgrounds.
The North Kaibab Trail is generally a well-maintained trail. However, a break in the water pipe near Roaring Springs resulted in sections of the trail being washed out. The Park Service crews were able to quickly repair the break and the trail, but pipeline is old and exposed in some areas so a break could occur again. This is also a steep trail starting at a relatively high altitude and dropping quickly, at first, toward the Colorado River below. Again, this hike is not to be taken lightly.
The entire article can be found at https://www.azcentral.com/travel/articles/2012/06/27/20120627arizona-stream-hikes-sedona-aravaipa-grand-canyon.html and contains some very good information about the Ribbon Falls hike and some other Arizona hikes as well.
