Hermit Canyon facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Hermit Canyon
Hermit Canyon (Pima Point-(bottom-left), (forested)-Eremita Mesa-(center))
Hermit_Canyon Location in Arizona
Floor elevation	4,928 ft (1,502 m)
Length	~6.0 mi southwest-northeast
Width	~4.0 mi
Geography
Location	(west)-Grand Canyon, (northern)-Arizona, United States
Borders on	Eremita Mesa, South Rim (Pima Point)
Topo map	Grand Canyon, USGS
Rivers	Hermit Creek

Hermit Canyon is a north-trending canyon in western Grand Canyon, about 6.0 miles in length, below the South Rim. It is named for the Hermit who built Hermit Camp, at the Colorado River, Louis D. Boucher. Hermit Canyon's east flank is bordered by Pima Point of the South Rim (about at the canyon midpoint), and Pima Point is ~2.0  from the Hermit Canyon midline. Pima Point is about 3.5 miles west-northwest of Grand Canyon Village, and the South Rim at Pima Point trends southward, as the start of Western Grand Canyon; it also marks the terminus of the West Rim Road.

Hermit Canyon contains the Hermit Basin at its southern end, with Dripping Springs (and Dripping Springs Trail to the west). The Hermit Trail traverses the east flank of Hermit Canyon down to the Colorado River, where it intersects the Tonto Trail at Cope Butte. At the end of Hermit Creek, and Canyon, the Hermit Rapids interrupt the flow of the Colorado River. Historic Hermit Camp was located at the end of the Hermit Trail, near the Colorado River.

Hermit Basin, and headwaters

Hermit Basin, postcard (c 1908)

The Hermit Basin is at the south headwaters of Hermit Canyon, at the southeast. The basin drains the South Rim, via Horsethief Tank, on the rim. The southwest of Hermit Canyon is drained from Eremita Mesa and Dripping Springs. The Dripping Springs Trail is a ~1.0 mile spur trail from the Hermit Trail and is historic for its encampments, and as a source of water. The historic Boucher Trail starts near Dripping Springs, at the base of the Eremita Mesa, east flank, as a trail that traverses west through Upper Travertine Canyon (below Yuma Point), then over to Lower Boucher Canyon at the Colorado River.

Hermit Canyon: Five named trails

(Upper)-Hermit Canyon, Hermit Basin, Waldron Trail to Horsethief Tank, on South Rim.

The Hermit Trail from the Hermits Rest area at Pima Point (South Rim), is an 8.9 mile trail down to Hermit Basin, then down the east flank of Hermit Canyon, past Cathedral Stairs, then down the base of Cope Butte, intersecting with the Tonto Trail to the terminus of Hermit Canyon, Hermit Creek, near the Colorado River.

Three trails start from Upper Hermit Canyon. The Dripping Springs Trail is a short ~1.5 mile spur to Dripping Springs, at the southwest of Hermit Canyon, an historic encampment, and a source of water. Near the start of the Dripping Springs Trail, the major Boucher Trail, traverses below the east-flank cliffs of Eremita Mesa, passing on the saddle below Yuma Point, then traversing westwards across Upper Travertine Canyon, then over the saddle to neighboring Lower Boucher Canyon, (the terminus of dual canyons, Lower Topaz Canyon and Lower Boucher Canyon), to the Tonto Trail adjacent the Colorado River.

The final trail starts about 1.0 mile down the cliffs of the South Rim from the Hermit Trail and is a south-trending trail up the Hermit Basin. This Waldron Trail goes south, rising to Horsethief Tank, on the South Rim; (the watershed into North Hermit Canyon continues up the watershed, south, and southeastwards from Horsethief Tank).

Fossil trackways in Hermit Canyon

Fossil trackways, public display on Hermit Trail

Fossil animal tracks are on display on the Upper Hermit Trail.

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