Lindsay has blogged about this in the past, but we thought it might be time to revisit the subject of 1-day raft trips. Neither Grand Canyon Whitewater nor any of the other licensed commercial raft companies in Grand Canyon National Park are able to offer a 1-day trip. Because of the nature of the Grand Canyon (Think: mile-deep canyon walls), there are very few places where we can get people and boats into or out of the Grand Canyon. Some of those “few places” require a 9-mile hike in or out of the Canyon, while others provide the opportunity to bus or helicopter people in and out.

The places where we can get people in and out the Grand Canyon are miles and miles apart, making the river trip between the incoming/outgoing spots longer than just one day. The shortest Colorado River rafting tour you are going to find in Grand Canyon National Park is 3 days.

If you can only get away for 1 day, and want to spend time looking out over the Rim of Grand Canyon, we suggest doing a short hike or taking a bicycle tour of the Rim with our friends at Bright Angel Bicycle. And, hopefully, once you see the river from that vantage point, you’ll make it a priority to get back down there on a raft trip!

Photo: Nope, doesn’t look like we’ll be able to hike up to the Rim from here …