Nankoweap ruins

Nankoweap ruins, Grand Canyon, Arizona -- Dan Leffel/Photolibrary ©

High above the Colorado River near Nankoweap Canyon, at river mile 53, the ancient Puebloans constructed masonry granaries to protect their food stores.

The steep route up to the Nankoweap ruins, which are about a thousand years old, offers striking views of Marble Canyon, the river a gently undulating silver ribbon below. This area is also accessible from the North  Rim and Saddle Mountain Wilderness via the Nankoweap Trail, a 15-mile route that many consider to be the canyon’s most difficult.

In past winters, bald eagles have been known to gather to fish for spawning rainbow trout at the mouth of Nankoweap Canyon.