Kaibab Plateau & North Rim Lookout

Details on Highpoints of the North and South Units of the National Park, rim and otherwise

Gerry Roach & Dave Covill visited some south-side candidates, with two GPS units and an altimeter and handlevel. There are FOUR candidates for highest point of the Grand Canyon National Park on the south side. There is one more area OUTSIDE of the park, which is ~50 feet higher; Grandview BM and Lookout Tower.

The locations are: Desert View, with BM Navajo 7,498', and 4 spots about 7,480-90 feet, and WITHIN the NP. There is no way to tell if any approach the 7,498-foot point, Navajo Point BM.

This one is the largest, at the intersection of the paved park hwy with the paved Grandview Point road. The highpoint is west of the X, in middle of West lobe, and by GPS about 7,496-7,500 feet. flattish, wooded knoll. Left a cairn. The place along the road northbound downhill to Grandview Point was also high, and we got 7,494-7,499 feet.

This one is south of that a bit, near the Hearst Tanks. Small wooded knoll. There was a small cairn in place actually, and a 1/4 1/4 section metal rod with cap top near that. By GPS about 7,501-7,511 feet.

This one straddles the National Park boundary with the Preserve and Forest further South of that. Open Woods. gently uphill, noticeable rise from road. By GPS we got 7,495-7,505 feet.

This is the northern extension across the National Park boundary of the Grandview tower contour.

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From the map above one can easily see the Grandview Lookout Tower. It has a BM which on the map is denoted as 7,490'; but this is clearly in error. It says on the ground a BM of 7,550 feet, and we got about that via GPS units and altimeter, which was set for reference purposes at 7,467 feet at the road junction 1 mile north of there.

Here lies Desert View Point, with Navajo BM. We got GPS readings lower than 7,500' there, two days later. It would be good for a person to go to all of these points on a single day, in a span of 2-3 hours, and get more readings.

I deduce that BM Navajo is the highest point on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park. This is indisputable. I believe 90% likelihood that the knoll near Hearst Tanks is the HP of the Grand Canyon National Park South Unit (e.g., not necessarily along the rim), by 5 to 10 feet over other spots. Grandview Lookout Tower is the Highest Point of the entire South Side Plateau.

The Highpoint of Grand Canyon National Park is well-known; 4 spots along the North boundary edge (see main content of this page), including near a tower. East of there lies the Highpoint of the North Rim.

There are several spots where it could be highest, I visited a decade ago and determined the "X" to be highest.

The highest Major Point WITHIN the Canyon is little known. Gerry has been there, and fairly recently at that. It is Saddle Mountain, 8,424 feet, with a prom of close to 900 feet.

The highest point WITHIN the canyon (below the rim) that has 300 feet of Prom is West Saddle Mtn, 8,881 feet, Prom of about 340 feet;

These can be visited together of course, along west the North Rim HP.

Submitted to Scott Surgent by Dave Covill, April 2015