Best Photography Spots in the Grand Canyon National Park. The Grand Canyon is a beautiful location year-round for photographers of all ages and experience levels. There is so much detail and breathtaking sights that the national park has to offer.
The Best Photography Spots in the Grand Canyon National Park
There are dozens of good views, lookout points, and rims to photograph at all times of the day from early sunrises to painted sunsets. Here’s a guide to the best spots for photography in the park.
THE GEAR
The gear we recommend is a good camera and the holy trinity. A wide-angle lens. 14-24mm or something similar. A 24-70mm or something similar and, of course, a 70-200mm or something similar.
If you do not have these particular lenses, do not worry; something similar will be just fine. It would be best if you also had a tripod.
1. Angels Window
Angels Window is a unique rock formation in the park. It can be viewed from the North Rim and is only accessible from May to October. The Angels Window is a natural opening that creates an arch in the canyon, giving photographers an interesting perspective of the park.
2. Havasu Falls
Havasu Falls is a stunning waterfall located on the Havasupai reservation. There is a 100-foot waterfall located at the end of the hike which makes the trip worth it. Plenty of planning and reservations need to be made in advance so make sure to schedule ahead of time before your visit.
3. Grandview Point
Grandview Point is one of the must-see spots in the national park. The name gives you a good idea of what to expect, which is a grand view of the canyon. It sits at 7,500 feet and you can see plenty of prominent rock formations as well as the Colorado River.
4. Hopi Point
This is just one of the many sights you can see while traveling by shuttle bus on Hermit Road. There are many stone “temples” that you can see below. It is a beautiful place for sunset photography because this point juts out further in the canyon than any of the other ones.
5. Ooh Ahh Point
Ooh Ahh Point is located on the South Kaibab Trail and is accessible only by shuttle bus. Not only does this location have a fun name, it also has great views of the canyon from below the rim. Make sure to factor in hiking time when traveling to this viewpoint.
6. Mather Point
Mather Point is a frequently visited overlook in the Grand Canyons and sits at around 7,000 feet in elevation. This is also one of the first points people who visit the park come across which is great because it offers breathtaking views of the park and a great look at Phantom Ranch at the canyon base.
7. Yavapai Point
For those that are looking for gorgeous panoramic views of Havasupai Point as well as Desert Point. There’s also an observation station located near this point with expert rangers to provide you insightful information and lots of geological displays that tell the story of the Grand Canyon.
9. Desert Drive View
Desert Drive View is located on the east side of Grand Canyon Village and is the route that has many major viewpoints like Grandview Point or Lipan Point. This is the drive to go on in order to capture shots from many overlooks.
9. Yaki Point
This point is a super popular location, especially during peak tourist season. In fact, you can only get here by shuttle bus when it’s the busy season. Along with the cool views, it also has multiple hiking trails which gives you different perspectives of the canyon below.
Best Photography Spots in the Grand Canyon National Park
10. Desert View Watchtower
This is one of the last viewpoints on the South Rim and is also the location of the watchtower. There are 85 steps to get to the top of the tower where you’ll find a view that gives you a 360 degree perspective of the canyon.
11. Hermit Road
This road holds historical significance and was designed in the 1930s to give visitors amazing views of the national park. The road is only accessible by the shuttle bus and takes you to see and photograph the stunning vistas.
Best Photography Spots in the Grand Canyon
12. Cape Royal
Cape Royal has many mini lookout points along the way. There is a completely open view from this overlook and has great visibility making it a good contender for sunrise and sunset photographs. You are also able to capture the Colorado River and the Desert View Watchtower from Cape Royal.
13. Toroweap
This is located at the northwest rim of the Grand Canyons and while it takes some work to get there, it is definitely worth the effort. There is a gorgeous view of the Colorado River and you’ll need a high clearance vehicle in order to get there since there are no resources up on the rim.
14. Moran Point
This location in Grand Canyon National Park was named after Thomas Moran, a famous American painter who specialized in painting landscapes.
15. Lipan Point
To get a wide and expansive view of the canyon, you can check out Lipan point. This is another stop along Desert View Road and can be accessed from the main road. Lipan Point also has a 360-degree view of the canyon which gives photographers lots of options for practicing their shots.
16. Grand Canyon Village
Grand Canyon Village offers some really interesting viewpoints. A couple of great places to stop include Lookout Studio which is a native stone structure created specifically for viewing the canyon as well as El Tovar Hotel.
17. The Abyss
The Abyss is a view you can get from high up on the canyon. It drops around 3,000 feet down and also offers photographers cool shots of Tonto Plateau and the Colorado River.
18. Navajo Point
This is one of the lookout points in the canyon that gives you a unique view of the Desert View Watchtower. Those that chose to stop here can expect to find a great view since it is the highest point on the entire South Rim of the canyons.
19. Shoshone Point
This point is perfect for sunset photography mainly because you won’t have to battle it out with other tourists and photographers in order to capture a good shot. There’s a bit of a hike to get here but once you make it you’re able to take your time and stick around for all the gorgeous sunset pictures.
20. Horseshoe Bend (Glen Canyon National Recreation Area)
Horseshoe Bend is an iconic site and is well-known for the U-shape of the Colorado River. It is actually located in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and not the Grand Canyon National Park, however, if you are at the Grand Canyon National Park it is worth the drive. So we thought we would add it to the list. The overlook to this spot is around 1,000 feet above the river and, with the wide-angle lens, you can easily capture the beauty of the scene before you.
These are the Best Photography Spots in the Grand Canyon National Park.
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