Grand Canyon Mule Rides

 One of the most exciting trips you can take while visiting Grand Canyon National Park is the famous mule ride.

The mule rides are very popular with park visitors and if you are wanting to have the experience, make sure you make your reservations early!

Xanterra South Rim, L.L.C. is authorized by the National Park Service to provide a variety of visitor services within Grand Canyon National Park. They offer two guided mule rides into the Grand Canyon from the South Rim.

North Rim Mule Rides

There are mule rides offered by Grand Canyon Trail Rides from the North Rim. Mule rides from the North Rim are available from mid May to mid October. These mule rides do not go to the Colorado River. One hour rides and half-day rim or inner canyon rides are usually available daily.

The one hour mule rides are along the rim of the Grand Canyon. The cost is $40.00 per person, has a 7 year age limit, a 220 pound weight limit. These mule rides are available from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Half-day mule rides are offered to Uncle Jim's Point or down the North Kaibab Trail to Supai Tunnel. The price for these trips is $75.00 per person, with a 10 year age limit and 200 pound weight limit. These trips leave at 7:30 a.m. or 12:30 p.m.

The one day mule ride travels to Roaring Springs down the North Kaibab Trail. The price is $165.00 per person with an age limit of 12 years of age. Weight limit is 200 pounds and the ride departs at 7:30 a.m.

For North Rim mule ride reservations contact Grand Canyon Trail Rides at (435) 679-8665.

South Rim Mule Rides

Abyss Overlook Mule Ride

These are the popular 3 hour mule rides that leave from the Grand Canyon Village Mule Barn and travel to the scenic Abyss Overlook. On your ride you will pass through forests of Ponderosa pine and juniper. At the overlook you will be able to walk around and take photos of the 3,000 foot vertical drop into the canyon. During the 3 hour trip, 2.5 hours will be spent riding the mule and 30 minutes at the overlook.

The 3 hour mule ride is offered twice a day from mid March through October. From November through mid March, the trip is offered once a day. Water and a light snack are provided during your mule ride. Cost of the mule ride is $117.40 per person, including tax. To make your mule ride reservations call the Xanterra reservations center at 1-888-29-PARKS (297-2757).

Overnight Mule Rides To The Phantom Ranch

Perhaps one of the most famous Grand Canyon experience is riding the mules to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and an overnight stay at the historic Phantom Ranch. This is one trip that you will cherish and remember forever. On your trip, you will ride down the Bright Angel Trail, eat lunch at Indian Garden, and then ride along the cliffs of the Inner Gorge. Once you reach the Colorado River, you will cross the Suspension Bridge, and ride up Bright Angel Canyon on the north side of the Colorado River to the Phantom Ranch.

Each Phantom Ranch cabin is furnished with bunk beds, bedding, toilet, sink, soap, and towels. There are showers available. Spending the night at Phantom Ranch is an adventure itself. Riding mules down and back just adds to the adventure.

After a hearty breakfast, you will return to the rim of the canyon by the Bright Angel Trail. The mule ride down the trail is 10.5 miles and takes about 5.5 hours. The ride back to the canyon rim takes about 6.5 hours. For your overnight stay, a small plastic bag is provided for essential toiletries, extra underwear, and swimsuits. Remember to pack light. Even if you don't have to carry the weight, the mules do!

The overnight mule trip is very popular and must be reserved and purchased in advance. There are two overnight trips that are available. A one-night trip and a two-night trip. The one-night trip is $477.34 for the first person and $842.60 for two people. This price includes accommodations, breakfast, lunch, and steak dinner. The price for each additional person is $378.08.

The price for the two-night mule ride is $667.69 for the first person, and $1,111.22 for two people. The price includes tax, accommodations, breakfast, lunch, steak dinner the first night and stew dinner the second night. The cost for each additional person is $469.16.

Riding Mules and Safety

In most cases, you have probably never ridden a mule before and you probably have a few questions. The mules used for the Grand Canyon rides are very carefully selected for their temperament, strength, and endurance. The mules are trained by the guides so that they are well adapted to the unique working environment of the Grand Canyon.

While the mule guides have a lot of experience working with the mules, they do stress, that they are animals and are not always predictable. There are restrictions that have been put in place that are for your safety and to avoid distracting or disturbing the mules. You need to be aware that there is always an element of risk because of trail conditions, other park visitors, and the wildlife of the canyon. Serious accidents or injury are rare, but do occur. They minimize the risk by asking visitors to carefully follow the instructions of the Trail Guides.

In Order To Ride The Mules

If you want to take the overnight mule ride to the Phantom Ranch, you must not weigh more than 200 pounds fully dressed. Each 3 hour Abyss Overlook rider must not weigh more than 225 pounds. Everyone has to be weighed and if you exceed the weight limit, you will not be permitted to ride the mule. Also, regardless of previous riding experience, you must be at least 4 feet, 7 inches in height. You also must be able to understand and speak fluent English. You must be in good physical condition and should not be afraid of large animals or heights. If you are pregnant you can not make the ride.

While these regulations may seem unreasonable to you, they were created and enforced to provide for your safety, the safety of other visitors, and for the well being of the mules.

If you do plan on taking one of the mule rides, have a great time and make sure that you take lots of photos to share your memories with friends and relatives!