Yavapai Point and Geology Museum

Grand Canyon National Park South Rim

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Views don't get much better than those unfolding behind the plate-glass windows of this little stone building, but if weather allows be sure to enjoy the canyon splendor from the overlook just outside, where you can hear, smell and feel the canyon rather than just see it. Handy panels inside the museum identify and explain the various formations before you, and displays (including a scale model) highlight the canyon's multilayered geologic history.

From here, you can walk west along the Trail of Time about 1.5 miles to the main cluster of historic sites in Grand Canyon Village Historic District.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • Group of people sitting near the edge watching sunset at Grand Canyon National Park North Rim, USA.

    Cape Royal

    10.16 MILES

    Strategically located on the southernmost tip of the North Rim high above the great westward turn of the Colorado River, Cape Royal takes in almost every…

  • Grand Canyon National Park North Rim

    Grand Canyon National Park North Rim

    9.93 MILES

    Grand Canyon's remote, wild and forgotten North Rim is far less developed, and sees far fewer visitors that its southern counterpart. In part this is due…

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    Grand Canyon National Park

    1.98 MILES

    Forged by millions of years of erosion by the Colorado River, the Grand Canyon captures the history, scale and beauty of the American West. Overlooks peer…

  • JMJRPH The Kolb Studio, South Rim of the Grand Canyon, Grand Canyon Village, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona., USA

    Kolb Studio

    1.52 MILES

    In 1905 Ellsworth and Emery Kolb built a small photography studio on the edge of the rim, which has since been expanded and now holds a bookstore and a…

  • Watchtower in Desert View, Grand Canyon South rim

    Desert View Watchtower

    16.39 MILES

    The marvelously worn winding staircase of Mary Colter's 70ft stone tower, built in 1932, leads to one of the highest spots on the rim. From here, slats in…

  • Grand Canyon Lodge

    Grand Canyon Lodge

    9.75 MILES

    Enter the front door of the lodge and see...the Grand Canyon, somehow looking even larger framed by the massive windows of the sunroom. Built in 1937 out…

  • Shoshone Point

    Shoshone Point

    3.57 MILES

    Walk about 1 mile along the mostly level and shaded dirt road to marvelously uncrowded Shoshone Point, a rocky promontory with some of the canyon’s best…

  • Trail of Time

    Trail of Time

    0.01 MILES

    This outdoor interpretative display traces the history of the canyon's formation – each meter equals one million years of geologic history, for a total of…

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Nearby Grand Canyon National Park South Rim attractions

1. Trail of Time

0.01 MILES

This outdoor interpretative display traces the history of the canyon's formation – each meter equals one million years of geologic history, for a total of…

2. Mather Point

0.6 MILES

Mather Point is the busiest and most popular overlook at the Grand Canyon, due in large part to its close proximity to the visitor center complex and main…

3. Grand Canyon Pioneer Cemetery

0.91 MILES

More than 390 people are buried at the Grand Canyon Pioneer Cemetery; the lives of many of them, including the Kolb brothers, John Verkamp, Ralph Cameron…

4. Verkamp’s Visitor Center

1.17 MILES

The arrival of the railroad in 1901 opened up the canyon to more and more tourists, and in 1905 John G Verkamp opened the Mission-style Verkamp’s Curios…

5. Hopi House

1.22 MILES

A beautiful Mary Colter–designed stone building, Hopi House has been offering high-quality American Indian jewelry, basketwork, pottery and other crafts…

6. Grand Canyon Train Depot

1.25 MILES

This train depot, designed by Francis Wilson and completed in 1910, was built nine years after the first train arrived in the Village from Williams. A…

7. El Tovar

1.25 MILES

Built in 1905 as a railroad hotel, El Tovar was designed by Charles Whittlesey as a blend of Swiss chalet and the more rustic style that would come to…

8. Grand Canyon Village Historic District

1.27 MILES

The South Rim's historic district is comprised of several early-20th-century national historic landmarks clustered along and around the rim between Hermit…