The Bill Hall Trail is a steep, rugged shortcut into the remote northwest reaches of the Grand Canyon, most often used as the quickest way to reach the wonders of Thunder River and Deer Creek. It begins at Monument Point on the Kaibab Plateau, in the Kaibab National Forest just outside the national park, and drops roughly 2,000 feet in only about two and a half miles down through the Kaibab and Coconino formations to the broad sandstone terrace of the Esplanade, where it joins the Thunder River Trail.

Named for Bill Hall, a National Park Service ranger, the trail trades distance for steepness: it is considerably shorter than the alternative Thunder River Trail approach from Indian Hollow, but it is abrupt, rocky and exposed, with a stretch of ledgey descent that demands care, and it is completely waterless until far below. Most people use it as the entry, and grueling exit, for multi-day backpacks to Thunder River, Tapeats Creek and the Deer Creek oasis.

This is remote country reached by long dirt forest roads that can be rough when wet, with no water and no services at the trailhead or on the trail until the springs far below. Summer heat on the exposed Esplanade is severe, the climb back out at the end of a trip is genuinely strenuous, and an overnight backcountry permit is required. For fit, experienced canyon backpackers, though, Bill Hall is the efficient gateway to one of the Grand Canyon's most magical corners.