The North Kaibab Trail is the only maintained trail descending into the Grand Canyon from the higher, wilder North Rim, and at about 14 miles from rim to river it is the longest and, many would say, the most spectacular of the canyon's three corridor trails. Dropping from the North Kaibab Trailhead near 8,240 feet to the Colorado River around 2,480 feet, it links the cool spruce-fir forests of the Kaibab Plateau with the sun-baked depths of the inner gorge in one unforgettable descent.

The trail is a parade of highlights. It switchbacks down past the Coconino Overlook and through the Supai Tunnel, crosses the Redwall Bridge, and plunges alongside Roaring Springs, a thunderous gush of water pouring from the cliff that has long supplied the park. Lower down it eases past Cottonwood Camp and the Ribbon Falls side trip, then threads the narrow, dramatic gorge known as The Box along Bright Angel Creek before reaching Bright Angel Campground and Phantom Ranch near the river.

Because of its length and grade the North Kaibab demands respect: the National Park Service strongly warns against hiking from rim to river and back in a day, summer heat in the lower canyon is dangerous, and water, though available seasonally at several developed points, must never be taken for granted. The North Rim and its access road close in winter, making late spring through fall the season. Most hikers use it as part of a rim-to-rim crossing or an overnight to Cottonwood or Phantom Ranch, and a permit or reservation is required to stay below the rim. It is one of the great trails of the canyon.