The Rainbow Rim Trail is a rare treat: about 18 miles of flowing singletrack that runs right along the edge of the Grand Canyon on the remote, forested North Rim, one of the very few places you can legally mountain bike on the canyon's rim, since bikes are prohibited on trails within the national park itself. It lies in the Kaibab National Forest just outside the park boundary, on the high, cool Kaibab Plateau, and links five spectacular viewpoints, Parissawampitts, Fence, Locust, North Timp and Timp Points, each with jaw-dropping views into the canyon.

The trail is justly loved for its mellow, rolling character. It winds through beautiful ponderosa pine and quaking aspen forest, dipping in and out of shady side drainages and repeatedly returning to the rim for another huge vista, on smooth, non-technical singletrack that rewards riders of almost any ability, and it is equally enjoyable on foot. Because it connects the points, it can be ridden as an out-and-back of any length, point-to-point with a shuttle, or as a bikepacking trip, with primitive dispersed camping allowed in the surrounding forest.

This is high country at around 7,500 to 8,000 feet, open roughly late spring through fall and snowbound in winter, reached by dirt forest roads that can be rough or muddy when wet. There is no water and no services along the trail, so riders must be self-sufficient, but for a quiet, scenic, wonderfully flowy ride on the rim of the Grand Canyon, far from the crowds, the Rainbow Rim Trail is hard to beat.