An unsigned dirt parking area is all that marks the trail out to Shoshone Point. An easy one-mile walk along an old dirt road takes one through ponderosa forest, which eventually transitions to a pinyon-juniper woodland near the rim of the canyon. A relatively quiet viewpoint along the rim of the canyon facing north-northeast awaits at the end of the walk.

Shoshone Point is the only area within the park that can be reserved for private events and gatherings. Please respect the use of the site for those who have gone through the reservation and permitting process. If the gate blocking the use of the road/trail is open or unlocked, please reconsider visiting the site.

For those not reserving this area for an event, it is a short 2-mile round trip hike that follows a dirt road out to the rim of the Grand Canyon for views toward the Desert View Watchtower and across the canyon to the North Rim. 

Note: In spring the road tends to be very muddy as the snow thaws on the canyon rim. Please stick to the road and be prepared for the conditions of the season. 

Group Events

The park offers this area for groups wishing to host a wedding, celebrate a birthday, conduct a memorial service, hold a family reunion, or a similar event. The site features a covered pavilion, picnic tables, grills, trash cans, and a vault toilet. There is no water or electricity. An unimproved dirt road leads to this isolated area.

You may obtain a permit for a reservation no earlier than one year prior to the requested date on a first come, first-served basis. To obtain a permit, visit: http://www.nps.gov/grca/parkmgmt/sup.htm.

What's in a name?

Shoshone Point is named after the Shoshone tribe, a North American Indian group that occupied a territory that is now southeastern California, across central and eastern Nevada and northwestern Utah into southern Idaho and western Wyoming. Today, the Shoshone still live on reservations throughout the west in the states or Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, and Nevada.