Hiking to Ooh Aah Point for Sunrise at the Grand Canyon (With Kids)
We hiked to Ooh Aah Point for sunrise in late July - which also happened to be Jackson's birthday, so we brought a banner and a candle along for the ride. Here's exactly how the morning went, what the trail is actually like with a kid, and our honest take on whether it's safe.
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The Basics
Ooh Aah Point sits on the South Kaibab Trail, about 0.9 miles down from the trailhead - 1.8 miles roundtrip, with roughly 790 feet of elevation change. To catch sunrise on the morning of our hike (right around 5:15 to 5:20 AM that time of year), we started hiking from the trailhead around 4:45 AM.
One thing worth knowing before you plan this: there's no water on the South Kaibab Trail, and no private vehicles are allowed at the trailhead itself - access is by foot, bike, or the park's free shuttle only.
Getting There Without the Shuttle
The park runs a Hikers' Express shuttle to the South Kaibab Trailhead (4 AM, 5 AM, and 6 AM departures from Bright Angel Lodge in summer), but we skipped it. The day before, we biked out to the trailhead area and scoped out parking spots at one of the overlooks along the road. On sunrise morning, we parked there instead of waiting on shuttle timing, then walked the Rim Trail from our car to the South Kaibab Trailhead - about half a mile.
Why this worked well for us: we controlled our own timing completely instead of being tied to a shuttle departure, which mattered to us since we didn't want to risk missing sunrise. If you'd rather not scout parking the day before, the shuttle is the official, reliable way to get there - just build in extra buffer time.
Hiking Down in the Dark
It was fully dark for the hike down, so headlamps were essential. The trail itself is wide and well-maintained, with switchbacks for roughly the first third of the descent, which made the footing easier especially, in the dark.
Even so, we carried Jackson down. This is the Grand Canyon - there are no guardrails, and a misstep in the dark could be genuinely serious. We felt completely safe on the trail ourselves with headlamps, and the trail's width and switchbacks mean it isn't especially technical or dangerous. We just felt more comfortable carrying him down rather than risk it in low light. On the way back out, in full daylight, he hiked the entire way himself with no problem at all.
Sunrise at Ooh Aah Point
Since we happened to be there on Jackson's birthday, we brought a banner and his candle along and took plenty of photos at the point. There were a handful of other people there watching the sunrise with us, but it didn't take away from the moment at all.
It is absolutely beautiful. Watching the light hit different parts of the canyon as the sun came up was genuinely stunning, and I say that as someone who isn't usually the mushy, sentimental type. If you're on the fence about the early wake-up, go. It's worth it. If you want to really make the moment, pack coffee or hot chocolate in a thermos. We didn't, and wished we had.
The Hike Back Out
This was genuinely one of the most pleasant parts of the whole trip. We took our time and let Jackson stop and look at whatever caught his eye. He sang songs the entire way and clearly loved the experience. There were no complaints, no dragging feet, just a fresh six year old having a great birthday morning.
Heat and water weren't really a factor for us, since we were hiking out in the early morning but it was noticeably starting to warm up by the time we reached the trailhead, and trail traffic picked up significantly on our way out. If you're not going at sunrise, plan for both.
On layers: despite being late July, it felt cool to us (we're Southerners), so we dressed in layers for the way down. We were glad to have them on the descent, and started shedding them on the way back out as it warmed up. It's not actually cold but just cool enough in the early morning that layers were worth it for us.
Is This Hike Safe for Kids?
Short answer: it's a safe, well-maintained, fairly easy trail for both kids and adults with one real caveat.
The mom in me has to say it: there are no guardrails. If you have a kid you don't fully trust to stay away from the edge, I wouldn't risk this hike. If you do trust them, the trail itself is wide, well-graded, and not particularly technical. The switchbacks handle the steepest part near the top, and it's genuinely manageable for kids.
For more on how our son handled the rest of our time at the Grand Canyon, we wrote up our full honest take on whether the Grand Canyon is good for kids and you can see our full 3-day South Rim itinerary for how this hike fit into the rest of the trip.
Bottom Line
Do this hike. Start around 4:45 AM to catch a July sunrise, bring headlamps for the dark descent, dress in layers even in summer, and consider packing a thermos of coffee or hot chocolate to really make the moment. If your kid can be trusted near an unguarded edge, this is one of the most rewarding, genuinely pleasant expereince we had at the Grand Canyon.
