Sunrise, Sunset & Stargazing Guide: Best Photo Viewpoints in an International Dark Sky Park

At midday (11:00 to 15:00), overhead sunlight flattens the Grand Canyon's inner buttes and washes out the reds and purples of the rock layers. Come to the railing during the 30 minutes before and after Sunrise or the final 60 minutes before Sunset, however, and low-angle golden light ignites the two-billion-year-old temples like glowing embers while deep blue-and-violet shadows carve out every side canyon!

1. The 3 Best SUNRISE Viewpoints (And How to Beat the Mather Point Crowds!)

• #1 For Easy Parking — Mather Point (Walk 5 Mins from the Visitor Center): projects straight out into the canyon with unobstructed views to both the east and west! (Tip: when 300 people gather on the main Mather Point amphitheatre, walk just 5 minutes west or east along the flat Rim Trail to have a quiet rock ledge completely to yourself!).
• #1 Photographer's Choice — Yaki Point (Ride the Pre-Dawn Orange Shuttle Bus!): because private cars cannot drive to Yaki Point, 90% fewer people are here at dawn! The free Orange Route Shuttle starts running 60 minutes before sunrise—dropping you on a narrow point looking straight down at the South Kaibab Trail ridge and Wotans Throne!
• #1 If Staying in Grand Canyon Village — Hopi House / Lookout Studio Rim Walk: step right out of El Tovar or Bright Angel Lodge with a hot coffee at dawn!

2. The 4 Best SUNSET Viewpoints on the South Rim

1. Hopi Point & Mohave Point (On Car-Free Hermit Road — Red Shuttle): juts furthest north into the chasm with wide western and eastern views!
2. Yavapai Point (15 Mins' Walk West of Mather Point — Parking Right Next Door!): the best sunset spot if you want your own car parked 50 metres behind you so you don't have to wait in a shuttle-bus line after dark!
3. Lipan Point & Desert View Watchtower (On Desert View Drive): watches the setting sun turn the Unkar Delta, Colorado River and Painted Desert crimson!

3. Stargazing in an Official 'International Dark Sky Park' (Mather, Moran & Lipan Points!)

At 2,134 metres elevation in dry desert air with the nearest city 80 miles away, the South Rim is an International Dark Sky Park! Ninety minutes after sunset on a moonless night, head to the car-accessible pull-outs of Moran Point or Lipan Point (or join the Annual Grand Canyon Star Party every June with free astronomer telescopes behind the Visitor Center!) to see the Milky Way cast a visible glow over the canyon rim! (Always use a red-light flashlight and stay behind the railings in the dark).