One Year Since the Grand Canyon (And How It’s Healing)
Your Grand Canyon Summer Guide
One year ago this month, we were looking out over the ridge of the Grand Canyon and could see nothing but smoke filling every inner gorge to the brim. We were a day away from the adventure of a lifetime, a nine-day rafting trip on the Colorado River. Since summer is a time for winding down and unplugging, I wanted to take a moment to look back at that incredible trip, share a sobering update on how the landscape has changed since we left, and gather all our Grand Canyon guides in one place for your future travel daydreaming.
Shortly after we returned home from our 2025 journey, the Dragon Bravo Fire and White Sage Fire burned over 200,000 acres, destroying the historic Grand Canyon Lodge and heavily damaging infrastructure, fundamentally altering the North Rim. It was heart-breaking to watch from afar.
This summer, the North Rim finally reopened under strict fire bans. The ecosystem of the park proved resilient. Many important environmental features were annihilated, such as the only running trout stream, but the fires were considered relatively low severity. The whipping winds that caused treetops to burn, kept the heat away from the soil and green growth is already emerging through the burn scars to heal the forest.
On June 30, 2026, a new lightning-strike fire, the Cliff Spring Fire, ignited below the North Rim and firefighters are currently managing it, holding steady at 171 acres. Due to recent monsoon activity, containment has risen to 40%, with minimal fire activity and no visible smoke remaining. There are no current Park closures, and conditions remain hopeful.
Our Grand Canyon Travel Diary
Whether you missed this post when it first went live last year, or you are planning your own summer vacation and need some inspiration, here is the full chronicle of our journey:
Journey Through America’s Wildest Canyon
In this post, I go into detail about what a nine-day rafting trip in the Grand Canyon is like, the challenges and exhilarations, the side excursions we went on, the environmental concerns, and the experience gained.
The Ultimate Grand Canyon Master list
Grand Canyon Photo Journey
Here are the moments where words ran out and awe took over. A photo journey companion to our trip rafting the Grand Canyon.
The Day They Closed the Grand Canyon (and We Went In Anyway)
Even more details about how the wildfires affected our trip and made it a bit more adventurous.
Naked in Nature
Learn about why the Grand Canyon is such a spiritual vortex and its personal meaning to me.
A Guide to Adventure for Scaredy Cats Like Me
Read this if you are a scaredy cat like me and are having doubts about going. This post explains how I got the courage to raft the GC.
We'd love to hear from you: Have you ever visited the Grand Canyon, or is it still on your bucket list? If you've been, what was your favorite view? Let us know in the comments!
Oh no! I remember the lodge. When I've gone to the Grand canyon, I've almost always preferred to go to the north rim where it's cooler, more forested, and less busy.
And you made me think of when I visited Kings Canyon in... I don't remember if it was 2016 or 2017. But there were fires in the Sierra Nevada, and everything up there was hazy. It made me very, very sad. It's like humans just ruin everything. Of course, that's not totally fair. Fires are part of the ecosystem. But that was my feeling that day. A real gut punch.