By Laurie Merrill / ADOT Communications

For many an adventurous motorist, the North Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park holds the allure of an alternative perspective of one of the world’s most magnificent views. About 10 percent of all Grand Canyon visitors makes the North Rim a destination.

If you’re hoping to travel to the North Rim this year, time is running out quickly. As we do each year, ADOT will close State Route 67, the paved route to the “other side,” on Monday, Dec. 3. It usually reopens in mid-May.

Most North Rim services have been shut for the season since Oct. 15, including the Grand Canyon Lodge, food services, trail rides, park ranger programs, general store and Visitor Center.

After SR 67 is closed near Jacob Lake (US 89A), you won’t be able to drive to the North Rim. ADOT doesn’t clear plow the 43-mile highway, which averages 9 feet of snow annually and takes motorists through alpine terrain more than 8,000 in elevation.

State Route 64 remains open year-round to the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.

State routes 261, 273 and 473 leading to lakes in the White Mountains region are scheduled to close for the winter on Dec. 31. The highways could close earlier depending on weather.

Tips on winter driving are available at azdot.gov/KnowSnow. These include being careful if your GPS suggests taking a detour down an unpaved, unplowed road. That can get you into big trouble. Never let an app replace common sense.

By Peter Corbett / ADOT Communications

The annual migration of adventurous tourists and rim-to-rim hikers begins next week when State Route 67 and the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park reopen for the season.

The 43-mile highway from US 89A at Jacob Lake opens on Tuesday, May15.

The North Rim, at an elevation of 8,200 feet and isolated in far northern Arizona, receives a fraction of the national park’s 6.25 million annual visitors. Plus, its visitor season is only about half the year. SR 64 to the South Rim is open year-round.

The North Rim is 220 miles from the South Rim and 350 miles from Phoenix. Cross-canyon hikers traverse 21 miles from the North to South Rim and an elevation change of more than 10,000 feet or roughly a mile down and a mile up.

SR 67 is typically open from May 15 to Dec. 1 but closes earlier if there’s heavy snowfall. North Rim lodges and most facilities close in mid-October.

With the park closed each winter, the Arizona Department of Transportation does not plow snow from SR 67. The North Rim averages about 9 feet of snow annually.

SR 67 is a scenic route through the Kaibab National Forest. The highway was paved in 1940 and is known as the Kaibab Plateau North Rim Parkway.

In 1985, the highway was designated a National Forest Scenic Byway and a National Scenic Byway in 1998.