Hiking the Duck on a Rock Trail in Grand Canyon National Park
Distance (Roundtrip): 0.8 miles / 1.3 km
The Duck on a Rock Trail in Grand Canyon National Park is a short and relatively easy social trail that begins from a lesser-known overlook and leads out to a beautiful viewpoint above Grapevine Creek Canyon.
By 'social,' I mean that the Duck on a Rock Trail is not an established or maintained trail by the National Park Service. Rather, it's a trail created by hikers over time, much like the end of the nearby Shoshone Point Trail via South Kaibab, or others throughout the National Park system, like the Delta Lake Trail in Grand Teton National Park.
This inevitably means that the Duck on a Rock Trail is not be the most straightforward path to navigate, as it tends to change course with things like falling trees and new vegetation. However, as long as you follow the rim of the canyon, there should be a fairly well-traveled path to follow, granted that the South Rim is snow-free.
Duck on a Rock Trailhead Parking
Parking for the Duck on a Rock Trail is located at the Duck on a Rock Overlook, about 4.7 miles (7.6 km) east of the Grand Canyon Visitor Center and 17.8 miles (28.6 km) west of the East Entrance.
Google Maps Directions: Duck on a Rock Trailhead
Hiking Checklist - Grand Canyon
Here is a complete list of must-have things that you will want for any hike in Grand Canyon National Park.
Hiking the Duck on a Rock Trail
The Duck on a Rock Trail begins on the far right side of the parking lot and overlook, where hikers will find an unmarked trail leading up the hill, along the edge of the canyon.
Once up this initial hill, the Duck on a Rock Trail winds its way through a mixed Ponderosa–Pinyon–Juniper forest, following the most well-traveled path there is along the canyon rim.
That said, the Duck on a Rock Trail constantly changes over time, as previously mentioned, due mainly to falling trees, since it is not a maintained National Park Service trail.
This inevitably means that good route-finding is essential to stay on track.
As with every hike across the Southwest, I highly recommend hiking in a hooded sun shirt to stay safe, especially over a multi-day visit!
This is one example where staying on track can be tricky, as the Duck on a Rock Trail makes a hard right turn through the trees to continue on the easiest path.
After the hard right turn, the Duck on a Rock Trail returns to the rim of the canyon, where it becomes much easier to follow for the rest of the hike to the viewpoint.
This short section near the end is the most exposed part of the entire Duck on a Rock Trail.
Duck on a Rock Viewpoint
The end of the Duck on a Rock Trail is this exposed viewpoint, just to the right of the drive-up Duck on a Rock Overlook.
That said, I think both the overlook itself and this viewpoint are good for different reasons.
I say this because the drive-up overlook is best for seeing the true Duck on a Rock—which is a great place to catch the sunrise—while this viewpoint at the end of the trail is best for simply offering an alternative vantage point above Grapevine Creek Canyon, away from the busier areas found throughout the South Rim of the park.
