Beyond the OverlookGrand Canyon of the Yellowstone: Artist Point + Rim Trail
You do not need a huge hiking day to experience one of Yellowstone’s most dramatic landscapes. Start at Artist Point, then keep walking along the rim.
Firsthand guide · Last reviewed August 2026 · How we review our guides
Our take: This is a Yellowstone must. The canyon colors are extraordinary, Lower Falls is enormous, and you can make the outing as easy or as substantial as you want.
Artist Point is only the beginning
Artist Point gives the famous view almost immediately, which makes this area work even for people who are not looking for a serious hike. But continuing east along the south rim toward Point Sublime gets you away from the single crowded viewpoint and gives repeated looks into the canyon.
Point Sublime is about the journey
The out-and-back from Artist Point to Point Sublime is roughly 2.6–2.9 miles. Hikers often note that the payoff is not necessarily one dramatically better endpoint; it is the succession of canyon views along the rim. That matches how we would approach it: walk as far as feels worthwhile, then turn around.
Easy to customize
If time is tight, Artist Point alone delivers. With another hour or two, add part or all of the rim trail. The terrain has some rolling elevation and exposed edges, but this is not the kind of hike that requires a huge physical commitment to get huge scenery.
Worth it?
One of our strongest Yellowstone recommendations. Grand Prismatic may have the famous colors, but the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone combines color, scale and waterfalls in a way that felt completely different from the rest of the park.
Where this fits in our Yellowstone priorities
If we had only two days in Yellowstone, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone would make the cut. We would prioritize it alongside Grand Prismatic, Old Faithful and a drive through one of the park's major wildlife areas.
Why it earns limited vacation time
Yellowstone has so many thermal features that they can begin to blur together. The canyon does not. The yellow and orange walls, huge waterfall and scale of the landscape make this one of the places that gives a short Yellowstone itinerary more variety.
How we would approach it again
Start with the major canyon viewpoints and walk enough of the rim to get away from a single pull-off experience. We do not remember every individual viewpoint we visited well enough to pretend otherwise, so we would use current park conditions and closures to choose the exact stops.