Fossil Discovery Walk - Ranger Program | South Rim Village | Meet at Bright Angel Trailhead - free

Just up the hill from the Hermit Road interchange shuttle bus stops, and adjacent to the Bright Angel Lodge cabins, a large, 200-foot (60 m) wide by 100-foot (30 m) deep courtyard surrounds the Bright Angel Trailhead along the canyon rim. Where the trail starts down into the canyon is a large sandstone slab with the words, "Bright Angel Trailhead" inscribed into the stone. There are large boulders on either side of the stone slab. Two sets of accessible bathrooms at the back of the courtyard face north toward a wide-open concrete plaza, with a water bottle filling station at the right. Limestone boulders ring a couple garden areas in the center of the plaza, each with a stone bench under tall shade awnings. 30 feet (9 m) west down a slight incline from the water station, an oval-shaped mule corral is delineated by 18 stone pylons, each 3 feet (1m) square by four feet (1.2 m) tall with metal pipe suspended between them. These ring a low stone wall surrounding a 100-foot (30 m) diameter oval-shaped corral. The water bottle filling station is located outdoors on the west side of the public restroom building nearest to the stone corral. Attached to the west-facing wall is a brown metal cage enclosing an area measuring approximately 6 feet (1.8 meters) wide, 8 feet (2.4 meters) high, and 12 feet (3.6 meters) deep. A single spring-loaded door, large enough for a person to enter, provides access. Inside, several metal water spigots are available for use. The enclosure and spring-loaded door are designed to prevent elk and other wildlife from accessing the spigots. Previously, unprotected spigots led to conflicts between visitors and elk, resulting in injuries.