Bright Angel Trail - Grand Canyon National Park

The trailhead begins near the Grand Canyon Village at about 6,850 feet. For perspective, the crew I was with, intent on completing the deceiving 15-mile loop (approximate) as a day hike, got to stepping at 7:00 AM sharp, and we jogged [hailstorm-induced] the last 3/4 of an uphill mile to arrive at 6:00ish PM. We moved briskly, stopped at each rest house [4x @ 6-9 minutes/each], and posted by the river to enjoy ourselves for about an hour or so [you got to]. Plan on taking twice as long to hike up as you did down. It's not a bad idea, too, to survey the canyon from the trailhead, as it provides an overview of the route-to-be [descent, followed by u-turn and ascent - you can't see all the way to Phantom Ranch, which is obfuscated by the canyon walls}, and makes for a good photo op.

The trail is well-groomed and you'll navigate the canyon switchbacks for a few hours, with rest houses 1.5 miles & 3 miles into the hike. Both have water [seasonally]. There is shade along the canyon walls, depending on the time of day. When you reach the valley floor, the trail will open up a bit before you reach the first campsite at Indian Garden. Option to camp here. It's about halfway (4.5 miles in; 1/4 of the round-trip) from the trailhead to the campgrounds if you consider, as we did, Phantom Ranch to be your halfway marker/turn around point.

Continue past Indian Garden and stay to the right [generally] to continue your descent to the river through a shorter, smaller and steeper set of switchbacks to the river banks. Lunch time.

Navigate to the Bright Angel Suspension Bridge and cross to continue on to the Bright Angel Campground & Phantom Ranch. Option to camp. Very good option. Once here, you know the way back. You leave as you came. All that is required is a bit of gumption & mental fortitude. Step after step, all the way back up!

Great hike. Athletic kids [7-10 years] could [do] do it. Same for determined/experienced older folks. Enjoy!

You can get more info on the trail and such from the Department of the Interior here: http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/upload/BrightAngelTrail.pdf