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Grand Canyon National Park > The South Rim > Viewpoints > Pinal Point
Pinal and nearby Papago are two of the unmarked, trailless points along the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, about a mile apart at either side of a square promontory west of Lipan Point (which like Pinal is named after a tribe of Apache Indians). Both can be visited on a round trip walk through the woods of about an hour, not counting time spent admiring the view. One suitable parking place for the hike is on the south side of the East Rim Drive between mileposts 259 and 260, shortly before a bend to the south, and just west of a junction with a national forest track. After crossing the road, Pinal Point is reached by walking northeast for 1.2 miles, initially along a shallow drainage then up a gradual slope, through low pine woodland to the edge of the cliffs. The trees fade away near the rim, replaced by clusters of spiky yucca and flowering cacti, so there is nothing to block the vista. From here, Papago Point is an easy walk west.
Several miles of the Colorado are in view; to the north, on the far side of a ridge extending from Escalante Butte, are the Unkar Creek Rapids and several wide bends in the river, then 2 miles beyond are the Tanner Rapids. Directly below Pinal Point, the straight canyon of Seventyfive Mile Creek runs from east to west starting from beneath Lipan Point, while further west, the top of the Desert View watchtower is just visible above the forested plateau. Solomon Temple and the Tabernacle are the most prominent peaks on the North Rim, below which is more of river including Hance and Sockdolager Rapids, where the inner granite gorge begins to deepen, making the river harder to spot from the rim viewpoints further west.
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