Commissioned by the Fred Harvey Company and designed by Mary Colter in 1913, this low-flung stone building is the South Rim's western-most scenic overlook. It houses a small gift shop and a walk-up window, with sandwiches, ice-cream and snacks.
Hermit's Rest is named after Louis Boucher, who came to the canyon from Canada in 1891 with hopes of finding his fortune as a prospecter. He lived at Dripping Springs, several miles below the rim, for 20 years, and offered tourists guided trips to his home and orchards there. He never did strike it rich, and after 20 years he sold the upper portions of his trail to the Santa Fe Railroad and Fred Harvey Company, and moved to Utah.
The railway commissioned Mary Colter to design a resthouse on the canyon rim and in 1913 completed the 8.5-mile trail from the rim down to Hermit Camp. A predecessor to Phantom Ranch 10 years later, Hermit Camp, which closed in 1930, offered intrepid travelers tent cabins, restrooms, showers and meals. Colter’s Hermits Rest, a beautiful stone and wood shelter, offered tourists a place to freshen up before descending by mule into the canyon or after the arduous journey back to the rim.
