Grand Canyon Guides

Trent Keller

I started my romance with the Grand Canyon on a family river trip in 1976. I became a full time guide in 1984, and eventually guided well over a hundred river trips on the Colorado River. To escape the desert heat between river trips, I would often explore the lesser-traveled areas of the cool North Rim, which started my vision of a company dedicated to leading people to explore the rim of the Grand Canyon in active outdoor activities.

In 1998, I received a BS in Parks, Recreation and Tourism, and that year, my wife Joan and I founded Canyon Rim Adventures, Inc. Ten years and hundreds of trips later, we have helped many families and friends, non-experienced campers, and adventure seekers alike, walk away from the Grand Canyon with a unique and special set of memories that many come back for year after year. I feel lucky to be able to help people change their lives by experiencing some of the highlights of the Canyon, and then taking home a sense of physical accomplishment, camaraderie, and a renewed outlook on life.

Joan Keller

I began working as a Grand Canyon river guide in 1989, and did so every summer while getting through college until 1995. I learned more about communication and organization those summers than any college course I had experienced. I love to have a good time in the outdoors, slow down from life's fast pace of stresses to look at sunsets, and flowers and help people do the same. Trent and I started Canyon Rim Adventures, Inc. in 1998-1999 to help people explore the lesser-known North Rim. I have guided trips, and still get a few in every so often. Mostly, I am the person on the phone when you call Canyon Rim Adventures, Inc. I have a passion for the Canyon area, and love to help people put together itineraries to see as much as possible when they come this way.

Greg Aitkenhead

Greg’s interest in guiding started 12 years ago on his first trip into the depths of the Grand Canyon. Now he calls the North Rim country his home, and considers running around the canyon his life’s work. He sees the opportunity to live and work on the canyon’s edge a chance at the kind of serenity few people ever experience on the job. Clients often ask, after hundreds of trips in the Grand Canyon, do you get tired of the view? He says that would be unfathomable.

Julia Forbes

As a seasoned outdoor person, spending nine summers in the woods of northern Ontario, and 75 days in the Australian outback and surrounding areas, Julia is proud to be a member of an organization that provides world-class experiences for new-comers to the region and seasoned local explorers alike. Julia has lived in the Southwest for five years. She was drawn here by the vast arrays of diverse landscape and the rich history of the native peoples. Julia joined Canyon Rim Adventures in May and has enjoyed exploring the canyon ever since. Every trip to the canyon is a new experience in itself, making every day a new adventure. Julia finds the canyon to be calming, powerful and breath taking. She enjoys being lucky enough to see the canyon with new eyes each trip. She feels that every day in the canyon seems to be a different place with varying colors, contrasts and scenes. There is always something new and exciting just around the next bend of the trail.

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