Grand Canyon trip idea/suggestions

Parent Cafe
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<p>A good place to start planning is the [Grand</a> Canyon pages](<a href=“http://www.nps.gov/grca/index.htm]Grand”>Grand Canyon National Park (U.S. National Park Service)) of the National Park Service website (<a href=“http://www.nps.gov%5B/url%5D”>www.nps.gov</a>). You will find a visitor’s guide, maps, teacher guides, ranger programs, and other activities as well as links to external websites.</p>

<p>Get a National Parks Passport. It looks like a blue US passport but it contains pages where you can put cancellation stamps from the hundreds of National Parks. You can get a cancellation stamp at the Visitor’s Center.</p>

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<p>One of my favorite subjects! We have stayed on both the North and South Rims. Both were memorable, for different reasons. The first time, the North Rim was our destination toward the end of a trip that had included Canyonlands, Arches, Capitol Reef, and Bryce Canyon national parks. We met a family who were headed in the other direction, south to north. I told them that after all the wonders we’d seen so far, I was afraid the Grand Canyon would feel over-hyped. His response: “They don’t call it “Grand” for nothing.” And he was absolutely right.</p>

<p>Here are my suggestions:

  1. North Rim: We are not intrepid hikers, and yet we loved the North Rim. There’s plenty of relatively level walking to do there. Our son was 6 then, and so we only ventured a few hundred yards below the rim. Make your reservations now. If everything is full, give up and move on to the South Rim. Don’t stay in one of the outlying motels on the way into the park, because you’ll have a two-hour drive. We were lucky to stay in a cabin that was one cabin back from the rim. Words can’t describe the magnificent sensory experience. It was incredible.
  2. South Rim: On our second trip, our son was 16 and so much more, um, accommodating. Make your reservations now (as in, this afternoon). Stay in the park, and try for lodging on or near the rim. We stayed in the Thunderbird Lodge, with a view of the canyon. We were so excited about getting up for sunrise that we barely got any sleep.
  3. Going below the rim: On our second trip, we hiked a mile down below the rim. Our son, who had just been hiking in the New Mexico mountains at Philmont Scout Ranch, obviously could have gone the whole way and back, but he stuck with us. It’s worth going down even a hundred yards just to see the layers of rock and get a glimpse of the landscape.
  4. Stars: They’re phenomenal, of course. There’s an annual “star party” in June. Google it to see if it will fit your schedule. If not, I’m sure there are ranger-led stargazing programs.</p>

<p>Have fun!</p>

<p>edited after reading Marigold’s post: We went to all those places–all good reasons to choose the South Rim. You can pack much more into a week that way.</p>

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<p>We went to the GC from Vegas. Watch for cops on the highway – it’s a big speed trap from Vegas to GC. :wink: When we were at the Grand Canyon, people we talked to raved about Canyon de Chelly. Made me wish we’d included that in our trip!</p>

<p>We did Arches, too.</p>

<p>One of our friends told us before our GC trip that one really needs to spend more than one day there just to get a sense of the scale. He was right.</p>

<p>We did most of our hiking in the very early morning (i.e. we were on the trails by 7 am. Good sunrise light makes for colorful pics and it’s cooler. There are also a lot fewer people! This also works for Yellowstone.</p>

<p>If you want to camp, BOOK EARLY. Showers cost money, but it will be the best three-minute shower of your life. :D</p>

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<p>Just went this last fall, and stayed in Bright Angel Lodge, right on the rim. It is older, but our cabin was just fine, and such a treat to be on the rim for the sunrise! Previous trips I’ve stayed in the less expensive lodges farther from the rim. Regardless, unless you are picky about a new hotel, avoid Tusayan, which is a town outside the park, but billed as the “Grand Canyon.” </p>

<p>Give plenty of time for the visitor center, and the many historic exhibits and ranger talks. </p>

<p>If I remember correctly, May 1 is the opening date for the N. Rim. At 9000 feet or so, roads are not always open. </p>

<p>As a historic Arizonan, I’ve hiked the canyon, quite a bit-while pregnant yet. At this point, living in the flat lands, a 4 hour, 4 mile day hike was all I could manage, given the weather and early sunset. Bright Angel trail is quite rutted, and was glad for the hiking pole purchased on the rim. Passing each layer as you descend makes geology come alive. </p>

<p>I’m happy for Williams AZ to have found a way to stay alive economically with the train, and less traffic at the Canyon is always good. I was shocked by the recent massive parking lots at the S. Rim. But selfishly, I’d far rather have my car to drive east and see the Canyon from the multiple viewpoints heading out of the park. </p>

<p>A rather interesting circle can be driven from Flagstaff, where the Lowell Observatory is worth seeing, day or night, as the place where Pluto was discovered. Though since Pluto was demoted, has perhaps lost some cache. There are other National Monuments in the area, Sunset Crater, for a 1200 AD volcanic cone, Wupatki, and if you continue on the road east mentioned above, Cameron Trading Post, a historic trading post on the Little Colorado River. Worth a lunch, if not an overnight stop. One of my childhood favorites is privately owned, Meteor Crater, east of Flagstaff.</p>

<p>Yes, Canyon de Chelly was our family favorite. But totally different from Grand Canyon.</p>

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<p>Canyon de Chelly is gorgeous. One thing we learned about a trip to the Southwest is that things are *really *far from one another. Make sure you are practical about how much driving you’ll have to do.</p>

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<p>You might be interested in listening to the NPR series about [Mary</a> Colter](<a href=“http://www.npr.org/programs/specials/architecture/0011.colter.html]Mary”>http://www.npr.org/programs/specials/architecture/0011.colter.html), a pioneering female architect who designed many of the lodges & public buildings at the Grand Canyon.</p>

<p>As for hiking or other physical activities, remember that you will be at altitude. We bicycled out to Hermit’s Hut on the South Rim & I recall gasping for breath because I was not acclimated.</p>

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<p>A word of caution: The crowds at the Grand Canyon can be horrendous. We visited last year during the first week of June and it was terribly crowded. We couldn’t find a parking spot anywhere near the canyon at the South Rim Visitor Center, and the lines at the shuttle stops were so long that they were all at least an hour-long wait. We had planned to come back again for a second day, but the kids quickly nixed that idea.</p>

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<p>If you have time and especially if you do the north rim, plan at least a day seeing Lake Powell at the AZ-UT border. You can rent a boat for a day or take a tour boat around, gorgeous!</p>

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<p>If you are going to take the helicopter tour and since you mentioned your weight, please contact them ahead of time because they are very sensitive about total weight and as to who sits where in the cabin for weight distribution. They made us (including kids) each step on a scale.</p>

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<p>If you would really like to see the river up close, take a side trip to Lee’s Ferry, upstream of the National Park. The (paved) side road gets you right into the side canyons of Marble Canyon and deposits you at river level at the point where rafts launch for the trip through Grand Canyon. It’s a lovely spot. An even better one is at the raft takeout point (Diamond Creek) in western Grand Canyon, but since it is at the end of a long dirt road, you would be well advised to have a high clearance vehicle. You also need a tribal pass from the visitor center in Peach Springs (or did when I drove to the spot many years ago). Be careful on the river as the water is swift and incredibly cold due to the dam(n). There is a rapid just downstream of the raft takeout which has claimed the lives of unwary visitors.</p>

<pre><code>As for hiking, be aware that the rim is literally at the top of a mountain from the perspective of flatlanders. The north rim is at 8000 ft, south rim 7000 ft. The Cedar ridge hike mentioned has “only” a 1500 ft elevation gain, but the relatively high elevation and dryness will make it harder than it seems on paper. There is a trail along the rim itself which connects many of the viewpoints. The rim trail is lightly traveled away from the developed areas adjacent to the rim. It is gently rolling and gives a great view. Be aware that showboating teens (and dads) have been lost over the edge in areas without fencing. Be careful and have a great trip!
</code></pre>

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<p>I don’t think anyone has mentioned this.</p>

<p>The absolute best trip I have ever taken was a rafting trip down the Grand Canyon. I hope you will look into the options for this. You do not have to be athletic for this.</p>

<p>I went on a private trip and we did do some light hiking, but that was optional and I think there would be trips where that is not included.</p>

<p>When you float down the river, you see the canyon in a way that you simply don’t from above. Much of it is truly quiet “floating”. There are. of course, the rapids - varying levels of difficulty. The only skills the passengers need, however, are a sense of adventure. The rafts and the crew do all the real work.</p>

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<p>You have lots of good options indicated by other posters and probably not enough time to do them all. </p>

<p>You’re right - you should go see the GC. It’s an awesome thing to see that you just can’t get from pictures or videos. It’s worth the experience. IMO the views from the north rim and south rim are both great and both worth going to but logistically difficult on a single trip since it’s a very large ditch to drive around. Since spending a whole week just standing on the rim looking at the canyon is a bit much for most people you’ll probably want to see some other things within a few hours driving distance and that can determine whether you should head to the north rim or the south rim. </p>

<p>There are a lot of other spectacles of nature in the general area to see as well. Some of these are a bit of a drive so check google maps or something to get an idea if they sound of interest to you.</p>

<ul>
<li>South Rim (fly into Phoenix or Flagstaff)</li>
<li>Sedona area</li>
<li>Meteor crater (ripoff price of admission since it’s private but still cool to see)</li>
<li>Petrified Forest NP</li>
<li>Painted Desert NP</li>
<li>Sunset crater volcano</li>
<li>Train from Williams
(further away)</li>
<li>Canyon de Chelly (I haven’t seen this yet!)</li>
<li><p>Monument valley</p></li>
<li><p>North rim (fly into Las Vegas)</p></li>
<li><p>Hoover dam</p></li>
<li><p>Zion NP</p></li>
<li><p>Bryce canyon NP</p></li>
<li><p>(if you’re up for dirt roads) Kodachrome basin</p></li>
<li><p>Glen canyon lake </p></li>
</ul>

<p>There are also the helicopter tours, small plane tours, and jeep tours you could take if you’re interested in those (I’ve not done any of those either other than a lot of 4-wheeling in the general area on my own).</p>

<p>Of course, it’ll be hot from late spring through early fall in much if this area with some relief at the higher elevations. Keep that in mind and make sure you carry plenty of water in the rental car if you’re planning to head out ot some of the other areas.</p>

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<p>We did many of the things mentioned previously.</p>

<p>We were there in July, a couple of years ago. Very hot, but tolerable because it’s a dry heat. </p>

<p>-Flew into Las Vegas (stayed in Vegas a few days)
-toured the Hoover Dam
-stayed at Grand Canyon a couple of nights (toured South rim, I believe)
-did the train thing from Williams, AZ (near Flagstaff)
-went to Sedona (gorgeous)
-Flew back from Vegas
-Many people fly into Phoenix as well.</p>

<p>We did a Pink Jeep tour in Sedona. Just google “Pink Jeep Tours” to get more information and to reserve ahead of time, if that’s something that would interest you. We loved it. Usually you go on the tour with a few other people, but we were lucky that day and had the tour guide all to ourselves. He did much more with us than he normally would. We gave him a generous tip that day! :slight_smile: He also told us of local restaurants that were not touristy…great recommendations! Have fun!</p>

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<p>We did a loop similar to what mapesy suggested. We landed in Vegas. Went to Zion, Bryce, Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, and back to Vegas. Lots of fun and beautiful places. </p>

<p>We did a rafting trip with the Hualapai tribe -<a href=“Hualapai River Runners | Grand Canyon White Water Rafting”>Grand Canyon West | Visit The West Rim Grand Canyon; . This was a very fun trip with spectacular canyon views from the bottom. The white water part of the trip wasn’t over the top white water rafting and most of the trip was calm. The only bad thing about this rafting trip was the ride back from the river to the hotel. It was very hot and they took us in a school bus that did not have air conditioning. This was quite a few years ago, so hopefully that part has improved.</p>

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<p>

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<p>I agree. DH and I did a 7-day raft trip through the canyon ~10 years ago. But unlike Andale’s experience, I think an un-athletic person would have had trouble on our trip. Maybe it was our guide, or maybe just the group we were with – but we did some strenuous stuff. For instance, we climbed/rappeled down a 30’ slot canyon. Down was not too bad, getting back up was harder. But the hike was optional, so I guess one could just sit at the top and enjoy the view while waiting for the group to return.</p>

<p>The rafting trip is not for the faint of heart. We slept on the ground and bathed in the river. I have never paid so much to be so hot (when dry), cold (when wet), and dirty. But we loved it!</p>

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<p>“Established in 1916, the Cameron Indian Trading Post has become a showplace for fine Native American art and Southwest art…” (google it). </p>

<p>Our stay was short, but when we saw the GC we enjoyed this roadside stop, as I recall Southeast of the furthest east entrance to the GC’s south rim. </p>

<p>At Cameron, you can see their art gallery, admire or purchase jewelry/crafts from severall groups, and eat a meal that includes steak or Navajo food. Corncakes, mmm. Nice garden on the premises, too. </p>

<p>I have mobility limitations and found the tall Tower building at one of the South Rim stops, I think the one furthest east, very interesting inside. There were window-cutout open-air views from there that satisfy and are higher than from the parking lots. We were there in winter, though, with no crowds – just a herd of 30 elk :)</p>

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<p>I agree that if you’ve got the time, you may wish to do the Vegas, Grand Canyon, Bryce, Zion and back to Vegas. We would have stayed two nights in Bryce and Zion, as well as even more nihts in GC–it was gorgeous! Each park had its own character.</p>

<p>If you decide to go rafting, be sure to bring something windproof because even when it’s hot on the top of the GC, it is cool/cold in the river/canyon. We looked odd when we were rafting in the Tetons, but we were warm enough with our vinyl ponchos covering everything, unlike the others on our boat who were freezing).</p>

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<p>I appreciate this thread, too. I booked a night in the Kachina for June 10th today. My H travels a lot this summer and his father is ill so we decided to forgo an annual trip to Bagkok. Since the kids have seen more land outside the US than inside, I thought this would be a great time to go to the GC. I do NOT look forward to the June crowds, but this is when we could go and found a room. I look forward to staying in Flagstaff and seeing Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest.</p>

<p>So, I’ll be going with my mom, S who is 16, and D who is 8. I expect we’ll just hang out and drive as much as traffic and parking will allow. I hope there is something going on at night time. The star thing in June sounds really cool.</p>

<p>Thanks for all the input from everyone!</p>

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<p>At the GC the crowds are mostly around the visitor center area. There are lots of ‘lookout points’ along the road that goes along the rim and once you get out there the crowds aren’t so bad.</p>

<p>I haven’t been on the shuttle buses there so i don’t know how that works.</p>

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<p>Montegut, there is no describing that first look at the Grand Canyon. It’s simply beautiful. I hope you do manage to get there.</p>

<p>I am not much of a hiker, but I did take Bright Angel trail down to the first rest stop. The views were amazing. You can take Bright Angel trail either a few feet down, or a few miles down. When you are tired, just turn around and head back up. Actually, you should head back up before you are tired because hiking back up is more exhausting than making the trip down. No matter how far you decide to go, be sure you have bottled water with you.</p>

<p>By the way, we were there the second week of June (last summer) and the crowds weren’t bad at all.</p>