Grand Canyon Visit -- Tips?

[WVMomof3]

We are going this summer. can't wait. We will do a 12 day road trip from Vegas. We have never done a 12 day vacation before, sounds long (hardest part is leaving the dog for so long!), but really not enough time. We will do 2 nights grand canyon, 2 nights Lake Powell, 1 night monument valley, 2 nights Moab, 1 night Bryce, 2 nights Zion with a night in Vegas at both ends. All the pictures making me excited for our trip.

 

[design_mom]

We are going this summer. can't wait. We will do a 12 day road trip from Vegas. We have never done a 12 day vacation before, sounds long (hardest part is leaving the dog for so long!), but really not enough time. We will do 2 nights grand canyon, 2 nights Lake Powell, 1 night monument valley, 2 nights Moab, 1 night Bryce, 2 nights Zion with a night in Vegas at both ends. All the pictures making me excited for our trip.

Last summer, we did Las Vegas > Grand Canyon > Lake Powell (we didn't stay over there) > Bryce > Zion > Vegas last year. It was wonderful. I hope you have a great trip. (Zion was my favorite but it was a lot hotter there than GC or Bryce... I think it was because most of the stuff at Zion is *in* the canyon instead of along the rim. Hotter down there.)

This year, we're doing Salt Lake City > Grand Teton NP > Yellowstone > Glacier NP. I've never been to Glacier. I'm excited.

 

[Nayan]

I went in May last year and had an awesome time! I stayed at Yavapai Lodge, which has it's own grocery/restaurant/bar nearby. It's not near the rim but it was great to wake up and have the elk and deer munching right outside the window along with other wildlife. I also got quite a shock on my last morning there and there was this white stuff falling from the sky. Heavily! Of course being from Florida I had no cold-weather gear, so make sure you pack accordingly .

 

[WVMomof3]

I have wondered what the weather will be like. We are going the first week of June. I just assumed it would be hot, but knowing that we are in higher elevations, wondered if it will be as hot as I am assuming.

 

[design_mom]

I have wondered what the weather will be like. We are going the first week of June. I just assumed it would be hot, but knowing that we are in higher elevations, wondered if it will be as hot as I am assuming.

We were there last year in early June. It was hot (90s), but there was usually a breeze at the higher elevations that made it warm, but reasonably pleasant. Also, Grand Canyon and Bryce Canyon had air-conditioned shuttles for transportation. Zion, where most stuff is at the bottom of the canyon, was considerably warmer (100+) and their transportation was "open air trams" (translation: buses without air conditioning). Zion was hot -- we ended up going back to our hotel in the afternoon to rest -- but it was VERY beautiful. My favorite of the parks that we visited.

 

[Skippy918]

My dh did a week long rafting trip down the Grand Canyon. If you can do that, it's worth it.
I've been to nearly all the national parks out west and arches, Zion, Yellowstone and Rocky Mountain are my favorite.

 

[donac]

Thanks for the info. We are taking a bus trip with some extra time at the Grand Canyon so the suggestions were wonderful. We will also Zion, Arches and a couple of other places. Can't wait.

 

[katie111]

We went 2 years ago with our 3 kids ages 7, 11, and 12 at the time. We stayed at YAvapai lodge for 2 nights & wish we had spent one more day there. My number one tip is to rent bikes in the village. You can take them on the bus up to the first viewpoint and then ride from there to each viewpoint. It was so much fun! We avoided the crowded buses and having to wait for them. Plus it kept my kids from getting bored. A the last viewpoint there was a gift shop so the kids got a treat and a snack and then we rode back. Downhill was so much fun. You are not near the rim riding from viewpoint to viewpoint so it was not scary at all. You just parked the bike at each point and then walked out.

We also hiked down the South Kaibib trail. Went down for about an hour till we reached a rest area with bathrooms. The views were simply spectacular and very different than what you see from the rim. Kids loved it. There were no railings but I wasn't really worried at all. Lots of switchbacks so you wouldn't actually be falling into the canyon if you fell (not to say you wouldn't seriously injure yourself!).

Eat dinner at El Tovar. It's not much more expensive than the other restaurants there and it was really good and just a cool experience. The bar there was nice as well. Arizona Room was also pretty good for dinner.

If you go to Page, go to the Antelope Canyon and if you can, do a float trip on the Colorado River. It is so cool to see Horseshoe Bend from inside the canyon. My kids even went for a dip in the freezing water. Town itself is pretty rundown but the experiences there are worth it.

 

[ScottOKW2K]

Here's something that only happens once a year there, and we lucked up on being there at the right time in our one and only Grand Canyon trip:

2017 Grand Canyon Star Party

Starry sky over Grand Canyon from Mather Point.
Tyler Nordgren, University of Redlands.

June 17–24, 2017

https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/grand-canyon-star-party.htm

 

[WVMomof3]

We went 2 years ago with our 3 kids ages 7, 11, and 12 at the time. We stayed at YAvapai lodge for 2 nights & wish we had spent one more day there. My number one tip is to rent bikes in the village. You can take them on the bus up to the first viewpoint and then ride from there to each viewpoint. It was so much fun! We avoided the crowded buses and having to wait for them. Plus it kept my kids from getting bored. A the last viewpoint there was a gift shop so the kids got a treat and a snack and then we rode back. Downhill was so much fun. You are not near the rim riding from viewpoint to viewpoint so it was not scary at all. You just parked the bike at each point and then walked out.

We also hiked down the South Kaibib trail. Went down for about an hour till we reached a rest area with bathrooms. The views were simply spectacular and very different than what you see from the rim. Kids loved it. There were no railings but I wasn't really worried at all. Lots of switchbacks so you wouldn't actually be falling into the canyon if you fell (not to say you wouldn't seriously injure yourself!).

Eat dinner at El Tovar. It's not much more expensive than the other restaurants there and it was really good and just a cool experience. The bar there was nice as well. Arizona Room was also pretty good for dinner.

If you go to Page, go to the Antelope Canyon and if you can, do a float trip on the Colorado River. It is so cool to see Horseshoe Bend from inside the canyon. My kids even went for a dip in the freezing water. Town itself is pretty rundown but the experiences there are worth it.

We are trying to decide between a float trip on the river or a boat cruise on Lake Powell. We just don't have enough time to do both. The cruise I am looking at on the Lake goes to Rainbow Bridge. If anyone has done both or either, let me know which one to pick!

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

We went several years ago and stayed at a hotel on the south rim, too. We just hiked around the area. I was amazed at the lack of railing/fencing on obvious observation areas. It seemed that anyone could go to the edge of the rim at most places. We took advantage of the free information video/movie. It was well worth it with the history and background. You will have a wonderful trip whatever you do.

There are at least +1000 places to go over the edge. It goes without saying- Be careful!! The allure and beauty draw you to get "closer". It IS truly a wonder.

 

[fortwildernessishome]

We've made the drive from Missouri to the southwest many times. We visit different things each time.

Our family favorite is Arches. We also love Bryce, Zion and Canyonlands. I actually rate Arches and Bryce over the Grand Canyon in terms of beauty. The Grand Canyon of course wins in terms of sheer impressiveness. Honestly, Four Corners was the least impressive of pretty much anything we have visited there. It's sort of cool to be in the place where all 4 states come together, but that's really the only attraction. It's just not picturesque.

If you are anywhere near Page, AZ, do NOT miss the chance to see Horseshoe Bend:

Horshshoe Bend by mom2rtk, on Flickr

If you decide to drive into Moab to see Arches, the scenic byway into the back side of the park follows the Colorado and is my all time favorite drive:

This photo by you, mom2rtk, a few years ago on the Dis, inspired me to see this magical place called Horshshoe Bend!! We were able to visit last year and just LOVED it!!!

 

[fortwildernessishome]

Last summer we flew into Salt Lake city, rented a van and did a big road trip through Utah. We did the "Mighty 5" (Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Bryce and Zion) Horseshoe Bend, Antelope Canyon, the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam and a five days at Disneyland, before flying home from there.

We spent 2 nights at the Grand Canyon. We stayed right on the rim, in the Kachina Lodge, in a room facing the canyon. We could have spent a third night easily. We LOVED staying on the rim!! Both evenings after sunset, we sat for awhile in the lobby of the El Tovar. Both nights there was a young lady playing her guitar and singing. It was so relaxing sitting there!

We rented bikes which we loved and I would highly recommend. I reserved our spot about a month before the trip. I choose the option where they dropped us off at the beginning of the road that is closed to traffic and then they picked us up at Hermits Rest and drove us back. We would bike into every overlook and take in the view, before hopping on our bikes and continuing on. It was a great time!

We drove into the park from Cameron AZ and stopped at Desert View where we spent an hour or so and then we stopped at every viewpoint on the way to the Grand Canyon Village area.

Even though the OP isn't going to be is this part of Utah, I have to give a shout out to Capitol Reef National Park for anyone else planning a trip to see the National Parks in Utah. It seems like when people visit Utah, they visit the other four parks and skip Capitol Reef. We LOVED Capitol Reef!!! If you have time stop by when you are traveling from Canyonlands to Bryce!! You won't regret it!!

 

[mom2rtk]

This photo by you, mom2rtk, a few years ago on the Dis, inspired me to see this magical place called Horshshoe Bend!! We were able to visit last year and just LOVED it!!!

Yeah! So glad you got there. Thanks for sharing that.

We were there in 2010. We've been to the southwest twice since then, but not back to Horseshoe Bend. I really feel driven to get back there again! I really can't believe we were in Page that year and almost drove right by.

 

[fortwildernessishome]

Yeah! So glad you got there. Thanks for sharing that.

We were there in 2010. We've been to the southwest twice since then, but not back to Horseshoe Bend. I really feel driven to get back there again! I really can't believe we were in Page that year and almost drove right by.

We had been in Page in 2008 driving from the Grand Canyon to Zion and drove right by it!! We had never heard of it before. It wasn't until I read your trip report and saw your photos that I knew the place existed. Once I saw your pic, I knew we had to go! It took us awhile, even though we do a huge western trip every two years, we also go up to the Pacific Northwest and other places. Last year was our first time back in the southwest. So, I thank you again for sharing your pics all those years ago!!

 

[mom2rtk]

We had been in Page in 2008 driving from the Grand Canyon to Zion and drove right by it!! We had never heard of it before. It wasn't until I read your trip report and saw your photos that I knew the place existed. Once I saw your pic, I knew we had to go! It took us awhile, even though we do a huge western trip every two years, we also go up to the Pacific Northwest and other places. Last year was our first time back in the southwest. So, I thank you again for sharing your pics all those years ago!!

You are welcome. So glad the photo motivated you to seek it out!

We have also seen Goosenecks Sate Park in southern Utah, but it wasn't nearly as impressive.

Goosenecks State Park by mom2rtk, on Flickr

One other find we sort of stumbled across was just outside Canyonlands. We had been to that area a couple times before but had no idea it was there. I just happened to see a photo flash across a TV in the lobby of our hotel the morning we were heading out of town. So we detoured and drove back toward Canyonlands and found Dead Horse State Park:

Dead Horse Point by mom2rtk, on Flickr

Horseshoe Bend is still my hands down favorite, but these others were cool too. The advantage that both of these offer is that the viewing area is right next to the parking. No hike to get there. Park, get out, and BAM!

 

[amberpi]

I've been twice and did the helicopter thing, etc. I was honestly bored, but that's ME. I have to pretty much be dragged away from the Giant's Causeway/Carrick-A-Reade. The dessert landscapes aren't my thing, nor is anything southwest, rustic, etc. so my suggestions, are to go to Vegas, (and I don't think I've ever spent enough money to be a gambler) do the helicopter thing at the Grand Canyon and then drive (I'd fly I HATE roadtrips) to Burbank and enjoy DLR - although there are a number of musuems in LA that are great too! The great thing about life though - there are so many things to see, there's something for everyone, so please don't let MY opinion dissuade you.

Still jealous of you guys that can plan vacations a year out! Lol, I don't know what city I'll be in a year from now

 

[Albort]

I've been twice and did the helicopter thing, etc. I was honestly bored, but that's ME. I have to pretty much be dragged away from the Giant's Causeway/Carrick-A-Reade. The dessert landscapes aren't my thing, nor is anything southwest, rustic, etc. so my suggestions, are to go to Vegas, (and I don't think I've ever spent enough money to be a gambler) do the helicopter thing at the Grand Canyon and then drive (I'd fly I HATE roadtrips) to Burbank and enjoy DLR - although there are a number of musuems in LA that are great too! The great thing about life though - there are so many things to see, there's something for everyone, so please don't let MY opinion dissuade you.

Still jealous of you guys that can plan vacations a year out! Lol, I don't know what city I'll be in a year from now

haha, i thought it was pretty sweet to see grand canyon from the air. I never realized how big lake mead was. We landed in the middle of the canyon and just relaxed and enjoyed the quietness and the awesome view.

 

[amberpi]

haha, i thought it was pretty sweet to see grand canyon from the air. I never realized how big lake mead was. We landed in the middle of the canyon and just relaxed and enjoyed the quietness and the awesome view.

I'm broken, its totally me. I love green, which is probably why I'll take any opportunity to go back to Sequoia and go to Ireland almost annually - its SO green!

 

[mom2rtk]

I'm broken, its totally me. I love green, which is probably why I'll take any opportunity to go back to Sequoia and go to Ireland almost annually - its SO green!

And for whatever reason I'm all about the red rocks.