Planning a trip to the Grand Canyon. Any advice?

[marshall2288]

I've never been west of the Mississippi River and have a STRONG desire to see the Grand Canyon this year. I would like any advice on travel, lodging, must see things, things that are overrated ext. I'm going to fly out from Jacksonville, FL and hope to spend 4-6 days out there. It will be my wife and I and our 2 kids (almost 3 and infant).

BTW, I've never traveled by plane before....

[ACfixer]

You'll probably need to fly in to Phoenix. You might be able to fly in to Flagstff from PHX but the ticket prices will probably kill you. PHX is a major hub and nonstop tickets into there on several carriers are available. Probably a three or four hour drive from PHX to the south rim. You can fly into Vegas as well, a little farther drive BUT you get to see Vegas instead of Phoenix. Probably the way I'd go. If you are going in the summer, book early, there are a couple Hotels right at the south rim but they'll fill fast and you'll have to stay in Williams, an hour's drive or so away provided they have rooms... it only get farther from there!

Nothing about the Grand Canyon is overrated, it is jaw dropping and there is no way any picture you've ever seen can give you even a hint as to it's size. Enjoy your trip!

Oh, I take that back, there is one thing... don't bother with that stupid skywalk. Very expensive and very overrated IMO, and they don't let you take pictures from it. Jip.

[Matt Jones]

I suggest staying in Flagstaff and making it a hub for doing a whole bunch of stuff during your stay...Sedona, Flagstaff, volcanoes, Indian ruins, Grand Canyon, etc. With the age of your kids I think 4-6 days at the GC is too long and Flagstaff is a very cool town. (I went to college there :)).

ACfixer is correct about flying into Phoenix and driving up. Flagstaff has a fairly small airport.

As for hotels, Little America in Flag is older but still pretty nice.

Whatever you do, you'll love the area.

[MrTAteMyBalls]

Nice! I went when I was just a wee lad and I still remember it. Quite mindblowing even for an 8 year old....lol. Specifically we did a rafting trip down the river that I really enjoyed.

[Boobala]

If you plan to see the Meteor Crater (http://www.meteorcrater.com/) while you're in the area.. see it first, 'cause it'll be a little bit of a disappointment if you see it after you see the Grand Canyon.

[googoobaby]

Petrified Forest

[swartzfeger]

Petrified Forest

In addition to the meteor crater and painted desert/petrified forest already mentioned, check out Monument Valley in the four corners area.

Monument, for me, is even more stunning than the Canyon because you're right there, driving thru the buttes/mesas, etc. Hitting monument just prior to sunset is glorious.

A pic from my latest trip to MV:

http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1275/4658409626_fa84c113fb_b.jpg

[marshall2288]

Wow! Thats what I'm talking about! Living on the east coast my whole life I'm ready to see some stunning sun sets instead of rises.

[claudel]

When I do this trip again I'm probably gonna go

Las Vegas > St George Utah first day
Zion NP > second day
http://www.kenric.net/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/hiking-narrows-zion-national-park.jpg


Capitol Reef NP/Fruita > third day
http://www.americansouthwest.net/utah/photographs450/fruita-view.jpg

http://www.sonic.net/%7Eclaudel/Southwest%20Trip%20Animals/Thumbs/0.jpg
Previous tourists @ Capitol Reef

Drive from Capitol Reef NP > Mexican Hat, Utah fourth day, rest & recuperate.

https://encrypted-tbn2.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSk4UMUO4hgLOml3yBoGn3Nx-chl8BCgjcd6oGwxfQc5ECHiC0P

Monument Valley > fifth day
Monument Valley > Glen Canyon NP > North Rim GC NP ( North Rim = less crowded, but much more driving, tough to do in a day )

https://encrypted-tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTqgu0vVPNu7J01Zc1GlLcdhowoNo6LP B5yniEoVI3rUejbKEKfQQ

or
Monument Valley > Flagstaff > South Rim GC NP ( check out Wupatki & the volcano east of Flagstaff )
for a day at the Canyon
sixth day
and then back to Las Vegas

It's a lot for 7 days, would be much better and less stressful in 10-11
There's lots of relatively inexpensive places to stay and eat on the way.

If you're into camping ( tough with young ones ) I can especially recommend Kodachrome Basin State Park in Central Utah

http://www.utah.com/stateparks/kodachrome.htm

Very clean & quiet with nice hot showers. Cheap.

http://www.sonic.net/%7Eclaudel/Southwest%20Trip%20Animals/Thumbs/1.jpg

We saw this little guy. He saw us first...

Last time I did this loop we camped and motelled on alternate nights which worked well for us, but not everyone likes sleeping outside...

It was tolerable, weather-wise in late October/early November, but much later can be risky.

It's also possible to fly into Las Vegas and book a bus tour of the Canyon of varying length that will eliminate a lot of the hassle and might be better with kids and limited time...

That's simpler, but you're stuck with their itinerary and with whoever else booked the tour...

I agree with the poster who advised to avoid the Skywalk... Large dollars, small thrills...

[Flogger59]

Have fun observing (and not being) one of the suicidal tourists on the South Rim, the kind that step over the fence and turn their backs to the chasm so their friends can take a picture. Why they do this I don't know. It's not like the backdrop gets any closer. Rangers told us that on an average year 8 people go over the side.

[RupertB]

A trip like this is top of the list for MrsB & I.

I can tell you from searching flights that, depending on your travel days, flying into PHX and out of LAS frequently comes up cheaper than one or the other.

Thinking two days at the South Rim, two days in Zion and three in LV for R&R.

Thanks to all who have weighed in so far.

[twinrider1]

Skywalk...anyone done it?
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f9/SkywalkFromOutsideLedge.jpg/200px-SkywalkFromOutsideLedge.jpg

[Toe]

Skywalk...anyone done it?
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f9/SkywalkFromOutsideLedge.jpg/200px-SkywalkFromOutsideLedge.jpg

Yes, did it last summer. Not worth it. Very expensive, not half as impressive as it looks on pictures and you're not even allowed to bring your own camera onto the skywalk. I'd stick to South Rim and rather invest your additional time into parks that are in the area such as Bryce, Zion, Monument Valley and the in my opinion vastly underrated Mesa Verde NP.

[claudel]

Skywalk...anyone done it?
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f9/SkywalkFromOutsideLedge.jpg/200px-SkywalkFromOutsideLedge.jpg

Search the web for reviews...

Highlights:

Long drive on gravel road to admissions gate - ~1Hr
Exorbitant admission charge - ~US$75/head (?)
Private photography prohibited, although one can buy pix at a similar bargain rate... Personal cameras confiscated...
Great view...

[ACfixer]

Skywalk...anyone done it?
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f9/SkywalkFromOutsideLedge.jpg/200px-SkywalkFromOutsideLedge.jpg

Not me, my best bud has.

Terrible road getting there. Horribly expensive, I think $45 per person to access the reservation, then another $32 if you want to walk out on the Skywalk. No cameras or cell phones allowed but they will sell you a picture of yourself for $35. He said the facilities were awful.

Reading the reviews it doesn't sound like he was too off base.

[Toe]

Actually the road is quite good in the meantime and is constantly improved (no wonder with the amount of money they're taking from the tourists). Not paved the whole way but other than that in good condition. Just a little too much gravel for my taste but that shouldn't be a problem by car (I did it by motorbike).

[twinrider1]

I visited long before they built the Skywalk. I suppose I'd want to try it once, just to try it. But the site is so amazing in it's own right, it just doesn't need anything extra.

[Alister]

I suggest staying in Flagstaff and making it a hub for doing a whole bunch of stuff during your stay...Sedona, Flagstaff, volcanoes, Indian ruins, Grand Canyon, etc. With the age of your kids I think 4-6 days at the GC is too long and Flagstaff is a very cool town. (I went to college there :)).

ACfixer is correct about flying into Phoenix and driving up. Flagstaff has a fairly small airport.

As for hotels, Little America in Flag is older but still pretty nice.

Whatever you do, you'll love the area.

This.

I actually think Sedona is more captivating than the canyon, esp. over the course of several days. Flag, yes, would be a great hub, esp. in the summer. I love that whole area, and lived there for several years.

[Boris Bubbanov]

Try to stay loose with the itinerary and go to the South Rim on the 2 days that the weather is the clearest.

The Canyon used to be mind boggling, but as often as not recently the haze from the nearby Coal Fired Power plants, plus all the irrigation, has really messed it up. You can dodge the worst of it by doing the Canyon the days after a Cold Front has come through.

++

Second point: You don't have to pay to get inside a gate, to see some incredible and striking scenery. The Northwest Third of Arizona is chocked full, and so is the Southern Third of Utah. It is not necessary to go to the Petrified Forest when there's beauty and things to see and do, nearby here and there, for free.

With small kids, you might be better off centered around Jerome, Prescott, Flagstaff, Sedona (off season only) and those surrounds, with the flight into Phoenix ( more creature comfort stuff). I prefer to use Las Vegas (Clark Cty Airport) but I don't know the ins and outs of flights to and from Jacksonville.

[JWDubois]

We went in November, so the temperature was very nice, 60s and 70s. If you fly into Phoenix, I'd plan on a day or two in Sedona on the way up. It's beautiful.

At the Grand Canyon, if you're in moderate shape, hike the Bright Angel trail. We did it down to Indian Garden and back, which is about a 10 mile hike (with a 3000' climb out). It took us about 6 hours if I recall correctly.

Take a good pair of hiking boots, the trail is very rocky and dusty, and has a nasty rut down the center from the mule trains. Also take a camelback for water.

JWW

[Bluedawg]

+++ on Sedona and Monument Valley ... although they are in different directions.

Other cool stuff near Flagstaff:

Walnut Canyon - ancient pueblo ruins
Wupatki - ancient pueblo ruins
Sunsest Crater - volcano eruption from about 1100 AD

http://www.nps.gov/state/az/index.htm?program=parks

If you are into trains there is the Grand Canyon Railway
http://www.thetrain.com/

Overall I'd recommend sticking with a car and the scenic roads on the canyon edge with small kids ..... the train would be an additional day of fun for a train lover.

Flagstaff is closer, but some folks like to stay in Sedona and drive to the canyon.

If you go to Sedona I highly recommend taking state highway 89A (exit 337 on I-17) for some more breathtaking scenery.

Good Luck and Enjoy ... be safe as well

:banana

[The Golden Boy]

Stay away from prospectors that in ghost towns around there...

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cDgs5vAozOc/TiY_V1vy6kI/AAAAAAAAATw/Fi6iWRQY6eY/s320/Brady+Bunch+trapped+in+Jail.jpg

[pi22seven]

IMO 3 days will do you fine. Stay at a cheaper lodge on site and take the shuttle buses. Bring binoculars, they're perfect for stargazing.

[Beng2040]

I love these pics. Gotta get out to the Canyon soon! I visited Flagstaff years ago and loved every second.

[brain21]

I've been there once, in 1998. Grand Canyon was awesome! Be careful taking pictures, like someone said, its not hard to stand at the edge for a pic and fall to your death. In 99.999% of it there are no railings or anything of the kind. I would NOT bring animals like a dog with you. I would be really careful with any kids. If you have it, get familiar with the panorama function of your camera, or buy one of the plastic disposable panorama cameras. Thats what I did and the pics came out amazing.

When we left, we drive thru Flagstaff and into Sedona. Never even heard of Sedona before. After spending about 3 hours there, it is easily one of my favorite cities ever. If I could afford it, I would love to live there some day (actually in Oak Creek Canyon as opposed to Sedona, but they are right next to each. Essentialy the same city).

When you drive from Flagstaff you drive down into a canyon in to Oak Creek Canyon. Its lush, kinda narrow is (it is a canyon after all), woodsy. Drive about a mile and instantly the scenery changes like an imaginary line was drawn. The canyon walls go away and you have desert and mesas, no woods or anything like that. Its almost surreal. Sedona, BTW, is a pricey, artsy kinda town (like expensive local art and more expensive other art). Really really cool place. Spend a day there and visit a Vortex or something!

[guitfiddle]

If you have a few days to kill taking a drive, go from the north rim up into SW Utah, and go look at Bryce Canyon. It's nowhere near the size of the Grand, but it has some of the most remarkable scenery in that area. The best part is that they have trails into the hoodoos (what they call the large vertical formations, left from erosion) and you can spend the day down among them. They were considered to be haunted by early settlers, due to the sounds they make with the wind, and that's how they got the name.


http://www.rubysinn.com/bryce--canyon-utah/images/bryce-canyon-national-park-16.jpg

http://www.eikongraphia.com/wordpress/wp-content/Bryce%20Canyon%201.jpg

http://poorbuthonest.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/bryce-canyon-1.jpg

[marshall2288]

Wow these pics are unbelievable. I can't wait to get out there. I'm looking at late April so I can make a birthday week of it. That a good time to go?

[ACfixer]

Wow these pics are unbelievable. I can't wait to get out there. I'm looking at late April so I can make a birthday week of it. That a good time to go?

Yes, but come prepared. The canyon rim is about 7,000 feet in elevation and in late April you could get either 105 degree heat or a foot of snow.

[Matt Jones]

Spring can be really nice but there may be snow.

Summer in that area is awesome.

[Ringo]

We went to the Grand Canyon in mid Oct 2010, the first day we got there a tornado hit 15 miles from where we were staying and there was hard rain and sleet, very unusual according to the locals.
After the rain cleared out it was nice , I'd imagine the summer weather is pretty brutal and could be tough if you were going to do any hiking.

We stayed in Flagstaff. It is a pretty long drive to the GC from Flagstaff, especially on the way home after hiking around the canyone all day!
If all I was going to see was the Grand Canyon I'd stay close to it, there is plenty to see there and do around there.

But Flagstaff is convienient if you also want to see Sedona , which is beautiful , it's definately a tourist trap as far as shops and souvenirs but a lot of cool stuff to see.

We went to Out of Africa which is not too far from Sedona, and that was awesome, I wasn't expecting much but it really was one of the highlights of the trip and well worth the time and a great value for the money IMO.
http://www.outofafricapark.com/

We also went to see some of the cliff dweller ruins, a real small one but it was interesting.

[loudboy]

Fly into Phoenix. Eat some Mexican food and get the heck out. <g>

Stay for 2 days in Sedona - one of the most beautiful places you will ever see. Hike a few of the best trails during the day. Definitely get to Bell Rock and the rock by the airport for the sunsets - there isn't a prettier place on this earth. Eat at Cafe Elote. Go uptown and poke around the tourist shops, if you're into that.

Spend the day driving from Sedona to Grand canyon, thru Flagstaff. Stop at the West Fork of Oak Creak for another amazing hike.

Get to GC in the late afternoon - get a room at one of the motels in the park. Prepare to be dumbstruck and make sure to take in the sunset, from the rim. I will break from tradition here, and say that unless you're going to spend a day or two hiking down in, you don't need more than this and maybe sunrise the next morning, to get the GC experience. There are other things much cooler out there- Bryce, Zion, Capitol Reef etc. are all amazing.

Another great thing to do is to get down to Lake Powell - we camped there once and it was magic.