It had been a longtime dream to revisit Grand Canyon NP and bring my own children to see it. My first visit was in the summer before my 9th grade year. When we arrived to the first overlook, I told my father that I’d prefer to stay in the car reading my newly purchased “Seventeen” magazine. After all, I’d seen it from an airplane several years before.
My father loved to say that when he made me get out of the car, I was so awestruck that he couldn’t get me back in the car to see more of it. He’s right. Words, pictures and even seeing it from 30,000 feet above can’t adequately describe our nation’s 2nd most visited national park.
With over 6 million annual visitors, planning an itinerary can feel daunting. But unless you’re hiking to the bottom of the canyon, you can see Grand Canyon NP in 1-2 days.
While there is a North Rim, it usually doesn’t open until the summer and has fewer amenities and visitors. I visited the North Rim 18 years ago and found it isolating. But for someone who doesn’t like crowds, that may be a perfect trip. Just know that it’s a completely different experience and about a 200-mile drive. This post focuses on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.
South Rim Lodging
Lodging inside the park is slim with only a handful of choices. These include 4 properties directly on the rim: Bright Angel Lodge, Thunderbird, Kachina Lodge and El Tovar. Yuvapai and Maswik sit in the Grand Canyon Village, but aren’t on the rim. Of course, you could stay at Phantom Ranch at the bottom of the canyon, but you will have a 7-10 mile hike or mule ride to reach your destination!
Built in 1905, the 3-star El Tovar is the nicest of the Grand Canyon hotels, but can be pricey. The lobby gets crowded during the day as many people stop in to see it. Another option is to book reservations for the El Tovar Dining Room, while staying at a different property. The more budget-friendly Kachina Lodge and Thunderbird Lodge both sit next door. Although these “no-frills” lodges don’t have a lobby, they rooms are clean and family-friendly.
On the other side of Thunderbird sits Bright Angel Lodge. Opened in 1935, it offers a hub of activity with several dining options, a gift shop and the Bright Angel trail, one of only two trails that go to canyon floor.
Since, Flagstaff is about a 90-minute drive to the Grand Canyon, you can easily stay there and drive to the park for the day. However, if you can get reservations inside the park, it’s best to stay there. You’ll have the options to beat the crowds and catch both sunrise and sunset.
Because we booked this trip only 5 weeks in advance, lodging inside the park was unavailable. However, I checked the Grand Canyon Lodges website everyday and a room at Kachina Lodge opened up. Another friend checked with the front desk when visiting Grand Canyon and got a room at El Tovar that night. Parking at the hotels is also limited so once you get a spot, don’t move your car until it’s time to leave.
Evening in the Grand Canyon
Sunsets can be spectacular along the rim if the weather cooperates. Although we had some cloud cover, it was nice to get our bearings before eating dinner and going to bed. Once darkness settles in, there’s no good view of the canyon.
Sunrise
It’s absolutely worth it to get up to see the sunrise if staying in the park. I figured we’d roll out of bed and throw on lots of jackets, look at the sunrise and go back to bed. Instead, it was so beautiful that we got coffee the snack shop at Bright Angel Lodge (after they opened around 7 am) and started our day – before the crowds.
Trails
South Rim Trail
My husband walked the South Rim trail from our lodge to the visitor center. The relatively flat path took him past Mather Point.
Bright Angel Trail
Somewhere I read that only 3% of Grand Canyon visitors go below the rim. That was easy to remedy by taking part of the Bright Angel Trail.
Since the total trail to the bottom of the canyon is 9.3 miles, the park service advises hikers not to attempt a round trip in one day. For day hikers, turning around at Plateau Point (6 mile mark) offers a strenuous feel for the trail.
Fortunately, there are many other destinations and turn-around points including the 3 Mile Resthouse and 1.5 Mile Resthouse. Remember that what goes down, must come up and it usually takes more endurance and strength to do the latter.
A nice option is to hike down several switchbacks to the 2nd tunnel at the 0.75-mile point for a good 1.5-mile hike. As we walked down,we even saw snow! Although we wanted to explore further, we weren’t prepared with necessary equipment such as water bottles and hiking boots. I’m glad we turned around when we did because it was deceptive how steep we had travelled.
Although we didn’t travel far below the rim, the views were different. Because it was around 7:30 am, there was no crowd and we could enjoy listening to the sounds of nature.
Hermit’s Road
Grand Canyon NP has an extensive shuttle service. To reach the viewpoints along the 7-mile Hermit’s Road, visitors have to take the red line bus system most of the year.
Each of the 9 stops offers different vantage points of the canyon. Additionally, you can walk between the points on the rim trail. From Powell Point to Hopi Point is a short 0.3-mile walk, while the longest distance is the 1.7 miles from Monument Creek Vista to Pima Point. At Hermit’s Rest, visitors can buy snacks, refreshments, use the restrooms and take the Hermit Trail.
A highlight of stopping at some of these points is seeing the Colorado River. From the rim, it looks narrow as it snakes around the canyon floor. However, the river’s average width is 300 feet.
Dining
Back at Grand Canyon Village, we ate at Yavapai Tavern at Yavapai Lodge. The food inside the park isn’t bad, but it’s nothing to rave about either. We didn’t want to spend what little time we had in the park waiting for food in restaurants. The service was quick, casual and everything we wanted.
Visitor Center
The most crowded place in the park is the Visitor Center. With a large parking lot, the idea is that visitors will park their car and take the bus system, bicycles or hike around the rest of the park in order to alleviate vehicular congestion. Although busy, it is worth it to go inside and watch the movie that plays every 30 minutes to get a good overview of the park.
Desert View
The Grand Canyon looks different depending on the season, the time of day and even the weather. Up to this point, the weather had been mostly overcast. Since we were headed to Flagstaff, it was just as easy to exit the park via Desert View.
The clouds parted and the sun began to highlight some of the cliffs. By the time we got to Desert View, the colors seemed to pop out of the canyon.
For more information about Grand Canyon NP, click here.