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Thread: Trip to Vegas/Grand Canyon

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
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    Trip to Vegas/Grand Canyon

    Last year I ask about taking my family to DC and got some great suggestions from my friends on the Creek. This summer we are going to Vegas/Grand Canyon. My question is about the Grand Canyon there is more to it then I thought We will be based in Vegas but the trip is really to see the Grand Canyon - I was thinking of leave Vegas early one morning Traveling out the Canyon until dark stay at a hotel and then travel the next day ending back at Vegas the next night. Anyone done that or have suggestions spots to stop or hotel to stay that night? We will be flying into vegas at night and have 4 days for our trip with a car for travel but would like to keep the Grand Canyon to 2 days. Thanks Dave
    Last edited by Dave Bonde; 03-24-2011 at 12:20 PM.

  2. #2
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    There is a place to stay at the bottom of the canyon. Yo9u hike down, spend the night and hike back up. It is supposed to be one of the best ways to see the canyon. Personally I would skip Vegas and go to Santa Fe and then the canyon.
    Lee Schierer
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  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
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    Chelmsford Mass
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    Dave
    There are several hotels in the park on the south rim of the Canyon. Non of them are cheap and in season they fill up quickly. However, the views of the Canyon at sunset and early morning are fantastic and the crowds are lower. Check with the National Park website and there should be a link to the park hotels.

    Enjoy the trip and enjoy the Canyon

  4. #4
    +1 what Stan said about the availability of rooms. Check NOW, but I wouldn't be surprised to hear they're sold out. +1 also to what he said about dusk and dawn being the best times. Do not sleep in. Dress warm and be outside an hour and a half before posted sunrise.

    Just something else to consider here: Perhaps Zion National Park? It's a smaller park so you'll be able to take most of it in on an overnight. Some great two-three hour hikes that get you somewhere (the long hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and back up when you're tired is no walk in the park, to say nothing of the SERIOUS summer heat in the Grand Canyon). But the biggest difference to Grand Canyon/Bryce/Canyonlands/etc is that at Zion, you are in the bottom of the canyons looking up instead of on the rim looking down. Different experience. Plus St. George, UT, is close and there are always rooms available there if they are unavailable in Springdale. Zion's about 2-1/2 hours from Vegas.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
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    Northern Utah
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    I stayed at the Grand Canyon last year, fifteen feet from the rim. Here's a good website http://www.frommers.com/destinations...30_indacc.html
    What month are you going? Take the mule trip down to the botton.
    You can stay in Flagstaff, 2-1/2 hrs away, but don't miss Meteor Crator.
    http://www.meteorcrater.com/
    Last edited by John Fabre; 03-24-2011 at 3:56 PM.

  6. #6
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    Dec 2003
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    SF Bay Area, CA
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    We stayed in Vegas...did Zion the next day and stayed in Cameron, AZ...went through the GC the next day and then down to Flagstaff to crash...did Meteor Crater the following day and then back to Flagstaff and down to Phoenix to visit some friends.
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  7. #7
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
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    SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS
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    Dave,

    I do this trip once a year and there are two ways to approach this depending on your interest level of the GC. I have made a one day trip from Vegas which is about a 4 hour drive one way to the South rim. Spent about five hours going from lookout to lookout and then headed back to Vegas. After a while the lookouts start looking the same, at least to us so five hours was more than enough. If you want to spend more time there I would suggest leaving Vagas late evening and stopping at Williams Az. for the night; 3 hour drive. It is a small town on IH 40 about an hours drive south of the GC. You can either drive up there the next day or there is a Grand Canyon train which takes you up there through some really pretty country. The down side to the train is that you are dependent on the transportation up there not having your car. If you are making a two day trip maybe one day with the train roundtrip and the next with the car and at the end of the second day it's back to Vegas. Check on the Williams Az. website; I believe they have info/links for the GC train. In any event, have a great time!! I am envious of you because my annual odessey to that part of the country is not for another six months.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
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    Pueblo West, CO
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    I worked in Williams Az for a few years. If you are doming from Vegas I would suggest you go to the North Rim rather than the south. It is less crowded and the views are equal or better in my opinion. If you can get reservations, you can stay at Jacob Lake which is South of Fredonia/Kanab. There are more motels in Kanab. That would also put you close to Bryce and Zion should you want to see those. The South Rim can be very busy and hard to get around in the summer.

  9. #9
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    Mar 2003
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    Iowa
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    Thanks guys I really appreciate all the information. We are going the end of July, I'm sure it will be HOT. Dave

  10. #10
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    Neither rim of the Grand Canyon gets very hot- maybe 85 or so. A hike into the canyon is another matter. The north rim is higher elevation and cooler than the South Rim

  11. #11
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    Feb 2007
    Location
    El Dorado Hills, CA
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    We were considering a similar trip this summer, but will probably opt for something closer. In any event, Hoover dam is out that way, and I understand there are tours. Might be an interesting stop if you're into that sort of thing. It is an impressive structure.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    May 2004
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    Oklahoma City, OK
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    476
    I hiked the canyon in about May, 1990. The weather was around 65 on the south rim when we started down but was about 95 in the bottom. It snowed the night after we hiked out on the south rim so the weather can go crazy certain times of the year.

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