# 1st timer: Grand Canyon vacation **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 2, 2015, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1st-timer-grand-canyon-vacation/721403 "2015-06-02T00:01:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2015, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1st-timer-grand-canyon-vacation/721403/21 "2015-06-11T15:19:02Z")
The only advice I can offer is “Don’t fall in.” Obvious, yes, but a rule I came closer to breaking than I cared to. (Well, I suppose there’s a corollary of “Make sure any buses you get on are well-maintained.” My one visit was brief, but not uneventful.) Magnificent place, though. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2015, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1st-timer-grand-canyon-vacation/721403/22 "2015-06-11T16:48:55Z")
[quote=“HubZilla, post:1, topic:721403”] A few caveats, as I’m traveling with small children. I imagine I’ll want to come back when they’re older, but now’s not the time for “only two days, are you crazy?” or “don’t go where the tourists go, there’s this 8-mile hike with stunning views away from the main roads.” With that in mind: [ul] [li]No North Rim[/ul][/li][/QUOTE] I get it and sympathize completely. I’m not trying to convince you otherwise. [Here is Toroweap Point](https://www.google.com/search?q=toroweap+point&biw=941&bih=746&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0CDAQsARqFQoTCMnJk4CKiMYCFUQYrAodu1IAeQ), one of my favorite places in the world, and it’ll still be there later whenever you want to make _that_ trip. What you don’t realize from the pics is that for most of these shots you’re standing with one foot on the solid plateau and one on a large, perched boulder and there’s a gap between your legs that falls off an appreciable difference. At least that was the case the last couple of times I went, albeit over a thirty year period. Heck, maybe it fell. ---
**Author:** ![HubZilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ccd318/32.png) [@HubZilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HubZilla)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2015, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1st-timer-grand-canyon-vacation/721403/23 "2015-06-11T20:45:33Z")
Thanks all for the advice and suggestions. > [@Deeg](#): > > There are lots of ranger-led activities. Your kids are about the right age for the Junior Ranger program (which ends with the induction of your kids as a Junior Ranger). Check to see if there are any star-gazing groups at night. Often amateur astronomers will set up powerful telescopes. It was at the GC that I saw the remnants of a nova (looked like a faint Cheerio). > > Unless your kids love to hike I’d say that any hiking below the rim, however short, will be tough. The trails down are very steep at the top and I don’t think you’ll get far enough down to see anything different before you have to turn around. We are doing the Hermit’s Rest trail, which I’ve read is not an easy one. However, it is a [Junior Ranger program](http://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/kidsyouth/jr_d-earth.htm), guided by a Ranger. So I’d imagine s/he would keep a reasonable pace and not go too far. The TripAdvisor photos shows kids about their age on it. My kids are huge fans of the Junior Ranger program. The workbooks gives them something to search for and you must take a ranger program. We find we learn things too, more than wandering around and taking pictures. Last big road trip; they got Little Bighorn, Mt Rushmore, Badlands, Devils Tower, and Yellowstone. This trip they’ll earn Sequoia, Death Valley, and Yosemite, too. Quite a collection for [two kids](https://picasaweb.google.com/116780544596426756582/YellowstoneJuniorRangers#5919699037008399442) stranded on an island in the middle of the Pacific. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1st-timer-grand-canyon-vacation/721403/24 "2015-06-12T19:08:40Z")
> [@Balance](#): > > The only advice I can offer is “Don’t fall in.” Obvious, yes, but a rule I came closer to breaking than I cared to. (Well, I suppose there’s a corollary of “Make sure any buses you get on are well-maintained.” My one visit was brief, but not uneventful.) > > Magnificent place, though. So your username is kinda like the 6’11" guy being called Tiny? 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1st-timer-grand-canyon-vacation/721403.md?page=1)