Can anyone help plan a family Grand Canyon area trip?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
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Hey, guys. I’m planning on taking the family out to the Grand Canyon the first week in October, and I’m looking for input from anybody in the area, or anybody who’s been there. We’re flying into Vegason the first, flying out on the 9th, so we’ve got some time to fill. I thought maybe a big loop going through the Hoover Dam, down to Route 66, across to Williams would be good. I was preliminarily thinking we stay in Williams, take the Grand Canyon railroad up one day, stay overnight, then back down to Williams the next day. Other than that, it’s all open. What else is there that’s good for a family? I see there’s a Grand Canyon cavern between Laughlin and Williams, is that worthwhile? And what about all the other stuff out there? The craters, Bryce Canyon? I’m hoping somebody can help!

If it helps, it’ll be me, my wife, our 6-year-old daugher, and a 1-year-old (thus precluding the mule trip down the canyon, darn it!). Thanks in advance!

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My husband and I honeymooned at the Grand Canyon and Vegas a few years ago.

I highly recommend going to the North rim and not the South. It is musch more unspoiled, and has many many fewer tourbuses etc. There is a very nice lodge that you can stay in, or nice campsites if you decide to stay overnight.

Bryce was beautiful - loved it though we didn’t do much more than day-hike.

If you are near enough have you thought about visiting Sedona? It is really neat - and your 6 year old might enjoy one of the jeep tours into the hills. Again it is achingly beautiful.

Also don’t neglect Vegas. It is much more family friendly than it used to be, and I bet your children will love to swim in the hotel pool. You can get rooms for pretty damn cheap in one of the “name” hotels. I think when we were there in September of 2000 our room at the Luxor was like $69 a night.

Have fun!

Twiddle

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First off, do NOT (repeat NOT) waste your time at the Grand Canyon Caverns. Rip-off, lame, roadside attraction. It caught my interest one time, and I took the long drive (it’s a bit of a hike off of the interstate). And boy was it ever disappointing.

Next, I would also recommend checking out the North rim. Far less touristy, great lodge, etc… Going north from Las Vegas, it also has the advantage of taking you right through Zion Canyon Natl. Park (you will need to drive through to get to the North Rim). Which, in and of itself, is a worthwhile trip.
The views from the north rim are beautiful, and different. Whether you go to the north or south rim (and given the time you have, only choose one - it is a long drive around), keep in mind it is high elevation. Early October will be an ideal time to visit, but it may get chilly at the rims - bring warm clothes.

If you do choose to go north, it is reasonable to do the “canyon loop”: Zion, Grand, and Bryce. Both Bryce and Zion are well worth seeing. And Bryce has the advantage of being smaller, and not as big a descent, so a dayhike is very reasonable.

Another option from the north is to head through Page, and go over to Monument Valley. It’s more of a drive-through place, and not really a “walk around” place. But it’s pretty cool to see in person, all these formations that are so familiar - you’ll immediately recognize it not only from all the old westerns, but just about every other SUV commercial these days as well :wink:

However, if you do choose the south rim, to maximize your time, I’d go ahead and book a room at one of the many lodges on the south rim. Not much in Williams, and if you’re going to stay, you might as well have that incredible view in your backyard. There are a number of lodges/motels, and so they vary in price. If nothing else, at least stop into the El Tovar just to look around.

And if you are going to visit the south rim, head over to Flagstaff and check out this small little canyon called Walnut Canyon. No where near as big as even Bryce, but it is really cool in that you can take this trail (complete with many stairs) down into the canyon and walk through the indian ruins. It is also just a stunning canyon to see. I’ve recommended it to a number of friends after I checked it out, and they’ve not been disappointed.

One last note on Las Vegas, once the over-the-top-ness of all the casinos gets to you (and it will), there is a lesser known, but amazingly pretty place to see very close by. Take Charleston Ave. (st. ?) west all the way past the subburbs to a place called Red Rocks. Stunning mountains with, you guessed it, red rocks. Really beautiful, and you can take some nice hikes through there as well. From the strip, it is only about a 20 minute drive.

Hope this helps

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It should probably be mentioned that you may not want to set your plans for going to the north rim. That very well may be an option, but call ahead and make sure the road is open–the north rim is about 2000 feet higher in elevation compared to the south rim, and in October I would imagine you begin to run the risk of the road being closed due to snow. Plan on going to the north rim if you like, but call the park just before you set out for the north rim, and be prepared to change your plans at the last minute if necessary.

Other than that, I second Zion National Park. Bryce Canyon N.P. looks really nice, too; in fact, I plan on going through there later this month, but I haven’t been there as of yet, so I can’t give a personal opinion on it.

Some other places you may want to consider (again, I haven’t been to these, these are just places I’ve considered going to on my own trip in a few days :D):

Coral Pink Sand Dunes S.P.–near Zion. I guess the name is a pretty good description, some hiking trails, also popular to take 4WD vehicles through the dunes.

Cedar Breaks National Monument–(near Zion). Not as much to do here in the way of activities, as I understand it, but great views.

Kodachrome Basin S.P.–(near Bryce Canyon). A colorful area named in 1948 after the Kodachrome film. Known for its “sandpipes” which, in some sense, are petrified geysers. Deposits accumulate in the geyser, turn to stone over time, eventually the surrounding land erodes away, leaving the sandpipe. Grosvenor Arch is also near here, about 10 miles further down the unpaved road–but it should be passable without a 4WD, unless it rains.

There’s a really beautiful slot canyon around Page, AZ, known as Antelope Canyon. It’s on Navajo land and is unfortunately somewhat expensive–around $25 a person for a one hour stay, I believe. I haven’t been there, and don’t plan on going due to the price (planning on going through Wall Street in Bryce Canyon, instead), but the pictures are really beautiful. This canyon hit the national news back in '97 when several people were killed by a flood–absolutely do not plan on going here if there are storms anywhere in the area–otherwise you should be fine.

Also in the general Vegas area, there’s Valley of Fire S.P., and, of course, Death Valley, both of which, unfortunately, I’m gonna have to save for another trip.

I hope that gives you some more interesting places to choose from; if you’re anything like me, you’ll want to hit 'em all! :smiley:

Have Fun!

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Off to MPSIMS.

DrMatrix - GQ Moderator

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When I was last there, there was a company that gave helicopter tours over the whole canyon. If this is still going on(and I would assume it is) ABSOLUTELY do it. It’s truly awe inspiring.

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Thanks for the help, you guys. Some of the ideas I had I am less sure of now, but I have even more ideas to think of now. I am now rethinking the idea of not going to the north edge (I had figured since it wasn’t as developed and “known” that it wouldn’t be as worthy). I may stay at the south side and swing around the north, after all, I do have a week to do it. And considering I’ll save some time by not going to the caverns (thanks for the warning (thanks Cormac!), I should be able to do it. Heck, we logged 3,000 miles in 10 days last summer, this should be no problem. We are planning on doing Hoover Dam, and I’ve heard a lot of people say that it was a high point of their trip.

BTW, we’re staying at the Treasure Island/Mirage when in Vegas. But the other hotels didn’t appear to be as inexpensive as I’d imagined they were.

Cabbage, I see you live somewhere around here. I’m in Apex. Thanks a million for the excellent links, you did a lot of my homework for me! I knew you guys would come through! Anyone else got anything they would like to add?