Tips for trip to Grand Canyon, other SW national parks

This summer, to celebrate our 5th anniversary, Left Hand of Dorkness and I will be taking a trip out West to visit Bryce, Zion, and Grand Canyon National Parks. Any tips or advice?

We’re planning to fly in from Charlotte and rent a car. What airport would be the best to fly in and out of?

We both enjoy hiking, but are probably interested in day hikes more than overnighters. (I get a bit cranky without a shower.) On the other hand, we definitely want to get out into the parks, not just view them from the windows of a tour bus.

Anything in particular that’s must-see or must-avoid?

Thanks!

I stayed at Grand Canyon Lodge, right on the edge of the S rim. Loved it, although it is a bit rustic. Watching the moon and sun come up is cool. I went on a helicopter ride over the canyon, but it was like a Sunday drive with Grandma. (I wanted to shoot the canyon, damnit!)
If I went back, I would like to take a helicopter flight down to the bottom, and perhaps stay there overnight, maybe with a ride down the river.

Don’t forget Sedona! Very touristy, but scenic and accessible.

Hmmm - so you are going to be in Utah and Arizona. Ok - The Grand Canyon is beautiful but it IS a tourist trap, there are beautiful places that rival it with-in 200 miles in each direction of the canyon. Personally, because I have an Arizona bias from living there and family there, I’d fly into Sky Harbor [Phoenix] and trave north on I-17. I’d go to Sedona and spend a night there, very beautiful, lots of quaint places to shop if you are into that, and the scenery is ABSOLUTELY amazing!!! I got engaged there, have spent long periods of time there and just love the energy and ambiance it carries.

From Sedona which is only a few miles off I-17 and 1.5 hours from Sky Harbor - you can travel north through Oak Creek Canyon and back onto I-17 just south of Flagstaff. VERY PRETTY DRIVE.

Then from Flag you can go north east to the Canyon. Are you spending the night there?

From the canyon you travel north on 89-A which is absolutely gorgeous up into Bryce and then West to Zion. You will most likely be going up through the Kaibab Plateau area which gives you a 175 miles vista south and east that is like looking across the states of Connecticut and Rhode Island put together. Kinda cool, especially from this guy who lives in CT now.

Check out this thread by Kalhound, it has a ton of info on places to visit around the SW, I post in it heavily as do other southwest lovers.

P.S. If you do go to Sedona you must go to Tlaquepaque. You can impress the folks working there by pronouncing it correctly it’s T-lock-ee-pock-ee. :slight_smile:

You may not be into Las Vegas, but you can probably get better deals for air/car rental by using it as a jumping off point.

There’s a goodly number of the southwestern parks are within a day’s drive of Vegas. You’ve got the Grand Canyon, Death Valley, Joshua Tree, King’s Canyon/Sequoya, Bryce Canyon, plus a few places closer to Vegas that are interesting, like Hoover Dam and Red Rocks (just outside of Vegas). You could even get to Yosemite or the Pacific coast from there within a day.

I prefer the north rim of the Grand Canyon to the south - higher elevation, cooler, lots of trees, feels less commercialized. It has no airport, so it’s not the place for helicopter tours.

At the north rim you’ll be a lot handier to Zion Park, Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef - all worthwhile. I consider Zion to be an under-appreciated gem - stunning scenery that you can get quite close to, and fine possibilities for interesting day hikes.

I agree with AnArky that Las Vegas could be the best starting point (cheap flights and rental cars). The town itself is not my cup of tea, though I understand that some find it appealing.

I absolutely love downtown Flagstaff. I’d try and schedule a weekday afternoon walking around and exploring, if you have the time.

Thanks, y’all. This is great.

It looks as though we can get slightly cheaper deals flying to Phoenix than Las Vegas. The parks that **An Arky **mentioned sound interesting, though. Would Las Vegas give us more options in terms of where to go?

Phlosphr, we’ll probably spend at least one night at the Grand Canyon. I know it’s very tourist-y, but, hell, it’s the Grand Canyon! I don’t want to miss it, but I also don’t want to spend most of our time there.

Xema, I’ve heard that Zion is incredible. That is definitely on our list of must-see places.

I’ve traveled throughout the US, Europe, and Thailand, but I’ve never been to the Southwest. I’m super-excited.

Ditto Xema. The North Rim is the place to be! Far from tourist traps, crowds, etc. and its geography is frankly more interesting (and stunning) than the South Rim.

But reserve your spots there early!!! There are a few places between Jacob Lake and the park entrance where one can find a rustic cabin, but outside them and the North Rim park lodge and campground, overnite accomodations are scarce.

Oh, and Zion is amazing, too!!!

Noted–visit North Rim and make reservations soon. I’m going to the library this afternoon, and I’ll try to find some travel guides.

How bad is the heat likely to be in mid-June? I’m a Carolina girl, so I know hot, but I’m used to humid, nasty, and sticky, not arid. Are bugs bad?

There are no mosquitos, if that’s what you mean. Too dry.

Seriously?! Hooray!! I’m used spending May through October slathered in Off. Those little fuckers looove me.

I haven’t been to the South Rim, so I can’t compare the two, but the North Rim was great when I stayed there. Like others have said, it’s very untouristy, and the Grand Canyon is still the Grand Canyon. It’s one place that lives up to everything people say about it.

When I was there, I camped out, so I have nothing to add about cabins.

Word. The Canyon is a must see (I just got back 2 weeks ago), but Bryce and Zion are a different kind of beautiful. Quite possibly the most beautiful spot on the planet.

Do the fly-over of the Canyon. It’s awesome.

Alternately, I would suggest flying into Grand Junction and checking out the Arches/Canyonlands area. (**IF **you can go in late spring or early fall–summer is too hot.) Base yourself in Moab and make daytrips from there.

State, not national, but Valley of Fire is AWESOME!

I agree that the Grand Canyon’s North Rim is way better than the South Rim, which is sort of like Disneyland.

Bryce Canyon is my favorite. Be sure to hike down into the hoodoos, not just look at them from the rim.

I also recommend Capital Reef, Arches and Canyonlands. And best of all, a day hike through Horshoe Canyon.

We just got back from Phoenix/Sedona. Never did make it to the Grand Canyon because it would have meant less time in Sedona.

I really enjoyed Walnut Canyon. Cliff-dwellers lived there around 1200AD and there are some nice ruins that you can visit. It’s a short distance from Sedona.

We also did a sunrise hot air balloon ride with a company called Northern Lights. There are others, but I’d recommend booking with the companies who have a 6 person max on the baskets. There was one company that took up 20 people at a time!

These are excellent suggestions. We’ll probably fly to Las Vegas, since it seems to be closest to most of these places, then get the hell out of town. Sedona sounds very cool, but we live in what sounds like the Sedona of the Southeast (we have our very own “positive energy vortex”–wanna come cleanse your crystals?), so I won’t feel too bad if we can’t work it in.

blondebear, since Left Hand is a teacher, we’re pretty limited in when we can go. Otherwise, we’d love to travel in the spring or fall.

Day hikes to the bottom of the canyon are from the South Rim, so that might be a consideration. June might be too hot for that, though.

If you’re flying into Vegas and want to experience the blazingest hardcore desert you can go up to Death Valley. You can cross Death Valley over to the Owens Valley in the shadow of Mt. Whitney and the Sierra Nevada then circle around to Vegas.

I haven’t been to the South Rim in 20+ years so I don’t know how it’s been developed since then. The North Rim is fantastic, but it seems farther removed from where the action is river and canyon-wise.