Grand Canyon Trip Tips

My family just had a fabulous week in Arizona, visiting the Grand Canyon and the surroundings. I've always felt a connection with the Canyon. 4 years ago at my company's Christmas Party, Gary gave William a travel book as Christmas gift. He asked us to randomly flick a page and the destination on that page should be the next place we travel to. Guess which place I got - the Grand Canyon of course!! Traveling thousands of miles to the US just to see the Grand Canyon sounded quite unrealistic back then. Not surprisingly, I didn't go, but I did mark the Grand Canyon at a special spot in my heart. 

So this was a belated trip! This was also a perfect one, because finding a place that none of my family members have traveled to isn't that easy.  But the Grand Canyon happened to be one! We really had a great time there. We loved the scenery, the sunshine, the hikes, the bike ride, the local art, the delicious steak meals... the list can go on and on. I strongly recommend you, my friends, to go see this natural wonder in the world in person. On one of the travel books,  I read that "There is of course no sense at all in trying to describe the Grand Canyon. Imagine ... the very heart of the world ... laid bare before our eyes! There is nothing between you and the undertaker except six thousand feet, more or less, of dazzling Arizona climate".  I know I won't be able to describe the beauty of the Grand Canyon very well. All I will do is to show you some pictures, write down tips of the trip and encourage you to go there in person! 

Things to do before the trip:

1. Buy a good travel book and get a brief idea of the layout of the Grand Canyon. The one we used was Fodor's Arizona & the Grand Canyon 2010. It's pretty good. You can also look at Frommer's Grand Canyon National Park. Both of the books include good description of the history of the Canyon, route suggestions, hotel suggestions, restaurant suggestions and pullout maps. 

2. Decide on which rim to go. There are 3, South Rim, North Rim and West Rim. Before I went to the Grand Canyon, I was so bummed that we wouldn't have enough time to go all three of them. After the trip, I can confidently tell you that one is enough!! South Rim is the most popular one. 90% of the visitors go there. Along the rim, there are many beautiful lookout spots, quite a few resorts and hotels, and even camping sites. However, there is only one hotel on the North Rim. Both North and South Rims are along the same stretch of the Canyon, so you have more or less the same views. But  the North Rim is about 1000 feet higher than the South Rim. It's only open from May to Oct., and is harder to hike down too. You might make the choice based on your own interests and physical status. As for the West Rim, it's about 5 hrs drive away, at a less popular stretch of the Canyon. What makes the West Rim famous is the mega structure - SkyWalk. It's a horse shoe shaped glass lookout platform. We heard it's pretty cool but very pricey. It cost $80 per person to get on the platform, and you are not allowed to bring camera with you. The service people will sell you pictures at $30/picture. The view of the Canyon from the West Rim is less classic, because he Canyon is less orange/red there. But if you like to experience white water rafting, and the native American culture, the West Rim is a great place to go. The West Rim is the only place that offers one-day white water rafting at the price of $380/boat. At the South and North Rims, you will have to sign up for a minimum 3-day white water rafting trip. 

3. Book hotels ahead of time - way ahead of time. The hotels in the Canyon are usually booked out half or 1 year ahead of time. Read the pros and cons of the hotels from your tour book and pick one. I suggest either Bright Angel Lodge or El Tovar Hotel. Both are historic landmarks of the Grand Canyon and are well-positioned in the center of the Canyon.

4. Book hiking trips with local travel company. You can of course do all the hikes by yourself, but a good guide can take you to the best spots and tell you a lot of things you don't know about the canyon. They can carry food, water and hiking equipment for you as well. This is definitely money worth spending!  The one we used is called Angel Gate. Our guide Molly is totally awesome. She recently graduated from the University of West Kentucky, majoring in Geology!!! A geologist is the best type of guide we can ask for. She is very knowledgeable about the history of the Canyon, the hikes, the rocks, the plants ... Feel free to call Angel Gate and ask for Molly if you want a great guide.

5. Swing by Sedona if you an extra day. This beautiful red-rock city has appeared in over 50 Hollywood movies. There are many art galleries there if you need to look for a souvenir. The 45 minutes drive from Flagstaff to Sedona is the most scenic mountain drive I have ever get on. You will see cliffs, red rocks, green valleys, creeks along the way.

I went to the South Rim, if you go there. Here is my suggested itinerary.  

Make it a 5 day trip.  

D1:  

Flying in Phoenix in the morning, and drive to the Grand Canyon (2 and a half hours). The plane tickets to Phoenix is a lot cheaper than to Flagstaff (a town that's 1 1/2 hrs away from the Grand Canyon), and the scenery along the road is just beautiful. You will see the distinctive change of landscape, vegetation and weather. Phoenix is at the bottom of a valley, so it's very desert like. You will see lots of cactus along the highway - tree like cactus!! As you ascend, you will first see sage grass, and then pine trees. The Grand Canyon is about 6000-7000 feet above sea level and is about 20-30 degrees cooler than Phoenix. The best part of the drive is the speed limit is 75mile/hr, which is 15 miles higher than most other states. If you miss drive high speed, this is definitely the way to go.

Stay the first night at one of the hotels along the Rim. In the afternoon, drive along the rim and stop by lookout spots. It will give you a brief of how big and long the Grand Canyon is. Find a good spot for  sunset and a gaze at the stars at night. 

D2-3:

Choice 1 

Hop on a mule and go down to the bottom of the  Canyon through Bright Angel Trail - the most popular trail - 9.6 miles each way, and spend the night at Bright Angel Camp ground. 

Choice 2

Hike down to Colorado River through South Kaibab  trail on foot - the 2nd most popular trail - 8 miles each way, and spend the night at the Phantom Range. Note that this is a quite steep trail. Every step going down, you will need to climb back. Be sure you have good hiking boots!

D4: 

See sunrise at the Grand Canyon and then head over to Sedona. There is a Hyatt Hotel there. A great place to stay for sure. After you check in, drive to Coffee Pot for breakfast. It serves 101 types of omelets. Afterwards, drive over to Bell Rock, rent a bicycle from the bike shop nearby. Get on Red Rock Trail - 3.5 miles each way. It's a great way to see the red rocks. 

After the hot ride, you might want to cool down. Drive over to Slide Rock State Park. You can plunge down a natural rock slide into a natural swimming hole. Make sure to bring your swimming suit and towel with you. We didn't bring, but we still plunged in! 

Afterwards, time to just relax. Treat yourself with a nice spa at the hotel. Before you head out to the central shopping complexes and then a delicious dinner at the Cowboy Club. 

D5:

Sleep in, and then drive back to Phoenix to hop on an afternoon flight to go back home!

Enjoy the Grand Canyon, everyone!

For more pictures of my Grand Canyon trip, click on http://www.flickr.com/photos/shnatalie/sets/72157624706285628/