TIPS TO VISIT THE GRAND CANYON

Looking for tips to visit the Grand Canyon? Here we tell you our experience in this extraordinary corner of the world.

The time to pass the detour to Grand canyon when we traveled Route 66 it was hard, having it so close and not visiting it puts a little bad milk on you. But of course, we had an ace in the sleeve! We would visit it later, on our route along the west coast of the United States. And here we are, on our fourth day of the roadtrip along the West Coast, in front of the Grand Canyon of the Colorado, one of the most spectacular places on Earth, almost nothing!

We visit the part of South rim from Las Vegas. Here we tell you everything there is to see in the Grand Canyon, the viewpoints, the necessary time, how to get there and all the information You need to plan your visit.

There are two entrances on Highway 64 that reach this point of the Grand Canyon (apparently the most spectacular and the most worthwhile): in the south, if you arrive from Las Vegas through Williams, and in the east if you do from the Page area through Cameron.

From Las Vegas it's a long run, about 4 hours, so don't get too distracted, from Page It's about 2 hours of road to the Grand Canyon.

Go to Grand Canyon South Rim from Las Vegas. If you come from Las Vegas you can make a quick stop at the Hoover dam, Awesome! But do not spend more than 30 minutes, then you will need them! Mind you, you will see that there is a paid parking ($ 10) when entering, but skip it and keep going across the dam, on the other side there is free parking (and to spare, many cars come and go).

If you don't have a car you can sign up for tours like this.

Then you will go through a section of Route 66 Super interesting! Be sure to visit Seligman and Williams, two super recommended stops. We've talked about it in our Route 66 newspaper: stage 10 between Flagstaff and Kingman.

The first of all is to approach you until Grand Canyon Visitor Center, where there is a spectacular viewpoint (the Mather Point) over the canyon. From there you have the option of taking several free shuttles They take you to different points, or use your car to make the stops. Although it is best to walk a part of the Rim trail To really contemplate the vertiginous cliff and follow it closely for several sections.

Ideally, start the Rim Trail on foot from the Mather Point until the Yavapa Point (1.1 km), then return with the orange bus to the Visitor Center, take the blue bus to Hermits Rest Route Transfer and switch to the red bus until Trailview Overlook and make another stretch of the Rim Trail, until Hopi Point 2.4 km or Mojave Point which is 1.1 km ahead. If you feel like it you can continue the walk until Hermits Rest (it's laaaarga) or use the red bus stops.

If you do not feel like walking too much or do not have much time, you can do what we do: leave the car at the Visitor Center, do the first part of the Rim Trail to Yavapa Point (1.1 km) and then return with the orange bus . And use your own car for the different viewpoints. We end the day watching the sunset from the Desert View Watchtower.

There is also an option to rent a bike at the Visitor Center, but we don't see it interesting.

→ Park maps

We went especially to those in the eastern part, from the Visitor Center, so we missed some to visit, but from what they told us there and talking with a ranger, these are the most interesting:

• Mather Point
• Hopi Point
• Hermits Rest
• Grandview point
• Lipan Point (sunset)
• Desert View Watchtower (sunset)

In the Visitor Center they put a documentary film 20 minutes on the Grand Canyon, we didn't see it but it sure is interesting! But less impressive probably than the huge deer that graze on the sides of the road, or in the Visitor Center itself! In principle it is not recommended to approach less than 23 meters, but when you see one, it is sure that it is surrounded by a lot of Chinese taking pictures ... They do not look dangerous, just don't feed them!

Also, if you have no budget problems, an unforgettable thing to do is to fly over the canyon. Here you have a tour that includes helicopter and boat ride.

- Always check the official website updates about the state of the park, access roads, weather forecasts, etc.

- Download the map of the Grand Canyon to prepare your itinerary.

- We advise you to get up early if you leave Las Vegas, especially if you plan to stop at Hoover Dam and in some towns along Route 66.

- Get well sunscreen and hydrate, carry a bottle of water that you can fill in several points.

- Pets tied on walking tours are allowed.

- Whether you have paid this ticket or if you have the America the Beautiful pass, you will have to put the ticket (or pass) in a visible place when you leave the car in a parking lot.

- There are camping options, but only in enabled areas.

Good to have shared this day with you 🙂

We did it in a house between the towns of Page and Kanab, near Lake Powell. We rented a room with Airbnb and left for just over € 100. The house is in a somewhat remote place, but it is pretty good, the room had two beds, air conditioning and bathroom. You can get a € 35 discount if you make a new account from this link.

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Video: How to visit Grand Canyon south rim advice from a local (April 2024).