The Grand Canyon

Most of the people that visit the canyon visit the south rim. It is open year-round, unless heavy weather forces road closures, and there is a lot of tourist buzz around the place. Just a few miles outside of the actual National Park, you will find Grand Canyon Village, complete with IMAX theater, helicopter rides, hotels, and shopping.

Inside the National Park on the South Rim, there are ranger talks going all day, shuttles running to and fro, camping (the Mather campground is full for most of the summer, so make reservations), and a general store.

Although there are a lot of people here on this side of the canyon, I actually saw a huge male deer (or elk, I'm not sure) on the side of the road in my last trip. He had big horns. The park is pretty big, and there is another campground on the other side of the south rim, but it's farther away from all the tourism.

Photo copyright 2009 Brooke Lorren.

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The North Rim of the Grand Canyon is closed during the winter, because heavy snowfall makes the roads impassable. You can enter the canyon if you are a cross-country skiier, but the roads will be closed, and very few rangers will be on staff.

Another thing that you'll notice about the North Rim is that there are fewer people. There is a campground there, and it also fills up quickly (make reservations well ahead of time). To get there, you will have to drive about 50 miles or so out of your way, so that probably deters some people. The North Rim looks different than the south rim, so it's well worth your visit.

If you look along the horizon in this photo, you can see smoke. There was a fire on the other side of the canyon that day.

Photo copyright 2009 Brooke Lorren.

If you've got a little extra money burning a hole in your pocket, you might be interested in visiting the Grand Canyon Skywalk. The Hualapai Indians built this, with a little help from a Chinese investor.

You have to take a bus to get to the Skywalk, which will cost you $30... however, to go onto Hualapai land, you'll have to pay another $45, so the cost of getting to the skywalk is $75 per person.

The skywalk is an engineering masterpiece. It sticks out 66 feet over the edge of the canyon, can hold up to 70 tons of weight, and was built to hold up to a magnitude 8 earthquake.

If you go on the Skywalk, there's nothing but glass between you and the floor of the Grand Canyon, 4000 feet below. That's more than the height of the tallest skyscraper! I'm sure the view is spectacular. Unfortunately, they won't let you take your camera out on the skywalk, but you can buy a picture for $29.

To get to the Grand Canyon Skywalk, you need to take Highway 93 (either North from Phoenix or South from Las Vegas). Take Stockton Hill Road to Pierce Ferry Road, and then turn on Diamond Bar Road. Diamond Bar Road is made of dirt and gravel, so plan plenty of time (up to an hour) driving that 14 mile stretch of road alone.

Photo by ComplexSimpleLLC and used under Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 license.

If you want to see some outstanding beauty, you can drive from rim to rim in one day. You can drive what is called the Grand Staircase, and you will see some absolutely amazing beauty. By taking the 89A, you wind down into what looks like the Grand Canyon. It's not the canyon, but you can turn in all directions and see canyon walls surrounding you. I'm pretty sure that I didn't go this route when I was a kid, because this is an absolutely spectacular drive.

On the day we made the drive, we left the North Rim at around 3:00. We hit the South Rim about 8:00, just as the sun was setting. If you leave the North Rim earlier in the day, you can do rim-to-rim before it gets dark. We did make several stops along the way, for pictures and the like. The picture here of the large rocks I think is called "cliff dwellers," and if you have kids, they can climb on the rocks and lots of people stop. It's a good place to take a break.

Photo copyright 2009 Brooke Lorren.

If you want to stay at the canyon, you better make reservations at recreation.gov. They will fill up, especially in the summer (remember, the North Rim is only open during the summer season).

• Mather campground - located on the south rim, there are no hookups, and you can take your 30 foot or shorter trailer, or you can take a tent. This campground was full when we visited.
  
• Desert view campground - this is on the opposite side of the south rim (away from a lot of the tourist stuff). This is first come, first served. You can also have up to 30 foot trailers, or tents. No hookups.
  
• North Rim Campground - you can stay on the North Rim, but it is recommended that you make a reservation. If the weather doesn't close the roads past mid-October, the campground is first come, first served. There are no hookups.
  
• DeMotte Campground - when driving to the North Rim, you will pass the DeMotte campground, which is operated by the forest service. There are no reservations.
  
• Grand Canyon Camper Village - this is located in the South Rim, outside of the park boundary. It is operated by a private owner. Although the Mather Campground was full, and I was arriving at about 9PM on July 30th, this campground had plenty of spaces left. If you're looking for a place to stay, you might want to try this out.

Would you like to let someone else do the driving? Sometimes taking a guided tour is the way to go. I took several bus tours when I lived in Italy, and it was great. Tours 4 Fun offers a lot of great tours to the Grand Canyon. You can take a day tour from Phoenix, Flagstaff, or Las Vegas; or, if you are interested in seeing more sights, you can include other destinations like Las Vegas, Disneyland, Yosemite, or San Francisco on your tour. The prices are pretty good too. For example, a three day bus tour from Los Angeles to the Grand Canyon west (where the skywalk is), Las Vegas, and the Hoover Dam is only $110. This includes a two night hotel stay in Las Vegas.

It can be costly to get into the Grand Canyon, so plan ahead.

• Vehicles - $25
  
• Yearly park pass - $50
  
• America the Beautiful season's pass - $80 (if you're going to be visiting several parks in the upcoming 12 months)
  
• Senior Pass - $10. If you're 62 or older, this will get you into any of the parks, and even better, it's a lifetime pass
  
• Access Pass - $0 - This is for permanently disabled people. Access to all of the parks.
  
• Volunteer Pass - $0 - If you volunteer 500 or more hours of your time, you can get into any of the parks for free, for a year.

Anybody (of any age) can become a junior ranger. The Junior Ranger program is available at any of the National Parks, but each park runs its program separately. At the Grand Canyon, you can become a Junior Ranger by talking to a park ranger. You will get a booklet, and will have to do various activities based on your age. You'll have to attend a program, fill out activities in a book, and take the ranger oath. It's a lot of fun. My little guy was able to complete the program (with help) at age 2, my seven year old did the program, and even I completed a badge.