What else there to do at the Grand Canyon besides the obvious?

Question

My girlfriend and I are planning a short trip the Grand Canyon this coming weekend. I was just inquiring as to what else is there to do than stare at the canyon? It's a 5 hour drive or so, so around 10 hours round trip, just want to make sure it's worth it.
I heard it's only 2 hour more onto Vegas so we might do that, but I would perfeer to not have the 7 hour drive home. Any suggestions of what to do at the Grand Canyon or other places to visit that are near Phoenix, AZ?

Answer 1

actually its closer to 3.5 hours to Vegas depending on dam traffic.
Don't be so hard on the Canyon it is one of the most awe inspiring places on earth and it changes color every 20 minutes or so. You may very well discover that you wish you had more time to see it.
This is the Mr. Danger route :
take I-40 to Williams AZ exit 167 -make sure that you have at least 1/2 of gas tank before you leave Williams
take sr 64 to the jct of 180 at Valle AZ on the left will be Quick 2 Answers rock shop .however you will probably see the Lockheed Constellation first
Continue on 64 into the Park - stop by the over crowded visitors center and get oriented
for lunch you can either go to the upscale El Tovar or a notch or two below is the Bright Angel Lodge -both are on the Rim
Here's the good part:
Leaving the park take E . Rim drive -sr 64- towards Desert View
stop at all the over looks on the way out , particularly Grandview Point and Lipan Point
Exit the Park and and do the long sweeping fast downhill all the way to Cameron AZ- avoid smoking your brakes
If you need reasonably priced Navajo or Hopi jewelery there is a group of stands set up at the Little Colorado overlook 6 miles from the jct of US 89 haggling is acceptable
when you get to US 89 make a right and head towards Flagstaff
if you're still bored you can make a left when you see the sign for Wupatki /Sunset Crater National Monuments just south of the Sinagua trading post if you don't want to do the 30 mile loop and ancient ruins don't do it for you. Make the 2nd left for Sunset Crater, you will see reasonably fresh lava flows-1200 yerars old it looks like they were made yesterday . the turn proper is at the top of the pass
Still need more adventure ?
on the down hill run into Flagstaff there is a well maintained dirt road that cuts across the base of the mountain and is driveable in a car
It' called Shultz Pass road . As soon as you see your first house look for a right turn. The road will take you over to US 180 make a left and you're in Flagstaff

Answer 2

Oy!! Labor Day weekend at the Grand Canyon? It's going to be a zoo!

Looks like stevekc must be from Phoenix and decided to cut and paste the entire Phoenix guide. Don't bother. I mean, sure, there is some stuff to do in Phoenix, but it's still hotter than Hades there...wait till October at least to visit there.

If you insist on fighting holiday weekend crowds, Sedona was a good suggestion. If you're into the National Park thing, there are Sunset Crater and Wupatki National Monuments to the northeast of Flagstaff. Both can be toured in just a few hours and are well worth it and easy to add to a Grand Canyon trip.

Answer 3

If I were planning a 5 hour drive to the Grand Canyon, I would make it a real weekend getaway, as there really isn't anything at all close to the grand canyon to just pop over and see.

However, if you plan it out, you can make a loop, go see the canyon, then go into Flagstaff, stay the night, get a motel room at Little America, then go party at "The Zoo"!!!!!

Then in the morning, drive down to Sedona and Jerome, come back to your room in flagstaff, check out, drive to Williams, check out the back side of Williams, down by the dam, go for a little back country drive! If you can squeeze it in, instead of going to Williams right away, drive out East to the great meteor crater, and check that out, then go to Williams, or instead of going to Williams, just go out to Las Vegas and kick it for a night, then go home.

The point is, with a little research and planning, you can turn this trip into an adventure, and it is sooooooo worth it, if you love nature and Arizona anyway :)

There is a hell of a lot to see in Arizona that you just can't find ANYWHERE else!!!! :)

Try not to rush your trip, enjoy it, and see as much as possible! :)

Answer 4

South of the canyon, just beyond the turnoff to Flagstaff (like 50 feet on the right) is a "Rock Shop". Now here me out... This is only for the adventurous of soul.

You might be thinking ok, rare polished rocks, jewelry made from semi-precious stones, maybe even landscaping rock, that kind of stuff... NOPE!

Just individual plain ol' rocks! This lady has like 5 acres that are just covered in little piles of different kinds of rocks. It will really blow your mind that someone could open (AND KEEP RUNNING!) a business that just sells some rocks! This is too weird to pass up. As you can imagine, the conversations were funny, too! She is really quite a bizarre woman.

If you like odd, bizarre things, make the drive! I still remember it and it was a year ago!

Answer 5

I live in Arizona. You have to visit Sedona! It has some great scenic drives and hikes. Apart from that you'll find a lot of new age stuff -- meditation, Gypsy psychics, tarot card readers, etc. It is said that god may have created the Grand Canyon, but s/he lives in Sedona. Definitely worth a visit.

Answer 6

you might consider taking the train into the grand canyon instead of driving there-i've taken my kids on it several times and it's a total blast.

the train station is located in williams,az and the train ride into the canyon is about 1.5 hours. they will entertain you the whole trip up there-it's great....

you can also visit sedona which is about 2 hours south of flagstaff-it's really pretty w/alot of streams and places to hike, along with a few other things you might find interesting.....

i've attached the link for the train and for sedona....

http://www.thetrain.com/

http://www.visitsedona.com/

http://www.pr.state.az.us/Parks/parkhtml/sliderock.html

http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/coconino/recreation/red_rock/westfork-tr.shtml

http://www.lowell.edu/

http://www.meteorcrater.com/

Answer 7

1

Answer 8

I'm interested in this as well

Answer 9

Was asking myself the same question

Answer 10

Theres really not much there except the canyon itself and a few hotels. If you're not into sight-seeing or hiking and you don't want to spend the day in the hotel lounge getting hammered I would'nt bother making the long drive. I've been there twice and both times it was like a German/Japanese convention was going on.

You're better off just going to Phoenix. Plenty to do there.

Downtown

Downtown Phoenix at DaytimePhoenix's downtown area has recently been designated "Copper Square," although most locals still just call it "downtown." Incorporating the themes of Phoenix's early history with culture and local events, Copper Square is the name for the one-square-mile area surrounding Central Avenue and Jefferson Street. This area is a growing hotspot. Downtown attractions include the Arizona Science Center, Phoenix Museum of History and the Phoenix Art Museum. Also downtown is the Burton Barr Central Library. Downtown Phoenix currently features about twenty-five mid-rise and high-rise buildings ranging up to 39 stories tall. Only two skyscrapers reach over 400 feet tall (122 m), the latter of which was constructed in the 1970s. Phoenix has an unusually small downtown area for such a large city. This is largely due to four important factors:

There is very little historical housing stock precisely because Phoenix was so small—only 106,000 people in 1950. In addition, much of what little there was largely destroyed in the "urban renewal" movements of the 1960s and 1970s, for example, no equivalent of San Diego's Gaslamp District exists anywhere in Phoenix today. Thus, few historical structures remain, and today some of downtown Phoenix is pockmarked with vacant, dusty lots and unremarkable, under-utilized, one-story buildings. For comparison, in 1950, San Diego was more than three times as large as Phoenix. Dallas was more than four times as large, and Houston was almost six times larger. Even Kansas City, Missouri was over four times as large as Phoenix in 1950. Today, Phoenix has three times the population of Kansas City, but Phoenix's skyline has not kept pace.
Much of Phoenix's growth during the 1950s and 1960s was low density suburban sprawl, like that of most other American cities. The difference is that Phoenix had no real core of taller buildings. Zoning at the time largely favored mass subdivisions of inexpensive cement block homes at the edge of the ever-expanding city. Land was cheaper and there were few neighbors and little red tape. As a result, developers gravitated to the edges of the metropolitan area. This still continues today. Zoning favors large setbacks and ample parking requirements, with the result that parking in downtown Phoenix remains relatively easy and inexpensive. Wide streets and narrow sidewalks form the predominant nature of Phoenix's urban environment today.
Phoenix was an isolated small outpost far from the centers of power. Phoenix's tallest building from 1929 to 1961 was the Westward Ho, a 17-story hotel that is now a retirement home for seniors. In 1970, Phoenix's entire metropolitan population was less than one million, and was considered largely a retirement and tourist haven. At the same time, Dallas had well over two million residents and Los Angeles had seven million. Thus, much of the skyscraper-building frenzy that marked the downtowns of sunbelt cities like Dallas and Houston never occurred in Phoenix. Phoenix was considered too small and too remote to attract much significant commercial high-rise development during the 1960s and 1970s. It is also possible that the growing leviathans of Los Angeles (and to a lesser degree, Denver, Houston and Dallas) siphoned off some of the high-rise development that might have otherwise occurred in Phoenix. All of these cities were much larger than Phoenix and were seen as being much more progressive at the time.
Phoenix was anti-urban and still is, to some degree. A comprehensive freeway plan was resisted until 1985. At that time Phoenix was the largest metropolitan area (with almost two million residents) in the United States without a completed freeway or beltway system encircling and crossing the city, which created busy arterial streets. Sightlines and mountain views are important to residents. Many still oppose high-rises because views of the mountains are considered sacred, as evidenced by the recent rejection in 2005 of Donald Trump's 15-story high-rise project in the Biltmore area. Many people that came to Phoenix in the latter half of the 20th Century did so to escape "big city problems," so there is a natural tendency in Arizona to keep things small. As a result, much of the office space in Phoenix is located in low profile newer office parks in outlying areas of the city, and not in downtown high-rises like in other cities.
Copper Square, despite these shortcomings, has undergone a renaissance since the building of the US Airways Center (formerly America West Arena) in 1992 and Chase Field (formerly Bank One Ballpark) in 1998. Several new skyscrapers are under construction as of March 2006, with many more planned that will dramatically transform the skyline. These include:

Under Construction:
44 Monroe, a 34-story residential condo tower;
Phoenix Convention Center Hotel, a 31-story hotel;
Summit at Copper Square, a 22-story residential condo tower
Approved:
Central Park East, a 40-story mixed-use project;
Cosmopolitan Lofts, a 17-story residential condo tower;
RO3 (Phase III), a 16-story residential condo tower;
W Hotel, a 39-story hotel and condo tower, breaking ground in summer, 2006;
Proposed:
Cityscape, four 30 to 40-story mixed-use towers;
Copper Pointe Condominiums, three 40 to 45 story residential towers;
Park Place, Phase II, a 38-story mixed-use project;
For a list of other buildings in Phoenix, go to Emporis Phoenix.

There are a large number of high-rise proposals, some of which will likely not be built, due to the considerable amount of speculation occurring in Phoenix. Issues include skyrocketing land costs and ever-increasing construction costs, due to the shortage of concrete, steel and other construction materials. Other proposals not listed above include a third phase of Arizona Center, several "warehouse district" residential high-rises near the stadiums, several office projects and various other residential projects ranging from five to thirty stories in height.

A newly expanded convention center is under construction now, which will triple the amount of available space to nearly one million square feet. The name of the center was recently changed to the Phoenix Convention Center from Phoenix Civic Plaza, to reflect this $600 million investment.

A $1.2 billion light rail system called "The Metro" is also under construction. When the initial 20-mile (32 km) segment is completed in 2008, it will improve connections to downtown areas of Glendale, Phoenix, Tempe and Mesa. A downtown extension for Arizona State University is opening in fall 2006, with about 3,000 students. A much larger campus is planned, with up to 15,000 students by 2015. Some coffeehouses, restaurants, nightclubs and shopping in the area continue to draw people downtown for the slowly growing nightlife scene. Much more development is expected once the light rail line and downtown ASU are open.

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West Phoenix
Maryvale is the predominant neighborhood of the near west side, from about 35th Avenue west to 83rd Avenue and from I-10 north to the boundary with the suburb of Glendale at Camelback Road. First developed in the 1950s and 1960s by developer John F. Long, these neighborhoods include inexpensive homes largely developed in the 1950s. Like many older inner-ring suburbs around the United States, Maryvale is suffering some signs of urban decline as the belt of growth has passed by, moving ever outward. Shopping in this area is provided by Desert Sky Mall, and Cricket Pavilion offers an open-air entertainment amphitheatre for concerts and attractions. Because of the lower housing costs, Maryvale has attracted large numbers of families and immigrants from all over the world. It is one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the Phoenix metropolitan area.

The growing west side of Phoenix continues to spread outward. Newer suburbs are springing up, including Avondale, Goodyear and Buckeye. Further north, newer suburbs like Surprise, Peoria, El Mirage and the western end of Glendale are exploding with development.

Glendale is the first suburb of Phoenix moving northwest from downtown. It now has over 250,000 people, and downtown Glendale features many historic neighborhoods. Catlin Court has first-rate antique stores and shops, along with many restaurants and lodging opportunities. Further north is the newer Arrowhead Towne Center Mall, which affords shopping and diverse dining choices.

Cardinals Stadium is finally completed, and was opened to the public on August 10, 2006. Glendale. The Fiesta Bowl is moving to the stadium in 2007 and the 2008 Super Bowl (XLII) will be held at Cardinals Stadium. Glendale Arena was finshed a few years ago and now houses the Phoenix Coyotes NHL team. The proposed area around the two stadiums includes a semi-fashion district and up-scale shopping area named Westgate which has been in construction since the beginning of the Glendale Arena.

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Southwest
The "village" of Laveen (within the City of Phoenix) is growing fast with new moderately priced homes and new businesses. The proposed new Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway will link Laveen with Ahwatukee.

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South Phoenix
South Phoenix is generally considered to be the area between 35th Avenue to the west, 48th Street to the east, Van Buren Street to the north and South Mountain Avenue to the south. With about 400,000 residents South Phoenix is bursting at the seams. The community is helping to fuel the growth of one of the nation’s fastest growing cities, with golf courses and new housing developments appearing everywhere. But there are challenges to development in this area. About 30 percent of the South Phoenix population lives in poverty. Quality housing is in short supply. Most older homes were built by the homeowners themselves using adobe and wood, with construction methods that fail to meet current building codes. Low property values often make it unattractive for lenders to finance improvements on these older homes. Community development systems are still in their early stages, but over the last decade important steps have been taken to make quality, low-cost housing available.

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Ahwatukee
The community of Ahwatukee is located in the southeast corner of the Phoenix city limits, largely separated from the majority of the city by South Mountain. Ahwatukee residents are mostly older adults and urban professionals but also has many middle class families, and upscale apartments coexist with middle class and upscale housing. Housing prices rose over 40 percent in 2005, and the area has some of the most expensive homes in the city of Phoenix or in the southeastern metropolitan area.

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Northwest
Past the neighboring cities of Peoria and Glendale are the communities of Sun City, Sun City West, Youngtown, and Surprise. Hikers will enjoy the White Tank Mountain Regional Park. The Sun Cities and Youngtown are largely retirement communities. While Surprise is part of a booming mid to upper class segment of the Northwest valley. The city of Surprise recently built a spring training facility for the Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals, both a part of the MLB baseball league. An up-scale mall is proposed for the area including and surrounding the Surprise area which contains several small towns that have major plans for economic growth in the form of housing and small business development. Many such as Waddell have already constructed many up-scale houses in its boudaries. Transportation remains an issue for the Northwest valley because of its explosive growth although a proposed freeway has made its way through the process of getting approved and many hope it will meet is proposed build date of 2010. This freeway will eliminate the need to drive through more centralized cities to get home as the closest finished freeway is located 10-15 miles to the east through neighboring Peoria and Glendale. The 303 will grant the Greater Northwest Valley with excellent access to Downtown Phoenix as well as the east valley.

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East side
The eastern side of Phoenix contains some of the city's most desirable neighborhoods. The Biltmore area near 24th Street and Camelback Road has become Phoenix's ritziest intersection. Stretching east, several mid-rise offices and condos line what is known as the Camelback Corridor. The area gets its name from the Arizona Biltmore Resort. This Phoenix landmark has pampered guests since the 1920s. Its lush grounds and golf courses are surrounded by some of the most exclusive homes in the Valley. East of the Biltmore area is the Arcadia neighborhood. Located at the base of Camelback Mountain, Arcadia contains well-kept homes on large lots. Built on former citrus groves, Arcadia is known for well-irrigated, mature landscaping. Several yards prominently feature orange, lemon and grapefruit trees as reminders of the area's past.

The eastern suburbs of Phoenix are generally called the East Valley. The Northeast Valley is home to Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Fountain Hills, Carefree and Cave Creek. The Southeast Valley is home to Tempe, Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert, Queen Creek, and Apache Junction. Separating the Northeast Valley from the Southeast Valley is the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Reservation, which, with its vast farmland and open fields, is a stark contrast to the highly-developed surrounding suburbs. This 53,000 acre reservation is nearly entirely surrounded by East Valley suburbs: Fountain Hills to the northeast, Scottsdale to the northwest, Tempe to the southwest and Mesa to the southeast.

Although they are considered suburbs of Phoenix, many of the East Valley cities have quite unique identities and sizable populations of their own:

Sandwiched between Phoenix and Scottsdale is the small town of Paradise Valley. Northeast of downtown Phoenix and the Biltmore area (and on the other side of Camelback Mountain from Arcadia), Paradise Valley features the most expensive real estate in Arizona, and consists almost entirely of single-family homes on one acre lots. As a result, the median housing price reached $1.39 million in early 2006. This town of about 14,000 residents also has the highest per capita income in Arizona.

East of Paradise Valley and Arcadia is Scottsdale, with the signature tagline of being "The West's Most Western Town." Known for its world-class resorts, golf, clubs, and shopping, Scottsdale is the center of the Phoenix area's hospitality industry. The city features mostly upscale housing, with a median housing value of about $570,000 in early 2006. The newest and most expensive parts of Scottsdale are in the northern parts of the city abutting the McDowell Mountains, but Scottsdale also has a rather dynamic downtown area. Nearly 2,000 residential units are under construction in and around Old Town, with some mid-rise buildings reaching up to thirteen stories tall. This $2 billion in residential redevelopment is changing downtown Scottsdale's image of staid art galleries and tourist-oriented shops. For many years now, downtown Scottsdale has been the hub of ultra-hip nightlife and fine dining. South of downtown, the southern portion of Scottsdale contains many neighborhoods dating from the Valley's post-war boom. Plans by Arizona State University to build a bioscience campus in south Scottsdale have helped spark a renewed interest in the area.

Located south of Scottsdale, Tempe is the home of Arizona State University and the Sun Devils. Tempe boasts a vibrant economy, liveable neighborhoods, and the Valley's most dynamic downtown. Tempe is second only to central Phoenix as an employment hub in the Valley. Downtown Tempe centers on Mill Avenue, where an eclectic mix of restaurants, night clubs and shopping attracts a wide range of visitors. Local festivals such as Oktoberfest, the Fall Festival of the Arts, and the New Years Eve Block Party (the largest in the southwest and routinely ranked as one of the top ten in the country) are extremely popular on Mill Avenue. High-density residential development has also taken off in recent years, with at least a dozen residential high-rises under construction or in the planning phases, ranging up to 30 stories tall. Just north of downtown, the city has constructed Tempe Town Lake in the dry bed of the Salt River. The lake's unique urban setting has created a building boom along its shores. The roughly two-mile-long lake is also the only place in the Phoenix area where sailboats are a common sight. Arizona State University is located just south of Town Lake and to the east of downtown Tempe. With over 50,000 students on its main campus, ASU is now the largest university in the country. The synergistic relationship between Tempe and ASU is vital to the city's economy. Beyond downtown and ASU, Tempe is made up of mostly single-family residential neighborhoods. The city's housing values have risen dramatically in recent years with many people drawn to Tempe's central location and homes with mature trees and landscaping. South Tempe has some of the southeast Valley's priciest homes.

East of Tempe is Mesa, the third-largest city in Arizona with nearly 450,000 people. Known for its affordable, family-oriented neighborhoods and strong Mormon roots, Mesa is still largely a bedroom community. Downtown Mesa has struggled to attract businesses and new development; however, the recent completion of the Mesa Arts Center has raised hopes that the area will see a turnaround. Following a massive boom in the 1970s and 80s, Mesa is working on asserting itself as a major player in the Valley and finding ways to step out of Phoenix's shadow. The area around Mesa's Williams Gateway Airport is poised to become a major employment hub in the southeast Valley and the airport hopes to establish regular commercial airline service.

South of Mesa, Chandler remained largely an agricultural community until a major growth spurt beginning in the 1970s and accelerating through the 1990s. Much of Chandler houses young families and middle-class professionals in newer stucco and tile developments. With a large Intel presence, the city has also established itself as a center of the high-tech industry in the Valley.

East of Chandler is the town of Gilbert. A small farming community of 5000 in 1980, Gilbert is today a city of over 160,000. Despite this dizzying growth, Gilbert tries hard to retain its small-town feel and agricultural heritage. The town is largely a bedroom community, but with the completion of the Santan Freeway (Loop 202), Gilbert is seeing a flood of new economic development along this future transportation corridor.