grand canyon trip planning?

Question

I would like to go to Grand Canyon in March. Will it be too cold and dangerous to drive? Which airport is the best to fly to? I plan to stay for 4-5 days not sure if it's enough. Is it resonable time to see north and south rim? Should i stay at one hotel and hop around or i should change the hotel in between. I am new to the US and have never been around that area. Any suggestion will be highly appreciated.
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Answer 1

March is a great time for hiking at the canyon and not a bad time for a general visit. Highs will be in the 50s (f) and lows below freezing - so dress warm. It is possible to get snow storms in northern Arizona well into April (the South Rim is at 7000 feet elevation), but they are generally short lived and since it is a major attraction roads are cleared quickly. Note that the North Rim (which is 1000 feet higher in elevation and less developed) is actually closed each winter until Mid-May.

Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix is the closest major airport to the canyon although both Flagstaff (90 miles from the canyon) and Tusayan village (right outside the park) both have small local airports that do have some regular scheduled flights (expensive). Your best bet is to probably fly into Phoenix and rent a car. It is about a 4 hour drive to the south rim - all along major highways.

Although there are a number of chain hotels outside the park boundary at Tusayan, the best place to stay (by far) is in one of the lodges inside the park itself. They are all very nice and nothing beats being able to walk from your room to the rim. The 1905 El Tovar Lodge is the most grand (and most expensive), Bright Angel Lodge is the cheapest (some rooms have a shared bath), Thunderbird and Kachina have the best views and the most modern rooms (although they are kinda ugly) and Maswik is a nice combination of good price, nice room and easy parking. All the lodges in the park are ran by Xanterra and you can make reservations online (better do it soon - they fill up fast). See link at bottom.

The lodge at the bottom of the canyon that the poster above refers to is 'Phantom Ranch' which is actually a small number of cabins and dorm rooms at the bottom. Reservations at Phantom Ranch are booked up to a year in advance, so it is unlikely that there are any openings for this March (although you can sometimes get lucky with last minute cancellations). If you stay at Phantom Ranch, you must hike or take a mule down.

As for things to see and do... well, the main thing is the canyon, of course, and it is rightfully one of the wonders of the world. It is especially dramatic at sunset or sunrise when the light really plays off the canyon. There are a number of nice overlooks all of which offer slightly different perspectives of the canyon. Yavapai Point gives a nice view of the river, Desertview Watch Tower gives a view of the very different eastern canyon and Grandview has nice views of Horseshoe Mesa (and it has trees).

However, the best way to see the canyon (in my opinion) is to hike down into it a ways and get the sense of really being 'in' the canyon with the walls rising around - very different experience than just staying on the rim. You do not have to go all the way to the bottom (in fact, the park strongly recommends that you do not try to go all the way to the bottom and back in a day). My choice of best short hike on the south rim is to go 1.4 miles down the South Kaibab Trail (near Yaki Point) to the reststop at Cedar Ridge - excellent views of the canyon and a good chance of seeing ravens and big horn sheep. Going a little ways down Bright Angel Trail (near the lodges) or Hermit trail is also nice.

Backpacking is a popular activity, but you need a permit from the backcountry office (near Maswik lodge) to spend a night camping inside the canyon. You can often get permits for the next day if you are waiting at the backcountry office when they open at 8AM. Note that for backpacking, you need all your own gear (packs, tents, sleeping bags, etc).

Other canyon activities include mule rides (half day down to Indian Gardens - make reservations) and taking the shuttle bus that runs from the lodges west to Hermit's Rest with many little stops and overlooks along the way (get on and off as you want). Aside from the views and the canyon, there are also many very interesting and historic buildings worth checking out - many were designed by famed Santa Fe railroad architect Mary Jane Colter. Interesting buildings include the 1905 Hopi House curio shop (built like an indian pueblo), the historic 1905 El Tovar Lodge (check out the lobby), Lookout Studio, Hermits Rest, Desertview Watchtower and Kolb's photo studio.

Unless you are planning on doing some heavy duty hiking in the canyon, 4-5 days is plenty of time to explore the south rim. You would probably even have time to check out other attractions in the area. Aside from the canyon area, some of the other interesting things in the area or on the way from Phoenix include:

Flagstaff - A historic lumber and railroad town that you will pass through (about 90 miles south of the canyon). Was a historic stop on Route 66 and has many historic buildings in the old downtown which now hold cafes, galleries and shops. Lowell Observatory (overlooking downtown) is where Pluto was discovered in 1930 and has a good museum. The Museum of Northern Arizona (on the way to the canyon) is also an excellent museum that often has exhibits of Native American art.

Sunset Crater and Wupatki National Monument - Just northeast of Flagstaff along highway AZ89. Sunset Crater is a volcanic field with lava beds and cinder cones. Wupatki is a prehistoric indian ruin - many great photo ops.

Cameron Trading Post (east of park along highway AZ89), Sunset Crater and Wupatki National Monument.

Sedona - Popular resort town around the famous 'red rocks' of Oak Creek canyon. Many resorts, cafes and galleries (very trendy and expensive place). Also some nice hiking trails.

Jerome - Historic copper mining town built on a steep mountain slope overlooking the Verde Valley (south of Sedona). Many historic 'old west' buildings and historical attractions .

Have fun!

Answer 2

It will most likely be cold. Grand Canyon is at 7000 feet above sea level. The closest major airports are Phoenix (about 4-4 1/2 hours drive time) and Las Vegas (4 1/2-5 hours drive time). It is reasonable to see both rims, however the north rim is only open May-Oct. It is 1000 feet higher than the south rim and gets much more snow so the Park Service closes it in the winter. The area where the hotels are (both in and out of the park) are close together so it doesn't make any sense to change hotels. I recommend staying outside the park. You'll get a better deal on your room rate. Don't worry about paying every day to get into the park. You pay the fee once and your pass is good for 7 days. I recommend you go to http://www.nps.gov It has all sorts of good info.

Answer 3

My one trip to the Grand Canyon was towards the beginning of March. We just did a day trip there - drove up from Phoenix the day before and stayed in Williams, AZ (which is about 2 hours north of Phoenix) and took a train to the canyon and then did a bus tour around the rim and drove back to Phoenix (actually Scottsdale) that night. I think they have something called the Ghost Lodge (or something like that) right down in the canyon where you could stay. There's also plenty of lodging around the canyon.

Answer 4

March can be cold but should be fine for a visit to the Grand Canyon. There will be some snow on the ground but nothing major. Depending on the weather conditions, driving may be somewhat of a challenge. Be prepared to deal with snow and/or hail if a storm front moves in while you're up there. The elevation is relatively high (7,000 feet at the south rim) so snow is likely in stormy weather. Chances are you'll be fine but I recommend checking the weather forecast as the time for your visit approaches.

Unfortunately, the north rim is closed for the winter and doesn't reopen until mid-May so you won't be able to get there. At any rate, most of the view points are on the south rim. That's because the Grand Canyon Lodge and park visitor center on the north rim are situated at a point overlooking the Bright Angel Canyon so you don't get a good view of the Grand Canyon. Cape Royal on the north rim offers great views but as I said earlier, the north doesn't open until mid-May. By the way, the drive from the Grand Canyon Village on the south rim to the Grand Canyon Lodge on the north rim is approximately 212 miles and will take you about 4 hours and 20 minutes to get there. Basically you have to drive around the canyon to get from one side to the other.

Since your stay will be limited to the south rim you should stay at one hotel/lodge in Grand Canyon Village for the duration of your visit. Bright Angel Lodge, Thunderbird Lodge, Kachina Lodge and the El Tovar Hotel are situated on the rim. Maswik Lodge is about a quarter of a mile from the rim in the forest and is a nice place to stay (my favorite). Yavapai Lodge is about a half mile from the rim in the forest and is also a nice place to stay although it's a little more remote than the Maswik.

Visit the web site below for information on Grand Canyon National Park and things to do/see there. The rim hikes are great if they're relatively free of snow. Otherwise, be careful as sections of the rim trails are literally on the edge and not protected by guard rails.

I recommend you spend at least two full days at the south rim. Four to five days is probably too long to spend there unless you plan to do a lot of hiking. I don't recommend you venture down into the canyon unless you're prepared to do that and are in reasonably good condition for the trek back out. Phantom Ranch is located at the bottom of the Bright Angel Canyon near the Colorado River. Many hikers will hike into the canyon, spend a night at Phantom Ranch and hike back out the following day. It's an 8 mile hike down the Bright Angel trail, which starts in Grand Canyon Village, to Phantom Ranch. You will be losing about 4,500 feet elevation so keep that in mind because you will have to hike up that same 4,500 feet to get out of the canyon.

The closest airport to the canyon is the Grand Canyon National Park airport located in Tusayan approximately 9 miles from Grand Canyon Village. It's a small airport so you'll have to fly into Las Vegas or Phoenix and take a connecting flight into Grand Canyon airport. If you don't want to do that, the next closest airport is Flagstaff. Again, you will probably have to take a connecting flight from a major airport to get there. You can also drive from either Las Vegas or Phoenix. Both are major airports. The drive from Las Vegas is 275 miles and will take almost 5 hours. The drive from Phoenix is approximately 230 miles and will take about 3 hours and 45 minutes. Drive times depend on the weather.

If you drive from Phoenix you should stop for a day or two in Sedona which is known for it's red rock formations. The town itself has sort of a new-age feel to it.

I hope this information is of some help to you. Welcome to the United States and do enjoy your visit to the Grand Canyon - one of the natural wonders of the world. When you have more time, you should also visit Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, Glacier National Park in Montana, Yosemite National Park in California, Denali National Park in Alaska and Hawaii Volcanoes National Park in Hawaii.

Answer 5

Yes, it is a good time. Shouldn't really be alot of snow on the ground if at all. Phoenix is a good airport to fly into. The Grand Canyon has a hotel right there, check into it. I'm from Arizona.

Answer 6

From Las Vegas, the only thing to do is Bearizona near Williams (my nephews LOVED it) Hoover Dam is really a suburb of Vegas (40 mins from the strip). It takes about 30mins to see, unless you want to go inside (I don't want to go inside!!!). I would go from Phoenix - you have Montezuma Castle National Monument, Sedona, Williams, Flagstaff, and the Painted Desert. You won't have time to see all these are your options. El Tovar is the BEST place to stay at the South Rim. You will want 2 nights and 3 days near the Canyon. Most airfare is priced as one-way now and you can return the car for free at another location when you rent from AAA. There are no extra fees if you in Phoenix and end in LV.