janellebc

Hello all,

My DH are in the very early stages of planning a trip to the south rim of the GC. He has been there before, I have not. We were not able to secure reservations at the Phantom ranch so we will not be hiking to the bottom. The plan is to fly in, rent a car stay 3 days in one of the park lodges and 3 nights outside the park. We enjoy hiking exploring, I love birding...
Any suggestions on things to see/not miss?
Thank you in advance for suggestions

tomfuller

I'm hoping you are flying in to Las Vegas and not SLC.
With 3 extra days I would be tempted to see Page and maybe Zion on the way back to Las Vegas.
If you use US 93 to get to Kingman, be sure to stop to see Hoover Dam.

DebitNM

It may be too late to get rooms IN the park. Call everyday, they have cancellations but they do tend to book a year in advance.

michelhuebeli

I have posted this elsewhere before, so ignore it if you've seen this piece of advice:

Stay in Flagstaff or even Sedona.

Instead of entering the GC National Park where everybody and his cousin does it, at the so-called "village" (not a pretty place...), enter at the Desert View station. It is fully equipped, with a restaurant, amenities, visitor center, plus a fabulous two-storey observation tower for good views and photo ops.

Then drive west and get out of the car at every pull-out - the views and the colors of the rocks (and, I guess, the rock types themselves) change at every turn. Magic. When you end up near the "village" you've seen much more than do the hordes who pile in there, not knowing what else there is to see.

This is it on Google Maps in relation to Flagstaff - well worth the detour up Highway 89 to Highway 64 which becomes the road that follows the South Rim once inside the park.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/De...4d-111.8280456

janellebc

We were planning on flying into Flagstaff... one of the things I hope to experience is sunrise and sunset on the rim....also star gazing, was thinking being close to rim would be more convenient....
Thank you for the ideas! Please keep suggestions coming....at this point we have two options for lodging the Grand hotel or the Yawapai lodge

emalloy

Book your lodging now and I prefer to be in the park. You get to be there when the day trippers have gone and don't have to drive in the dark when you want to see sunset or sunrise. The deer and elk tend to be on the roads all the time and are hard to see when it's dark.

If by grand hotel you mean elTovar, that is right on the rim and the nicest lodging in the park. elTovar is a bit more money, but Yavapai is only a short walk back. Yavapai is just a very ordinary motel type place. Have at least one meal in elTovar.

By the time you change planes etc. it will take about the same amount of travel time as going into Phoenix or Vegas. I look for the best price for air and car and use that as a base for where to fly into.

Do hike down into the canyon even if you don't go to the bottom. The rim trail is also nice, look for fossil sea life in the rocks just a bit past the Bright Angel area.

Talk to the rangers to find out where the condors are. We've seen them quite close to the Bright Angel area but the last time we were there they were all at an elk that had fallen into the canyon. Awesome if they fly near you, they are so big.

janellebc

Thanks! Yes, our plan is to explore hiking down part of the trails, just not to the bottom...
We are in decent shape, love to hike so the plan was to see what we can from the rim a near it,possibly drive out to see anything of interest outside the park as well. Looks like we wil be going either early October or mud September.

db6040

Absolutely, 100% you are right to want to stay in the park. It is best to be able to walk to the rim for sunrise and sunset and to be there once the tour busses depart. I would try to book lodging today - the lodges in the park can book up very far in advance, although cancellations do happen all the time. What is your plan for the other 3 days you mention for staying "outside the park"? Are you flying out of Flagstaff?

janellebc

Yes, we will fly in and out of Flafstaff. Probably take a drive to Sedona, I am going to look into other possible hikes to do a little birding. Any suggestions for outside the park? We will have a car and are up for exploring.

db6040

I don't think you could go wrong by spending those 3 nights in Sedona.

janellebc

Actually we were planning on doing a day trip to Sedona...
Is that an unreasonable distance to drive!

Podie

Flagstaff to Sedona is only 45 minutes through beautiful Oak Creek Canyon. The road is currently under construction but hopefully will be done by then.

mlgb

Yavapai should be fine. You can keep checking and maybe catch a cancellation. The biggest issue for me is how bad the food is inside the park. But you'll survive. We actually looked forward to McDonalds on the way out (there might be one in Tusayan.

I've only tried birding inside the park once, we walked the Rim trail from Mather Point one morning, and saw Grace's Warbler, mountain chickadee and Juniper Titmouse. You should also see the new species "Woodhouse's Jay" which was split off recently. Walk in the pine forests off the rim and you may see other species. yM friend found me my lifer green tailed towhee at the Desert View parking lot. Of course you'll want to ask when the best time is to look for condors, if they aren't around. I think we saw them in the afternoon near the Bright Angel end of the rim.

If you aren't already on ebird, I would use the Explore Hotspots search.

October should also get you some sparrows and migrating warblers. We found chipping sparrows plentiful on the lawns near Bright Angel.

Check the Prescott Audubon chapter for information.

Also Hawk Watch targets Lipan Point and Yaki Point so those might be places to practice your raptor ID (which I am terrible at).

janellebc

Thank you for the birding tips!! Really looking forward to seeing new species (to me)
I have never seen a roadrunner so that's big on my list!

jayne1973

We stayed as Maswick Lodge, which is very close to the Bright Angel Trailhead and super convenient for a partial-way hike in morning or evening. You can easily walk the rim down to El Tovar for a meal and the rim walk is great for general sightseeing.

The Flagstaff airport is tiny--quite interesting. Take a look at Williams, Arizona if you are at all interested in Old Route 66.

Podie

The construction through Oak Creek Canyon appears far from done as they've had minor setbacks with falling rocks. On a recent trip I was stopped three times for a total of an hour wait. Many of us who live in the area are making the one hour drive on I-17 these days, but I do recommend you go Oak Creek Canyon one way.

Sedona to the Grand Canyon is about two hours and you might want to overnight in Sedona. There are LOTS of Airbnb's here now, if you like them. If you do enter the park from the eastern side, on Rt 64, go one mile north of the 64/89 intersection and eat at Cameron Trading Post. Coolest place around.

jayne1973

Try for Maswick Lodge, which is near the rim and Bright Angel Trail--great for early morning hikes a little way down into the canyon. We liked it a lot, and it had a great pizza pub and good breakfasts in the cafeteria. It's an easy walk to El Tovar, where you should definitely have a meal and explore the property. Don't try to eat at sunset-- see that first and then eat.

Also at El Tovar, be sure to check out the little history display on the Harvey House girls, who worked at the hotel when it was one of the famous Harvey places along the rail lines.

StacyB

We stayed at Mastwick both times and it's great for sunrises and sunsets. The accommodations aren't deluxe, but solid and close. I agree with above--don't expect much from the food. There are cafeteria type spots for breakfast and lunch and they are adequate. I know you aren't going there for the food and hotels! The ranger talks are great. Stop and talk to them and ask questions. We were able to take a hike away from the crowds. (Sorry don't remember the trail name) Check out the small buildings on the side of the rim. One is a photographer's exhibit. We also attended the condor talk. It was so interesting then we were able to sit on the rocks and watch them ride the thermal drafts. It was magical and a memory I treasure. Enjoy your trip.