Grand Canyon and surrounding areas in July 2010 Need Help Planning!!!

Are you going to stay all 10 nights in one area or travel to diffent states?

Grand Canyon is AMAZING! You will want to visit the South Rim. Pack a picnic - there are great places to have one.

We stayed inside the park once in the hotel on site - it reminded me of a bad dorm room, I do not recommend it.

Arizona is beautiful if you are looking for different areas.

Grand Canyon is a big "wow", but it is not at the top of my favorite National Parks list. After you have seen it, there isn't a lot to do unless you are hiking or rafting. I much prefer Zion/Bryce. Grand Canyon in July is very hot as well.
What about Yosemite or Yellowstone? Yellowstone is the best National Park experieince in my opinion.

A great trip we did last summer was southern Oregon, Northern California, this included Crater Lake and the Redwoods.

Do you plan to drive or fly?

Don't get me wrong about the Grand Canyon, it is something everyone should see at least once. I like it enough to have been 3 times and plan on going 2 more times, to accomplish what I want to do and see there. I plan on hiking to Havasu Falls and Rim to Rim. There is just a ton of stuff to do in and around Zion and Bryce. If the Grand Canyon is a 10 on the wow factor, Zion and Bryce are 9+. Zion and Bryce are 10 on "things to do". Grand Canyon is a 3 or 4 in that category.

Sequoia National Park is another good one and it isn't as crowded.

Mesa Verde/Durango is a very fun trip as well. You can take the train from Durango and Zipline. You could also throw in a little of the Four Corners/Monument Valley on this trip.

I guess another question would be-how adventurous are you and your kids?

Grand Canyon is good for one night and day's stay. What else are you interested in?

If I were looking for a national park to visit in the west, the Grand Canyon would not be my first choice. It's interesting, but it's a long way from anything else and there's a limited number of things to do unless you are hard-core hikers who are willing to take the risk of going down into the canyon and then having to hike back up.

If you have 10 days, you could do the San Francisco Bay area along with Yosemite National Park, which you can do in a long-day trip out of the Bay Area. There are also places to stay outside of the park where you can spend the night.

Yellowstone is amazing, and Grand Teton is gorgeous. From Yellowstone it's an easy drive down to Cody, WY which has a wonderful museum, and a rodeo every night. Yes it's touristy but it's a hoot. We stayed in WEst Yellowstone rather than staying in the park, which saved a lot of money but required driving in and out of the park every day. The Jackson Lodge in Teton NP is a must-see, even if you don't stay there.

The Seattle area is also fascinating. There's Olympic National Park and Mount Rainier, and Seattle is lovely. Pike's Market is fun, and there's as great day's trip out on the ferry to Friday Harbor and the Orcas Islands. Once you're in Friday Harbor you can rent scooters and go around the island (might be difficult given the number of children and adults in your family).

If you do Grand Canyon, then for that amount of time you might fly into Las Vegas and see Grand Canyon, Bryce and Zion National Parks - that would make a nice trip of that length. One advantage of this itinerary is that airfares are often reasonable into Ls Vegas.

One thing that takes some getting used to, also coming from the east (although northeast) is how far apart things are and how little there is between Point A and Point B, especially for kids - scenery, desert, cacti only goes so far. Don't make the mistake of saying to yourself - "we have come this far, let's just go and see..." You will end up with a drive-by vacation.

But, if you have never been west, I might make this first trip to Yellowstone instead. No offense to the Grand Canyon, as it is amazing and something my kids still talk about seeing, but since you are not likely to hike to the bottom with kids that age, it is still a big hole in the ground - with not much else in proximity.

Yellowstone National Park (and adjacent Grand Teton) could easily occupy your entire family for that time - and is more varied with some activities such as short hikes/walks, white water rafting, float trips plus great big animals walking around your car (bison, moose). Disadvantage is that airfare into the most likely airport (Jackson) is usually higher than Las Vegas - although flying into Salt Lake City and driving for a day can reduce that cost.

Either way, enjoy your travels with the kids - and many more trips.

I think your kids are kind of young for what the Grand Canyon s mostly about - the mule ride down or hikes etc - and it is VERY hot in midsummer. With kids that age I would head for Yosemite or Yellowstone - which have much more to do/see and weather than is les extreme - as well as the opportunity to do a couple of different places in your 10 days.

(Grand Canyon works best in spring or fall - and with Las Vegas IMHO)

Oh - and my best experience of Grand canyon was a flight from CA back to NY when we happened to have an incredibly cloudless day and got to see the Canyon form 25,000 feet. It is SO huge that only something like this gives you a true perspective on how huge it is.

We are up for moving around. We have never been out west and want to see the best the west has to offer.

Great places in the west

Yellowstone/Tetons
Sequoia/Kings Canyon
Columbia River Gorge/Portland
Oregon Coast/Crater Lake/Redwoods
Arches
Zion/bryce
Carlsbad
Grand Canyon
San Diego
San Francisco
Olympic
Yosemite

Are you flying or driving?

tkkmom- refer to the line in my post about not trying to see it all. Distances are enormous - with not much in between. You can not even touch what the west has to offer in this trip - but it will keep you planning and dreaming for more.

One idea. Fly into Las Vegas and spend the night (that is enough with kids that age). Stop at Hoover Dam on way out of town and end up at Zion National Park. Spend 2 nights. Drive to Bryce Canyon - spend 2 nights. Drive to Grand Canyon - spend 2 nights (we liked Bright Angel cabins - I thinl Grand Canyon is one park where it is especially important to stay in the Park). Then drive to Phoenix and fly home from there.

Other idea. Fly to Jackson, WY. Spend 3 nights in this area to see Grand Teton National Park (we like Teton Village condos - not right in Jackson but right by entrance to GTNP and as condos great for family). Do a float trip. See some moose. Then on to Yellowstone - pick 2 or even 3 different places to stay, each 2-3 nights. We did West Yellowstone and Gardiner (look at a map of the park, it will make sense - difficult not to move around). There are 2 loops of a "figure 8" roadway in Park and you will find plenty to do each day. Most posters here urge you to stay in-the-Park, and that can certainly enhance the experience. But Park lodging can be more expensive. We admit that the TV, pool, food options of out-of-Park lodging appealed more to our kids - and both Gardiner and West Yellowstone are less than a mile from entrance to Park. In each town we got a mini-suite we could all comfortably fit into - something you will not find in the Park. You can do rafting from Gardiner.

Drive back to Jackson and fly home.

There is a lot to see in the area. I would consider limiting yourself to the area between Prescott, AZ and Zion NP

This would include
Arizona

Mingus Mtn/Jerome
Verde Valley Railroad
Tuzigoot, MOntezuma's Castle/Well National Monuments
Sedona/slide rock/jeep tour/Oak Creek Canyon
Flagstaff - Lowell Observatory
Walnut Canyon, WUpatki/SUnset Crater Nat. Monuments
Grand Canyon
Petrified FOrest/Painted Desert NP, Meteor Crater
Canyon de chelle
Monument Valley
Lake Powell/Rainbow bridge, Antelope Canyon

Utah
Bryce Canyon, Pink Sands State Park , Kodachrome State Park
Cedar Breaks Nat Mon
Zion NP

Plenty of very interesting places to visit and doable distances

It is hot - no, make that HOT - in July in Arizona. I would save this trip for spring break sometime and go to Yosemite or Yellowstone instead.

Lee Ann

Thank you for all your helpful ideas. It sure makes a huge difference when traveling to an unknown area. If anyone needs any help with a trip to Florida I sure can help.

Anyone coming from Florida is not going to be bothered by the heat. All these places are much cooler than Phoenix and have relatively low humidity