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Has anyone done the "Loop Tour" of the Grand Canyon?

Has anyone done the "Loop Tour" of the Grand Canyon?

Old Jul 22nd, 2002, 11:42 AM
  #1  
nina
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Has anyone done the "Loop Tour" of the Grand Canyon?

I just saw a program on PBS about the old "Loop Tours" of the Grand Canyon and it's lodges and would love to recreate this for a family vacation next April.

If anyone has done this, can you help me with a few questions? Where did you start/end the tour? How many days would you recommend alloting? Did you find an itinerary or information on it anywhere? Are there any stops you would emphasize or avoid with 10 and 13 year old boys? Any hiking trails you could recommend?

I know it's a lot of questions, but I'm not sure where to begin for research. If anyone has any suggestions for publications or websites where I can go for info, I would appreciate it! Thank you.
 
Old Jul 22nd, 2002, 11:51 AM
  #2  
nina
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Also, It seems most people drive to the GC from Las Vegas, Phoenix or Albuquerque. Can anyone give me an estimate of travel time from any of these cities to the Grand Canyon? Thanks again.
 
Old Jul 22nd, 2002, 12:24 PM
  #3  
Neil
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Nina:

We recently returned from a 16 day family tour of the southwest, starting in Las Vegas and ending in Santa Fe. I posted a detailed trip report last week--you should be able to find it through a word search (try southwest or Zion or Bryce or Grand Canyon). If you want additional info, feel free to e-mail me. I spent a lot of time researching our trip, which was fabulous.
 
Old Jul 22nd, 2002, 12:32 PM
  #4  
Gayle
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We hiked the Grand Canyon many, many years ago. We wanted to do the "Loop Tour", but in May, the north rim was still closed. We (in our much younger days) hiked down the Kaibab (sp?) trail, camped overnight at the bottom for two nights, then hiked up the Bright Angel Trail camping at the midway point for one night. We were very young and poor and camping was the only option, though we looked longingly at the lodges!!

You may find it very cold at the rim in April. Keep that in mind. You need to make all reservations 6-8 months, or more in advance as lodge space is very limited.

This is a wonderful family trip and your boys will love it. You should be in good shape for most of the hiking and have pleny of ater. You need hiking permits too.
 
Old Jul 22nd, 2002, 12:32 PM
  #5  
nina
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Glad to hear it Neil. I did see your report when I did a search. I'm curious, why did you fly into L.V. vs. Phoenix? I was thinking of going to Phoenix for a few days on either end of the trip and staying at the Pointe Hilton (It's supposed to have great pools and a "water playground" that the kids might enjoy). I actually never had any desire to visit Las Vegas, but it might have some fun hotels with great pools for kids, even the 4S. So how did you decide on Vegas rather Phoenix? Are flights cheaper? We live in Fairfield County, CT so would also fly out of Newark or NYC as you did.
 
Old Jul 22nd, 2002, 12:36 PM
  #6  
nina
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Thanks to you too, Gayle. I didn't realize it would still be cold in April! We were thinking of end of April (Easter week). We run and hike all the time so that should be no problem. Now that I read more, we may skip the North Rim.

If anyone is interested they are airing the program again this Wednesday on PBS at 8:00 EDT. It was a great program about the lodges and different parks. It sure sold me on the trip!
 
Old Jul 22nd, 2002, 02:03 PM
  #7  
Kam
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Make your reservations at the south rim right away for next April. We went once in late March and it was freezing at the South rim and the North rim was still closed. Just returned this June and weather was great. Lots of other things to see---Sedona and the red rocks are wonderful, Montezuma's castle would be interesting for kids, the old mining town of Jerome would appeal to them. Prescott is a nice small town with little shops and restaurants and a famous old hotel. We flew to Phoenix and were in Sedona the first night after a 2 1/2 hour drive. Next day to GC--again about 2 1/2 hours through Flagstaff. Have fun---oh and the Heard Museum in Phoenix is great but I think boys that age would be bored silly at Taleisin West. PS You need to book the mule rides a year in advance, although you might get lucky.
 
Old Jul 22nd, 2002, 04:34 PM
  #8  
Syv
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Not same person as replied before but in answer to your question Why fly into Vegas rather than Phoenix - for me it was CHEAPER than SLC or Phoenix & much closer to things to do/see. There seem to always be special flight deals to Vegas.

I went to Grand Canyon the first time in April. For camping or sleeping in the car - quite cold at nights. Days were fine. North rim (didn't go there) but was told while there that it still had 10 feet of snow.

If I remember correctly, it certainly isn't too far (5 or 6 hours? maybe little more) to Grand Canyon from Las Vegas.

Check out the National Park Service website for Grand Canyon. It will have all of the hiking / roads / things to do / travel guide / weather / etc.

If you cannot get the mule rides, try whitewater or smooth water rafting. I did the smooth water. Your boys might enjoy whitewater better. Again, book in advance though. Very popular national park for tourism.

If coming from Vegas, stop at Hoover Dam. There is a meteor crater right near Flagstaff that the boys might think kind of neat.

Hope this helps.
 
Old Jul 22nd, 2002, 04:50 PM
  #9  
nina
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Thanks for the replies.

The Hoover Dam sounds like a good stop as well, and we all would LOVE to go whitewater rafting! I'll definitely look into all the great suggestions.

You said it was too cold to camp, which we won't be doing, but just how cold is it at the South Rim during the day in April?
 
Old Jul 22nd, 2002, 05:13 PM
  #10  
rqf
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I am not sure what a "loop tour" is but if it means a tour of the major parks in the southwest (I know this as the "Grand Circle") it is best to begin in Phoenix if Colorado is included. Following is the tour I made some years back that began And ended in Phx (trip was 16 days): Phx, South RIm, Monument Valley, CAnyon de CHelly, Mesa VErde, Arches/Canyonlands (Moab), Bryce, Zion, Lake Powell, Sedona, Phx.
 
Old Jul 22nd, 2002, 05:28 PM
  #11  
RB
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As RQF notes, "the Grand Circle" may be your travel plan. Take a look at www.grandcircle.org- it has info on the parks, lodging, etc. If you can hold off on your trip until mid-May, the North Rim of the GC should be open then. I caught just the tail end of that PBS program; it was fun to see the lodges again. For our trips to the SW, we've always flown into Salt Lake City. It's worked better for our itinerary, plus I think going to LV would a shock to our system after all the outdoor time we've spent on our trips. But hey, whatever works for your planning and budget. You will love your visit to the SW, and I promise you will be back for more!
 
Old Jul 22nd, 2002, 05:57 PM
  #12  
Sara
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Three years ago we did a tour with our three teenage boys - not exactly a loop, but we covered a lot of ground - and it was fabulous. We went to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce, Lake Powell at Page (rented a boat for a day and went up to Rainbow Bridge), Monument Valley, Mesa Verde, and ended up in Durango. We loved each place, although I'd have to say that probably the ones we were most awe struck by were the Grand Canyon, Zion, and Bryce.

There was great hiking in Zion and Bryce, too. At Zion we did the Riverwalk and went a little ways up the Narrows (although I imagine that in April the water will be too cold to hike the Narrows, you have to walk in the river to do it), the Emerald Pools Trail, the Weeping Rock Trail (very cool, your boys will be fascinated by the water dripping from the stone - I was!), and the Canyon Overlook Trail (highly recommend - not too long or strenuous, but you're rewarded with a fantastic view). If I remember correctly, at Bryce we hiked the Queen's Garden Trail, which was a beautiful and not too difficult hike.

If we'd had more time we would have loved to go to Canyon de Chelly, Antelope Canyon, Arches, and Canyonlands, but those will have to wait for another trip.

Sorry I can't help with cities to fly into. We actually started in L.A. (my husband had a conference to attend there) and drove to the South Rim from there, and flew home from Durango (paying a hefty drop-off fee for the rental car).

If you saw the PBS series I think you did (Great Lodges of the National Park Service?), I saw a different episode, about Yellowstone and Yosemite - fascinating. I went to their web site (PBS.org) and they have a large section about the series and about the parks they profile. Lots of interesting information, I highly recommend folks take a look at it - I got sucked in to perusing all of the links for far longer than I'd intended, it was well done and really interesting.
 
Old Jul 22nd, 2002, 06:02 PM
  #13  
Lyn
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We were at the South Rim in early April a couple of years ago. Weather was wonderful, we wore shorts while hiking around the rim. Seems like we needed a sweatshirt at night, however. Daytime weather was perfect! When we went to Bryce it was slightly cooler there but still not bad. No shorts there, though.
 
Old Jul 23rd, 2002, 05:28 AM
  #14  
Neil
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Nina:
We flew into Vegas because we wanted to start our "loop" at Zion. We were hoping to beat the heat by getting there early in our trip, but it was still around 100 degrees. I'm also not a big fan of Phoenix, and since we were going to the North Rim it didn't make sense to add on the extra mileage. I had mixed feelings about going to Vegas with the kids (even though we were only there overnight), but they really enjoyed it, especially the pools at the Four Seasons/Mandalay Bay complex. But in April it might still be too cool to swim in Vegas--Phoenix will definitely be warmer that time of year.
As other posts have mentioned, the North Rim will still be closed in April. Bryce could also be pretty cool in the spring since it is more than 8000 feet above sea level. You should be able to get general info about April weather at the pages for each park at the National Park Service web site (www.nps.gov). I also recommend www.grandcircle.org for info on different loops you can travel through the four corners area.
 
Old Jul 24th, 2002, 10:34 AM
  #15  
Boots
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In April of 2001 our family of 5 flew into Las Vegas,spent one night, drove to Sedona (stopping at Hoover Dam) Stayed in Sedona 4 nights (seeing Grand Canyon, Walnut canyon, Meteor Canyon (skip this one) and Jerome and hiking all around Sedona) Then we drove to Tucson and spent 4 nights there. Our favorite vacation ever. It was usually cold I think. Las Vegas was in the 40s at night. It snowed in Sedona and the Grand Canyon. Tucson was the only place we were in shorts and tee shirts. I'd recommend packing layers just in case it's cold - maybe a raincoat with sweatshirts, long sleeve shirts, gloves and hats, just in case you get stuck in snow like we did.
 
Old Jul 24th, 2002, 12:45 PM
  #16  
nina
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Thanks everyone for the great information. Neal, I peeked at that website and it has lots of info and will be a big help in planning our trip.
 
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