gail

Excuse my geographic stupidity, but my husband has his heart set on the Grand Canyon. We generally do more "city-type" vacations. Other than camping-hiking activities, what is within an easy day's drive of the Grand Canyon, or is basically a destination in itself?

Merilee

Outside the Grand Canyon itself, is Grand Canyon Village...hotels, souvenir shops, and restaurants...not much...It's aboout 280 miles to Las Vegas via I-40 West US 93...on the way you'll pass Lake Mead National Recreation Area and the Hoover Dam...in the other direction...there's Jerome, Arizona (about 160 miles)...it's a turn of the century copper mining town that turned into a ghost town and is now a booming artists colony with shops and restaurants...and then there's Sedona - also in Red Rock country...there you take a pink jeep tour, hike, browse shops, etc. I stayed at a wonderful place called Los Abrigados...hope this info helps.

stephanie

My suggestion would be, spend 2 -3 days
at the Grand Canyon then drive south
to Sedona (about 3 hrs) or Phoenix
and Scottsdale (about 5 hrs) and spend
the rest of your vacation in one of
those places.

Lena

The Grand Canyon is a must see once in your life...you could easily keep busy there for 2-3 days, unless you really want to do some serious hiking, rafting,etc... I agree with the other post about driving down to Sedona - it's a great town and the red rocks and canyons down there are magnificant. There's al the meteor crator, a one day trip, which is pretty impressive, the caverns off Route 66 are also more interesting than they sound, although it's a long drive out and back. We flew into Phoenix, spent a day in Scottsdale, drove north through Sedona, stayed in the Best Western out the Grand Canyon park, (nice) did some trips in the park, crators, caverns, and then heading east to Mesa Verde. Another great site. It's really an outstanding place no matter how outdoorsy you are. You'll feel so energetic out there. Take lots of film.

x

either fly into Vegas,hit the Hoover Dam(hardhat/reservations) and onto the G.Canyon(stay on the S.Rim proper)El Tovar,Thunderbird,Kachina or Bright Angel)...or Tusayan(8 miles outside the park/has hotels,restaurants and Imax)..and onto Sedona/jerome area(stay at least a night) and onto Phoenix/Prescott area...or Sedona area and return to Vegas(about as much city as you can handle...you don` have to make the GC your whole vacation unless your into that...then you can do a mule ride or raft trip into the Canyon...there is also the Monument Valley aspect too...sounds like your not into that...Sounds like Vegas,GC and back to the big city is more your style or Phoenix,GC and back to a spa in Phoenix....don`t cut your hubby off..you can still go 1st class..do El Tovar at the GC...it is upscale...

GOL

Yes. Better National Parks north of the North Rim in Southern Utah.

Although this is very assumptive, I'd say that you won't want more than a day trip to the GC. Sounds like you may be impressed, then quickly say "what's next?" I don't think you need to spend more than 1 day.

I always quote this.. but.. according to NPS statistics, the average visit to the GC park is less than 1 day (day trippers), and less than 30 minutes actually viewing or entering (hiking) the canyon. Not to say it can't be enjoyed with 2-3 days.

wintertraveler

The only thing near the Grand Canyon is the Grand Canyon as they say. No one mentioned Flagstaff which is accessible via Hwy 89-A I believe that's right anyway - it's one of the most scenic highways in america and highly recommended, provided you don't get car sick easily as there are many curves and wonderful drop offs and cliff side driving. Sedona is quite nice and if you take 89-A you can just keep on driving from Flagstaff to Sedona and enjoy both.

lena

Flagstaff! That's the nice little town near the meteor craters...small, country town though. Not a city pace at all but a nice change. It's a different pace, you can dress comfortably, not worry about the pretentious stuff we worry about in a city...it's really a good break and a memory for life.

holly

GOL -

I wonder how those stats compare to the number of hours people in this country spend watching Survivor before getting into their off road vehicles to plow through suburban strip malls wearing "Just Do It" t-shirts on the way to McDonalds before hitting the couch for more TV.

Call me a purist, but I don't believe a wonder like the GC can be truly experienced/enjoyed by peering over the edge for a minute (no matter how many photos you take. No doubt I'll get slammed for this. Oh well.

john

My wife and I primarily stayed in Las Vegas for vacation. We took a day trip and stayed in Williams, Az one night. The town is small,but we enjoyed it a lot. We took a horsedrawn carriage ride around the town, ate in a very good restaurant called "Pine Country"(good low-priced food,EXCELLANT DESSERTS), and took a train ride to the Grand Canyon. We returned on the train and traveled back to Las Vegas-stopping to see the Hoover Dam on our way back.
It was a wonderful time. Check the WWW for www.thetrain.com. This is the info I used to convince me of booking passage to the Grand Canyon and enjoying a nice train ride. I recommend this trip for everyone.

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ttt

GOL

Holly,
I wonder too.
Re: your peering over the edge comment;

The, the GC is spectacular. If I compare it to Yellowstone, GC is definately 2nd; Same for parks in Alaska; Even true for Zion, IMO.

Yet when we went to GC before the others, I had no idea how much better the other parks were. So, I would not re-visit the GC on a planned trip, but would YNP or the others.

I want someone to tell me how much better xxx (to be named) place/country or park is compared to Yellowstone or Alaska. I will then readjust my pecking order.