Arizona trip in late march 2004 - help
 

Hi - We will be in Scottsdale for business in late March and want to add on a nice vacation. We have not seen the National Parks at all and are wondering about that. Given the time of year, where should we go? We are physically able but not mountaineers and I do not know how to swim. All suggestions will be welcomed. We can fly or drive to regional locations. Thanks.

If you are referring to the Grand Canyon you could be in for cold and even some snow this early in the season. Same for Bryce Canyon. They both are at high elevations. Zion National Park should be nice but cool this time of the year. You probably won't know the what the weather will be like until you're ready to go there.

Utahtea

Why don't you go south to Tucson area? Saguaro Park is great and warm at that time of year.

We visited the Grand Canyon in late March a few years ago and it was wonderful. It's about a 3 1/2 to 4 hour drive from Phoenix, but well worth the drive. Some of the trails still had a little snow on them and were slippery at the top, but the trails that just go along the rim were clear. Our weather was beautiful (maybe about 65 degrees during the day). However, the year before that, we had a trip planned to the Grand Canyon in mid-March and had to cancel because of a late-season snow storm. You'll probably be safe in late March. It's a breathtaking park and we would love to go back there. There are lots of good day-hikes that you can do withoug being mountaineers where you can get some wonderful views of the scenery below you. Let me know if you have more questions!

Thanks for the help - I could not find this thread, thought I had failed to post properly, and started a new one. Everyone has had great ideas.