Hello all! After much planning and help from everyone here on the site, my SO and I are leaving on Saturday for our first foray into the southwest! Yay! We're flying into Phoenix to visit friends in Scottsdale for a few days. On Tuesday we are driving to Las Vegas for two days. Thursday we are going to the Grand Canyon overnight and then back down to Scottsdale for another night before we leave. Problem: I'm trying to estimate driving times to figure out how long each leg will take to drive and where to fit in visiting the Hoover Dam (i.e. on the way to Las Vegas or on the way to Grand Canyon). Any tips or help will be appreciated. Also, as I am thinking this will be long car rides, are there plenty of places to eat on the way, or should we plan ahead and pack a cooler? Thanks!

Have you checked weather.com lately? Snow is in the forcast for Flagstaff & the Grand Canyon for this week!

I've never driven Hwy 93 so I would ask the locals if it gets snow.

Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon is 280 miles and should take about 5 hours under normal conditions. Before leaving Las Vegas, I would check to see if the road to the Grand Canyon is open. The Grand Canyon website says they do close the road if the conditions get bad. There are plenty of places to find food and gas along this route, but with the bad weather, I think I would pack a cooler and also take matches and a candle!

Utahtea

I had thought that snow might be a factor when booking. I booked us at the Holiday Inn Exp in Tusayan near the Canyon. It's the last night of our trip before heading back to crash with a friend for a night in Scottsdale so if it does snow hopefully we can stay an extra night in Las Vegas, or head back to the Phoenix/ Scottsdale area early.

Anyone know how close this Holiday Inn is to the Canyon, or if this road would be closed? Of the whole trip, my SO REALLY wanted to see the Hoover Dam and the Canyon. Thanks!

Tusayan, AZ is about 5 miles from the entrance to the Grand Canyon.

I really don't have any first hand experience in this area other than we have driven thought Flagstaff in March when it was snowing and there was at least a foot of snow on the ground.

I do know that weather.com is prediciting possible snow for Williams, Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon for the next week. It might or might not be bad. I would call the Grand Canyon before I left Las Vegas to see what they have to say.

Here are some links to check & keep an eye on:

Road Conditions:

http://www.az511.com/hcrsweb/hcrsweb..._north_central


National Weather Service:

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/forecasts/AZ...Canyon+Village

Official Grand Canyon website:

http://www.nps.gov/grca/grandcanyon/weather.htm

Many times when we travel, we will call home and have someone check websites for us to see what conditions are.

Utahtea

Thanks a lot for the links Utahtea. I will check them while in Vegas to decide what to do. If we have to stay another night Vegas... Oh well!! That's no hardship. I'm sure we can find a hotel somewhere hopefully, or drive back to Phoenix.

Maybe we should visit the Hoover Dam on the way to Vegas then. Is it right on the way from Phoenix?

In the Las Vegas area you have Valley of Fire State park which is about 50 miles away and just a little north of town is Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. Both are worth a visit if you get stuck in Lost Wages!

Utahtea

Rachpilaw,

Please come back after your trip and let me know how the road conditions were and what you thought of the park in winter. I'm thinking about taking DH into go to the area in February. I would love to hear how it went for you.

Utahtea