Any suggestions for economical lodging very near Grand Canyon for two seniors and our daughter 12/23-12/26/12? We are not interested in camping type locations. Best way to travel - fly to Phoenix and rent a car? Know the weather will be unpredicable. We will be coming from Dallas, Tx area. Would like to drive, but that will be a long trip. Any advice/suggestions will be appreciated.

Check Cameron Trading Post. It is on rt. 89 at the Colorado River. There is the trading post, motel rooms, a restaurant and a gas station. It is just a mile or so north of rt. 64 which takes you into the National Park and about a half hour to what you think of as the park. The rooms are nice, but not fancy (nicer than Yavapai, Maswick or Thunderbird) . I think we paid $ 90 or so per night last April. I would choose to stay in the park for the location if the price were the same.

If you can afford it - suggest you stay on the rim at the Bright Angel Lodge. Nice, clean - nothing palatial - and ry to get a rim view. You are right there where you can walk along the rim or catch the free buses that head out to the viewpoins. Think it's worth it to pay a bit more for the great location. http://www.grandcanyonlodges.com/bri...lodge-408.html

Yes, fly to Phoenix (or even Flagstaff) and rent a car. You might even stop off at the pretty red rock town of Sedona on the way - and spend a night there, and continue on the two hours or so to the Grand Canyon from there. http://www.visitsedona.com/

You could also fly into Las Vegas and rent a car (5 hour drive?) - or get a cheap room in Vegas and take the day long bus tour over to the GC.

If you did drive and had the time, you could see Carlsbad Caverns, Guadalupe National Park, Tucson/Saquaro National Park, Petrified Forest and more along the way. There would be plenty of places to stop at to break up the trip.

What do you consider economical? There is plenty of availability in park for those dates right now. It looks like Bright Angel is cheapest (under $100/night). You could stay right outside the park in Tusayan or stay in Flagstaff, but I would vote for staying in the park if you find something that fits your price range. Flagstaff is at a bit higher elevation than the South Rim and is over an hour away, although you would have some more options for entertainment, food if you chose to stay there.

Either fly into Vegas or Phoenix, depends on flight and car rental prices for me. Usually Vegas is cheaper which offsets the longer drive in my opinion.

Forgot to add: I would recommend splitting your nights between the Grand Canyon and Sedona. There isn't that much to keep you occupied at the Grand Canyon for 3 or 4 days, especially in winter when the hiking and viewpoints will be cold and possibly icy. Sedona will be more pleasant. I'd spend a couple nights in Sedona and 1 or 2 at the Grand Canyon.

You might like to get some Yak Trax for your shoes. It makes your footing safer while walking in the ice/snow. They don't keep the parking lots and sidewalks cleared. I'm from the Dallas area too and had to get some since I don't normally need them. REI might have them or you can easily order them online--around $15.

Go ahead and walk down in the canyon a little ways. Don't let the snow stop you. It's actually easier than walking on dirt.

I recommend staying in the park also.

If you go over to Sedona, drive north through Oak Creek Canyon to Flagstaff. Beautiful drive.

Not sure what you mean by weather may be unredictable. It will be late December and the weather will be cold (not sure how that is unpredictable. If you think it's going to be warm - that's just not happening. (Average high is about 40 and average low is about 20.)

We went to GC Christmastime and it was wonderful! I would suggest staying in the park if you can.

We stayed in one of the Bright Angel cabins at Christmas, 2010., and I'd strongly recommend that you stay inside the park. You'll find the park's restaurants open on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and you can't count on that outside the park.

There was snow on the ground when we were there and it was unusually cold . But the days were sunny and if you're prepared for cold temperatures, it's a beautiful time to be at the Canyon.

I stayed at the Best Western in Tusayan which is less than 10 miles to Grand Canyon Village.

I was actually surprised how nice and spacious the room was. They also have a couple of dining options, fitness, hot tub, etc.

You could fly into Phx, stay near the GC, and loop back around by Cameron, and then to Flagstaff and Sedona which should be really beautiful in December.