Grand Canyon
 

I'm from the Los Angeles area and needs help in planning a trip to the Grand Canyon. I would like to visit the Northern Rim of the Canyon. Any suggestions would be helpful.

What kind of help do you need? Best time to go? (Actually, this is easy; the best time is after the Rim opens)Where to stay? How long to stay? What trails to hike? Activities to do?

Any idea WHEN you will be going? For how long? With how many people? What are their ages? What activities do they enjoy? What is your budget? What is the minimal comfort level you can accept?

Unfortunately, we can't give you much useful info until we know WHAT info is useful to you!

Good URLs for info, which will answer just about any question you might have, include:

www.nps.gov/grca
www.thecanyon.com
www.kaibab.org
http://www.americanparknetwork.com/p.../gc/index.html
www.grand.canyon.national-park.com/

For the 2004 season the North rim will be open from May 10 - October 14, 2004 so I would plan on going between those two dates.

Depending on how much time you have you might consider also visiting Zion National Park, Bryce National Park and/or Glen Canyon National Recreational Area (Lake Powell)

I'll warn you that the drive from Las Vegas back to L.A. can be bummer to bummer traffic on Sundays!

Utahtea

I'm planning on going sometime in early June with about 4 to 7 people. All adults. I like to know about camp sites or cheap hotels or motels. Hiking trials would be great and how is the drive to Zion and Bryce from the North Rim. This will be a 3 or 4 day trip. So if I can't make it to Zion or Bryce then it's OK. Also how long is the drive to the North RIM?

It's 535 miles from L.A. to the North Rim. I would plan on it taking 10 1/2 hours of just driving time (not counting traffic in L.A. area!) the last 75 miles are pretty slow going miles. That's a long trip in one day. That only gives you one or two days at the canyon and then you will have to drive back those 10 1/2 hours on the last day or MUCH LONGER if you are coming home on a Sunday!!!!

It's been a while since we camped at the N. Rim but they were nice campsites. You can make reservations on line for the N. Rim campground It's $15 per night. I would suggest making reservations.
http://reservations.nps.gov/search.c...token=76897736

Is there a reason you don't want to go to the S. Rim? It's a lot faster drive at only 7 1/2 hours driving time. Mather Campground is pretty nice.

I just don't see enought time for Bryce and Zion. Zion would make a great destination for four days. It's only about 6 1/2 hours driving time and a lot of varied hiking and both campgrounds in the park are pretty nice.

Utahtea

I agree with Utahtea's suggestion about either SOUTH RIM or ZION since you only have 4 days (unless driving days are extra?)

Zion & Bryce are SPECTACULAR (more so than Grand Canyon IMHO)

Those are great ideas. I will think about it. Since the drive is pretty bad. I might consider flying into Vegas and then driving. Would that be better? If you had to pick would you go to Zion or the Grand Canyon? I'm just in needs of a road trip to the national parks and i've done the Yosemite NP so that's why I was thinking aobut driving east.

If you decide to fly into Vegas, you could ZION & BRYCE or Grand Canyon & one other.

Zion, Bryce, & Grand Canyon are 3 completely different parks / landscapes. All are amazing.

I'm sure that everyone has a different opinion but I visited Zion, Bryce and the Grand Canyon North Rim last September so I will throw in my opinion.

To answer your most recent ?, I would pick Zion over the Grand Canyon. In my opinino the hiking is much better at Zion unless you have the time to hike all the way into the Grand Canyon which is nice too. Zion is more managable and the Angels Landing and Narrows hikes were great...wonderful memories. The fact that cars are not permitted in the park makes it more relaxing too. We had bikes and were able to ride through the park with only the propane buses (very slow) and a few cars from people staying at the lodge in the park.

I also really liked Bryce and the hike into the canyon there Queen's Trail/ Peekabo Loop (I think about 8 miles)was wonderful as well.

Of the 3 the Grand Canyon was my least favorite. It was just too big and kind of hazy all the time so it looked like a giant picture to me. Hard for me to say if I liked Bryce or Zion better since they are so different. With 4 days you could probably see both Zion and Bryce if you fly to Vegas.
Enjoy whatever you decide. I don't think you could make a bad decision with any of your options.

I don't know if flying into Vegas will save you much time or not. It's about a 3 hours drive from Vegas to Zion. How long will it take you to get to the airport, fly, rent a vehicle? If it's about 3 hours then it will probably be a toss up and what about your camping gear?

If I had to choose only one park then it would be Zion. In Zion or even Springdale you see the canyon everywhere you look. To me it's relaxing. There are so many hikes to choose from.

At Bryce and the N. Rim you have to be at the rim or in the canyon to see the sites. I prefer the S. Rim to the N. Rim. Bryce happens to be my least favorite of the Utah National Parks. Don't get me wrong, I like it but it's not my first choice. Others say it's the best so it really a personal choice.

Utahtea

Hi we will be driving south from Salt Lake City to Flaggstaff/Grand Canyon area,Is the route fairly direct,It dawned on me that it may be difficult driving past the Canyon??

jgagnor,

I suggest you start your own threads because you'll get more responses that way.

Meantime, to answer your questions.

I think the fastest route from Salt Lake City to Flagstaff would be to head south on I-15 to about 20 miles past Beaver, Utah and take Hwy 20 east to Hwy 89. Follow Hwy 89 south all the way to Flagstaff. This route is 520 miles and will take 9 1/2 to 10 hours of driving time.

If you're going straight to the Grand Canyon then you will take Hwy 64 at Cameron. From Salt Lake City to the S. Rim of the Grand Canyon it's 525 miles and plan on 10 hours of driving time. Add another 80 miles to get to Flagstaff.

How much time do you have? There are plenty of great places to see if you have a day, or two or more.

Utahtea

we are returning from Yellowstone and headinf toward Flaggstaff because we are staying there,but are scheduled for a 3 day white water raft trip in the Grand Canyon from may 28-30

We also just visited the North Rim, Zion and Bryce last Sept. We LOVED Zion. There is so much to see and lots of trails to hike. I agree with detraveler about Angels Landing and the Narrows. We did both hikes and loved them. The North Rim is also nice, but we saw the South Rim first and were a little bit disappointed when we got to the North Rim. You don't get as nice of a view of the canyon. It is also a very long drive to actually reach the North Rim - you go through a good portion of the Kabib National Forest before you finally get there. Bryce Canyon is also very nice and quite different from Zion - although the park is alot more spread out. But no matter what choice you make, all 3 parks are beautiful in their own way.

jgagnor

((?)) You really need to provide information if we are going to help you.

Are you spending the night of the 26th or the 27th in Flagstaff?

Where do you need to go to take the white water rafting trip for the Grand Canyon...give city.

How long do you have in the area after the whitewater trip?

You really should start your own thread and give us ALL the information in one locations, instead of asking questions as a response to two other threads. It will make more sense to people who want to help you.

Utahtea

I'm new at this a don't know what a thread is!We are staying at Fort Tuthill outside Flagstaff,they are taking us on a 3 day raft trip from there on the morning of the 28th returning there on the 30th-it's a military -sponsored trip

A thread is your own question. It is usually best to post a new one if your questions differ from what the original poster is asking. You will get more responses if you post information in your message title such as "Salt Lake City to Flagstaff/GC Driving Questions" or something similiar. In the body of your question, you can give the details of your trip and ask your specific questions.
Welcome to the board - you will be able to get great info here!

To jgagnor,

You're doing great for a newbie. A thread is like Kathryn T said, it's a new message. Over on the left hand side of your screen is "United States" and just below that is "Post A New Message" and that's where you start a new thread.

Fort Tuthill is just a few miles south of Flagstaff. It sounds like you only have one day to drive from Salt Lake City to Flagstaff and that's 520 miles and is going to take most of the day.

Utahtea