grand canyon and sedona lodging and activity questions
 

After searching fodors, expedia and tripadvisor, I have the following plan for the week before thanksgiving
day 1- drive from LA, stay at Cameron Trading post in cameron
day 2- drive in thru GC east entrance, see park, take kids part way down bright angel trail- what is best sunset location near the village? Stay in Tusayan unless Xanterra has an opening. All lodging looks bad, but Red feather lodge in tusayan got less horrible reviews than the rest
day 3- Best sunrise/photo op? Take kids to IMAX and helicoptor or plane tour of GC- Which one? Afternoon, drive to Sedona
staying at sky ranch lodge in Sedona. Hike if time.
day 4 jeep tour in sedona and a hike. Suggestions? 1-2mile max.
day 5 drive to phoenix for holidays. Stop at montezuma castle.

any comments on lodging/activities for family of four who are not big hikers. Photo op suggestions welcome. thanks

<b>stay at Cameron Trading post in cameron</b>

Nice lodge with good trading post and restaurant but most people would rather be in Tusayan or on the south rim because of the location ... but still, a good choice.

<b>take kids part way down bright angel trail</b>

I would take them down Kaibab instead, it's more scenic because it follows a ridge instead of a drainage and is much less crowded. If you're decent hikers the 1.4 mile trek to Cedar Ridge is highly recommended.

<b>what is best sunset location near the village?</b>

Mather Point and Hopi Point are both great at sunset. All the overlooks are good but these two are probably most popular.

<b>Stay in Tusayan unless Xanterra has an opening. All lodging looks bad but Red feather lodge in tusayan got less horrible reviews than the rest</b>

Dunno where you're getting this, but Best Western Squire Inn is pretty nice and Holiday Inn Express is OK, probably better than the Feather, plus a free breakfast. I've stayed at 4 or 5 places in Tusayan and none were &quot;bad&quot;, unless you're used to the Four Seasons or the Ritz.

<b>Best sunrise/photo op?</b>

Mather is great, maybe Yaki if you can get in via the shuttle.

Bill

Day 3 - skip helicopter or plane, even IMAX since it is probably playing at an IMAX near home sometime in near future anyway. Instead, since it seems you will only have about a half day, take the shuttle around the Rim, stopping at various overlooks. Take the shuttle that runs in the other direction to visitors center, several other sites along the way.

<b>Day 3 - skip helicopter or plane, even IMAX since it is probably playing at an IMAX near home sometime in near future anyway.</b>

The IMAX movie is great (the river running scenes are priceless) and highly recommended, but I think you should see it at <b><i>night</i></b> and not waste Grand Canyon daylight hours sitting in the movie house.

I did a lot of &quot;easy&quot; hikes around Sedona in June.

I liked the the Vista Trail cutoff from the Boyton Canyon trail. Not the whole Boynton Canyon but just the Vista detour. Sedona West.

The most scenic was by far was broken Arrow on the way to Oak creek. Then Bell Rock.

Pink Jeep Tours also maintains a parallel road to Broken Arrow. It was fun to watch them terrorize the customers.