My wife and I will be going to the Grand Canyon to celebrate our 35th anniversary in mid May. I have a suite at El Tovar booked for 3 nights. We will be flying into Las Vegas, have one night free before El Tovar, and then 3 more nights before our return flight from Las Vegas. We have stayed in Las Vegas before so that is not a high priority for us. We would enjoy a stay near creekside, in a cabin or anything but the standard hotel room. However, a great hotel recommendation would certainly be considered. We love to hike and do not generally shy away from difficult tails if the reward is worth the effort. I have enjoyed reading the posts and appreciate the sharing of information.

Happy anniversary. I would love to help you with your stay at the Grand Canyon, but I'm not sure what the question is. Are you asking for hiking suggestions? Just say the word and I can make them. the trails may be difficult, but the reward is definitely there.

A suite at El Tovar is a great choice for your celebration. If you want to have dinner there (which I hope you do, as it's the best food at the South Rim), be sure to make your dinner reservations well in advance. As a guest there, you can make them more than a month in advance, to be sure you get the time you want. YOu can check the sunset times on the NPS website and make your plans around that. Many peop[le like to watch the sunset, and then go in for dinner. The dining room has a nice view of the rim, but window seats cannot be guaranteed. So it's usually better to be outside for the sunset, then come in for dinner.

El Tovar has a nice lounge area for guests only on the second floor mezzanine. They put out coffee and tea in the morning, at 7 I believe. We like to pour a cup and then head outside for a walk in the early morning chill.

I haven't stayed in any of them, but there are several creekside cabin type lodgings in Oak Creek Canyon (near Sedona, ~65 miles or so from the GC). That's a beautiful area with nice hiking.

Thanks for the responses. I would like to hear your best recommendations for hiking trails, best sunrise/sunset locations. .I am also interested in the couple of days after GC that we have. I have read that Sedona is a good choice but not ever having been there I don't know. I don'e see us doing upscale resorts and spas but also will not settle for paper thin walls and bugs. Any suggestions are appreciated.

Sounds like a great trip! Happy Anniversary!

I would encourage you to get up early one of your GC mornings and hike down the South Kaibab trail. There is a hikers shuttle that will pick you up at El Tovar area and take you there. We hiked down to Cedar Ridge (think that's what it's called) and back. Took about 3 1/2 hours round trip with LOTS of camera stops and some rests. I liked it so much that I plan to hike down to the bottom and up for my 50th birthday in 2 years.

As for the days after your stay at GC, I would encourage you to think about Bryce &/or Zion National Parks. It will be a long drive to get there (5 to 6 hours I think) but worth it. Many people really like the Desert Pearl in Springdale for Zion. It's on the Virgin River and has a spa without being pretentious. We stayed at Flanigans in a suite and liked that very much. In Bryce, we stayed in the western cabins. Very rustic and old but "atmospheric". Do not read the latter as "romantic".

We watched the sunrise one morning in late June from the Yavapai Point, and it was very beautiful--but I didn't go to all the other points to compare. It is hard to imagine you would go far wrong at any of them. There were only a few other people--very different from the crowds watching the sunset.

We also found that the whole Grand Canyon village area and rim trail were almost deserted in the early morning hours.

All of the historic buildings in the village area (Kolb Studio, Bright Angel Lodge) are interesting, worth exploring . Definitely take the shuttle out to Hermit's Rest and hike sections of the rim trail that appeal to you

the drive along the south rim toward the eastern entrance is very beautiful and much less crowded than the village area.

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We would enjoy a stay near creekside, in a cabin or anything but the standard hotel room.

Google on 'sedona oak creek canyon lodges' ... there are several places with cabins here (north of Sedona a few miles, right on the creek).

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On the way back to L.Vegas you could stay a couple of days in Springdale and visit Zion N.Park The Best Westeren there is great,beautiful mountain views from the rooms.PAul

If you are really up for a hike, you might consider hiking to Phantom Ranch and staying one night there. If you don't do that I would at least hike down into the Canyon part of the way. I think you have a great trip planned. You have allowed plenty of time, and you certainly have a couple of days for another side trip. Mid-May probably won't be too hot. Weather should be great in morning and evenings. Could be somewhat toasty in the afternoons.

Hikes at the South Rim: you have 2 kinds of hike from which to choose--a nearly level walk along the rim, or a drop into the canyon (and back up). Two trail lead all the way to the bottom of the canyon at Phantom Ranch, but it is surely fully booked for next May.

Rim walks---a trail leads along the rime---right on the very edge in most places---in both directions from El Tovar. To the east, you can go to Mather Point and return by shuttle bus if you like. We like to walk this way early in the morning, after grabbing that cup of coffee I already mentioned. We walk as far as Yavapai Point and enjoy the changing colors as the sun comes up.

In the other direction (west), you can walk all the way to Hermit's Rest---almost 7 miles---and take the shuttle back. Or you can use the shuttle to walk partway and ride partway, sort of like leapfrog. We started out with the intent to walk the whole way, but became impatient to get to the end, so we rode from Mohave Point, less than halfway. At Hermit's Rest we hiked down into the canyon (see below). You will get a map of the shuttle route when you enter the park; take note that the shuttle makes every stop along the west rim drive outbound, but only a few inbound. So if you are riding partway back, make sure that you are where the bus will actually stop.

Hikes into the canyon: this is a very different experience from strolling the rim, and highly recommended. Read and heed the warnings about hiking, especially about carrying enough water.

I'll start by inspiring you with maps and photos of the hike down the South Kaibab trail:

http://www.genehanson.com/c2003b/cany2003.htm

There are 4 main trails that lead down into the canyon. the Bright Angel leaves from the hotel area, a bit west of El Tovar, and is the most heavily used. My favorite is the South Kaibab, which is pictured in the photos. A hike down this trail as far as the Cedar Ridge rest stop is richly rewarding. This would be 3 miles RT. Not sure of the elevation loss--probably about 1000 feet. If that isn't enough, you could continue on to Skeleton Point, which would be 6 miles RT. From there, the trail drops steeply for a time, and then reaches the Tonto Plateau, a broad level area easily seen from the rim. A really strong hiker might continue to the Tipoff, the edge of the Tonto, where the trail takes the last drop down to the river. This last part is the most beautiful section of the trail, but unfortunately is not realistically accessible to most dayhikers.

Remember that what goes down must come up. The standard advice is to allow twice as long to ascend the trail as it took to hike down. (this isn't really true for a strong hiker; we hike uphill just as fast as down).

There are two other trails into the canyon that are much less used.

The Hermit Trail descends from the Hermit's Rest shuttle stop. the trail is rougher than the two above but not too difficult. Most people aim for Santa Maria Spring, which would be 4.5 miles RT. We didn't get that far; we had used up much of the day hiking along the rim and needed to turn back.

The Grandview TRail leaves from a trailhead along the Desert View Drive, to the east. The trail goes out to Horseshoe Mesa, an overnight camping spot on a "sky island". Dayhikers turn around well before that point. And we turned around after the first 200 years, where we encountered a narrow exposed spot which one member of our party was too fearful to negotiate. Had we continued, I think we would have found some lovely views and solitude.

One more trail I should mention that fits neither category above, and we haven't done. There is an abandoned road that leads a little over a mile through the forest to the rim at Shoshone Point. Apparently there is a picnic table or shelter which can be reserved for weddings, etc.a, but most likely you will have the place all to yourself. Here is a description of the view (from the web:

"The views here are spectacular. To the northwest, you can pick out the South Kaibab Trail as it snakes its way through Skeleton Point, while Horseshoe Mesa and the Grandview Trail are visible to the east. You can even see sections of the Colorado River in the distance."

The trail to Shoshone Point leaves from an unmarked small parking area about a mile east of the Yaki Point road.

Zion would be a perfect choice. You should be able to get a cabin in the park. The setting isn't creekside but it's amazing waking up beneath the towering cliffs. And the Virgin River should surely be flowing in May - you can probably hear it from the cabins! There is a trailhead right across the bridge from the lodge and cabins and a wonderful shuttle system that you can ride for free all over the park.

Another great option is to stay in Springdale, the wonderful little town just outside Zion NP. There are lots of great lodging options, including the Desert Pearl.

Congratulations, Gene Hanson! Your website is fantastic. Having done the hike you documented many times, I was nevertheless truly impressed by your photographs and I loved the pictures of the trail overlook at the end. Somehow I have never gone over to the trail overlook... I didn't even realize that there was anywhere on the South Rim from which you can see the BA Trail, but then usually I am obsessed with getting ready for the descent into the canyon and with recovering once I am back on the rim. Thanks, again,
Jane