I'm looking for suggestions for a trip I'd like to take possibly end of march 2010 for 8-9 days.
I'd like to hike into and out of the canyon. Stay at Phantom Ranch a few nights while exploring the floor of the canyon. And take a 1/2-1 day raft trip on the Colorado.
Any suggestions for the raft trip (can I do this from/near Phantom Ranch or should I do it once I leave?) ...as always thanks for your input!!

The raft trips that begin at Phantom are typically much longer, another 6-8 days in the paddle rafts (depending on whether the take-out is at mile 186 or 226), probably 3 days in the motor rafts for the few motor rafts are doing partial trips from Phantom.

Some of the oar trips begin in April (I think the motor trips are not allowed on until May) but I don't know of any commercial trips beginning in March. It would probably feel very cold because the water is about 55 F and you're wet after every rapid while on the river in a small oar raft.

The short trips are generally flat water trips from Page below the dam about 14 miles to Lee's Ferry (one day) or beginning near the end of the canyon about 100 river miles west of Phantom. Some options include a dude ranch at Whitmore Wash (mile 186) where you take a helicopter down to the river and board a motor raft that people who did the upper canyon are leaving.

Also there are various short trips beginning at mile 226 (Diamond Creek), which is a popular take-out point. This will miss all the good whitewater though. Again, these are far from Phantom Ranch, and most of these are on motorized boats, which I think aren't allowed on the river before May.

Thanks for your quick reply, this may limit what i can do when I plan on taking my trip (or maybe I have to change my dates) If I do end up changing my days to May do u recommend a reliable rafting company that would offer just day trips?

May do u recommend a reliable rafting company that would offer just day trips?

Here's a link to the day trips out of Page ... http://www.coriverdiscovery.com/ You are not in the Grand Canyon on this trip, the float ends at Lee's Ferry, which is where the Grand Canyon trips begin. But it is a pleasant day trip (with no rapids). And there's a lot of other things to do in Page.

Here is a one day float from the west end with Hualapai River runners (the Indian tribe). This one starts at Diamond Creek, which is river mile 226 (ie 226 miles downstream from Lee's Ferry), where many boats end their trips ... http://www.grandcanyon.com/white-wat...ting-tour.html ... I've taken out at Diamond Creek several times on long trips ... on this one you are actually in the Grand Canyon and you will hit a couple of decent rapids in the first dozen miles or so before the river flattens out in the headwaters of Lake Mead.

Esthetically this one gives more of the flavor of the Canyon than the Page trip, but it's about 5x more expensive and it's hard to get to the put in spot.

If you want a bit more, say 2 nights, then there are several companies that fly you to the Bar 10 Ranch and you take a helicopter down to Whitmore Wash (mile 186) and raft to Lake Mead in three days, 2 nights. I think Fodors contributor spirobulldog went on this one and really liked it. Here you will hit more rapids (but none of the really big ones, which are all upsteam). Here's a link to a typical company running these: http://www.westernriver.com/trips/grand3day/ ... as you can see this is much more expensive, but camping two nights will give you a much better 'feel' for the canyon and if you have the time this is the way to go.

Are you thinking of camping at Phantom Ranch? People called to reserve accomodations on March 1, 2009 for March of 2010.