Rachpilaw

I'm planning a trip from Phoenix to Las Vegas to Grand Canyon and back to Phoenix the second week in January. Just wondering on the average temperature there, driving times, and scenic place to stay overnight in the Canyon. Any help would be appreciated.

lisatravels

This URL gives a listing of in the park lodging available on the South Rim (I believe north is closed in Jan.), prices, and indicates which ones are located on the rim.
http://www.nps.gov/grca/grandcanyon/...im/lodging.htm
You also make reservations from this site. Phantom Lodge is the only place to stay that's actually down in the canyon - I'm not sure if that's open in the winter months, though.

MFNYC

We've been to the Canyon twice in the winter, once in January (15 yrs ago) and once in March (3 yrs ago). The January trip we drove from Pheonix, which was watm, maybe in teh 80s. By the time we hit flagstaff, it was blizzard-like conditions. Lots of snow, wind and slipepry road. The canyon itself was cold, with only spots of snow on the ground. The 2nd trip in March, we drove from LV. Again we hit blizzard-like conditions on that route. The visibility when we frist arrive at the canyon was horrible, but it quickly cleared up and the snow stoped. There was about 5" on the ground there. They only permitted hiking down if you had special spiked hiking boots because the trails were slippery (we didn't hike). We stayed at the Kachina Lodge with a canyon view. It was all that was available when I booked (6 months in advance!). It was perfectly fine (motel-like but adequate), right next to the El Tovar and Bright Angel. The temps in Pheonix in Marhc were 80s, Las Vegas was 60s.

Rachpilaw

Thanks for the tips. I hadn't even thought about the possibility of snow at the canyon. I was thinking how warm it would be in Phoenix and Las Vegas. Maybe we'll make the Canyon a day trip then. Anyone know the driving times from Las Vegas to the Canyon and the Canyon to Phoenix? Maybe we'll skip the overnight part.

USNR

From Las Vegas to the South Rim (North Rim is closed) of the Grand Canyon is about five hours drive via Hoover Dam, Kingman, Williams. From the South Rim to Phoenix via Flagstaff and south on I-17 is about another five hours. All times, of course, depend on weather and road conditions. The South Rim is about at 7,000 ft. altitude, and so are Williams and Flagstaff. You might decide to take a detour south from Flagstaff, drive down Oak Creek Canyon on Highway 89A and into Sedona. From Sedona to Phoenix via Highway 179 and back on I-17 is about 125 miles or about 2 1/2 hours.

Don't expect Las Vegas to be warm; same goes for the South Rim. Phoenix will be your warmest place (possibly up around 75 midday) because it is the lowest; about 1,200 ft. Dress in layers, therefore.

Rachpilaw

Thanks a lot for all the tips! This helped me bang out a great itinerary for our week in January. We're spending the weekend in Phoenix seeing friends and going to the Rock-N-Roll marathon (one of our friends is running in it), and doing a day trip to Sedona on Monday. Tuesday we're heading up to Vegas until Thursday. Probably spend each night in a different hotel, just to get the most out of it. Then Thursday we'll stop at the Hoover Dam on our way to the Canyon and stay overnight there. I already booked the Holiday Inn Express b/c it was only $54.00! Then back to Scottdale on Friday night and we leave on Saturday morning. Pretty packed week, but I wanted to fit everything in! Would greatly appreciate any tips for any and all legs of our trips re: restaurants, must-sees, and especially cheap-but-on-the-strip-and-in-the-middle-of-glitz hotels in Vegas. Thanks so much!! I can't wait to go now!

kaudrey

Are you going to the South Rim or the North Rim of the GC? I think the North Rim lodges close in the winter, and the roads, I believe, are not always open either?

Sedona to Vegas is almost 300 miles (5 hours). Vegas to the South Rim is another 300 miles (5 hours). South Rim back to Scottsdale is about 4 hours.

So on 3 days out of the 7 days you are spending a good portion of the day in a car, not including the 4 hour round trip from Phoenix to Sedona on Monday. That's a lot of driving when the weather may be treacherous. Plus, days will be really short in January, so if you spend the day on the road, you won't have much time to see the scenery, since it will be dark at 4:30pm.

Just some things to think about. Arizona is so beautiful and there is so much to see, I'd probably spend the whole week there, and save Vegas for another trip.

But, if you like to travel this way - more power to you! I just don't want you to be disappointed if you hit a blizzard or something. I was at the Grand Canyon last week and at night it was in the 30s already.

Karen