Grand Canyon - North Rim (is it car friendly?)
 

Hi! We are a couple in our mid/early 60s. We are planning a one day bus tour from Vegas to the South Rim in order to avoid high lodging costs, traffic, etc...

On the other hand, we are planning on staying 3 or 4 days in St George, Utah (over the weekend, thus avoiding Las Vegas high hotel costs from Fridays to Sundays) in order to visit Zion and the North Rim of Grand Canyon.

We are in good health, and good disposition, but would not like to endure much hardship in hiking off the beaten track trails. As much as possible, we would like to be able to visit the sightseeing spots by car and stopping at parking places which would not require a more than half a mile walk.

As such, I wonder if you generous folks could help me clarify if I both Zion and the North Rim fall into those categories.

Also, has anybody used St. George as a base for both Parks. Hotels seem to be much more plentiful and a lot cheaper than other alternatives we looked into.

Thnx.

My sister "saw" the North Rim with a walking cast on her leg - and thoroughly enjoyed her visit.

"As much as possible, we would like to be able to visit the sightseeing spots by car and stopping at parking places which would not require a more than half a mile walk"

My guess is that the majority of visitors do exactly the same thing.

I would STRONGLY recommend staying at night at the North Rim if you can. I just loved the park. IMO it was more like what I always imagined a national park would be like as a child. I've visited many of them and the atmosphere at the North Rim is just magical, especially in the evenings.

You don't mention when you are going, I imagine you know North Rim closes early, and last time I was at South Rim, they were doing controlled burn on the north rim, and the smoke obstructed the view down the canyon from everywhere in the park (this was October a few years , and very disappointing---I don't know if this is a yearly thing) .
Zion is fabulous, and can be enjoyed without strenous hiking, but has shuttle up to (end?) of October.
If North Rim doesn't work out, then consider Bryce, which is what we did, and I am really glad we didn't miss it.

We used St. George as somewhat of a base for our trip. However, we did overnights to Bryce and N. Rim and glad we did. St. George is a fine base for Zion, but I feel it is a little too far for N. Rim or Bryce to make it worth it. It can be done, but you are talking 2 to 2 1/2 hours each way to those parks.

Here is a link to our trip report:

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...rip-report.cfm

One thing to keep in mind is the altitude. N. Rim really got to me and I had to take it a little easier than I wanted to.

It is a beautiful area. Have a great time.

MY

Thank you very much for your inputs.

Forgot to mention we will be there in the first days of September, i.e., about 10 days from today. Thanks again for the info.

The north rim has several really short, easy and nice walking paths to points into the canyon with great views. Be careful driving after dark. We nearly hit wildlife more than once in a short period of time.

We enjoyed Bryce more than Zion but it's worth taking their bus ride through the park--you can't drive very far in. All you have to do at Bryce is drive, park and walk a short distance to the rim to see fabulous views.

All three have more difficult hikes but are not necessary for great sightseeing.

So I take it you will be there over the Labor Day weekend. Zion will be packed and the shuttle buses will be running until Oct. 31. I don't know how the North Rim will be but it will be open.

St. George is going to be a long drive to the North Rim and back. You are looking at approx 8 - 9 hours of just round trip driving from St. George to the North Rim. It could be longer if you get stuck behind an RV on the slow, curvy drive from Jacob Lake to the Rim.

I would highly recommend staying in Springdale so you are right at Zion and can enjoy the beautiful scenery, take the shuttle buses in and out of the park as you please.

If you really want to stay at a central location, then I'd say try Kanab. UT so that your trip to the N. Rim won't be so long.

One thing you should know is that the North Rim is at 8,000 feet, Bryce goes from 8,000 - 9,000 feet and Zion is around 4,000. If you don't live at a high altitude, you might want to spend your time at Zion first to accommodate yourselves to the altitude.

One last thing, since you are already going to the South Rim, I would suggest going to Bryce Canyon instead of going to the N. Rim. Bryce is so different from Zion and Grand Canyon AND it's only 85 miles from Zion. In this case your central location would be Mt. Carmel Jct, but I'd still spring for Springdale if it were me.

Utahtea

Thanks a lot to each one who made an input to this thread, but most particularly to utahtea. Your information is vital and there are many factors I was not aware of. The height, for instance.

When we were in Cusco (11200 ft), we were very much affected by the "soroche" and had to go really sloooowww for the first 5 days and I do not think we will have coca leaves tea in the North Rim or Bryce Canion ;D

I also did not know about the Labor Day Weekend. I am not sure I am willing to spend 4 to 5 hours each way for a short distance.

Will the roads from St George or Kanab to Zion and Bryce be as bad as that for the North Rim? I would imagine there would be a greater flow of tourists to the North Rim than to either Zion of Bryce. I do appreciate there is some guesswork involved in this forecast, but you folks obviously know a lot about the region.

I checked hotels for Mt. Carmel Jct, and it seems they are booked solid for the weekend, so that rules Mt. Carmel Jct.

I will for certainly not stay in Las Vegas for the weekend. Saturday alone will cost more than the five days from Mon to Friday.

Is Zion alone enough for three days, or is it too much? I must also take into account the entrance fee to Zion for the three days. Are there more than one day tickets, or will we have to pay one admission fee every day we go in?

utahtea is SUCH a great resource for the SW. I've planned many a trip based on her sound advice. She knows the area like the back of her hand. I follow her advice to the letter :-)

I think your pass into Zion will last a week. But, is one of you at least 62? At 62, you qualify for the Senior Pass for National Parks and Recreational Lands. It is a lifetime pass. My husband got his in April and it allows you and 3 passengers into any National Park. We don't remember the cost, but it may have been as little as $10. You can buy it at the entrance gate to any National Park, so perhaps buy it when you get to Zion.

By the way, we LOVE Zion, travel there at least once a year and stay a minimum of 5 nights. Lots to see and do and enjoy.

@elnap29

Thanks a lot for the input. Yes, I am 65 so in theory I should qualify for the Senior Pass.

Am I right in assuming that with that pass I can visit whatever National Park I want with my wife and maybe another two people and NOT pay anything anymore?

Do you remember if your husband got his immediately upon soliciting or did he have to get his by mail?

You can buy the Pass at the park entrance.

Since you are talking about Labor Day weekend -- book something immediately. That is a big holiday weekend. Springdale if you can find an opening.

Yes, you can use the pass immediately. Yes, it is good for 3 passengers as well. You just need your drivers license/photo id. to purchase at the gate and they hand it over to you then.
You have to be a US citizen to get the pass, but that rule does not apply to your passengers. Good at ANY National Park.

info on the parks pass: http://seniorliving.about.com/od/tra...n_age_pass.htm

jfcarli - It is not that the roads are "bad" to N. Rim, it is just a long drive to do in one day.

Good luck,

MY

I agree that, since you are doing GCSR, I would skip GCNR (even though I prefer the north rim) in order to allow more time at Bryce. It's like nothing I have ever seen. We stayed in Springdale (Pearl Inn) when we went to Zion. Also, if you time it right you can use your Natl Parks pass for 2 years. We scheduled this year's trip a week earlier than last year's so we could save the cost of the annual pass ($80?) Love the national parks!!!

Zion & Bryce are both very popular parks but it will be worth the crowds to go. I haven't been on a Labor Day weekend, but my best guess would be the roads to and from the parks won't be so bad, it will be inside the parks that will be crowded.

Another place to look for lodging will be Hurricane, Utah.

We have been to Zion to many times to count and this year we were there for 9 nights in April, so, yes you can find enough to do for 3 days. There are easy walk/hikes like the Riverside walk that is two miles round trip, but if you get tired, either just sit for a while or turn around an go back. Pa'rus Trail is another flat easy walk and you can do as much or little as you want. The Lower Emerald Pools and Weeping Rock both have a little elevation but are pretty easy short hikes. BTW, I'll be 60 this year and do these and other hikes all the time. :) If you don't want to do any walking at all, just get off the shuttle bus at each stop and sit and enjoy the scenery until the next bus comes along. Go to the Lodge and have an ice cream and sit outside under the porch and enjoy the views.

In Bryce if you don't want to go down into the canyon, then walk along the rim. My favorite is from Sunrise to Sunset point. Very easy walk.

I see you have received information on the park pass. DH can't wait till March when he can get his senior pass! LOL

Utahtea

Did your trip 3 yrs. ago and it was awesome! If you're looking for easy short hikes with wonderful scenery too, I'd recommend Snow Canyon State Park on the west side of St.George. This one's "under the radar" (meaning not much talked about,) but convenient and well worth your time.

OK!

It is now final, we booked 3 nights from the 3rd September(Friday) in St. George, in order to see Zion (for sure) and hopefully something else, but not necessarily.

We leave San Francisco on the 1st of September(Wed), so we have two days and two nights before St. George.

If possible, we would like to see some sequoias. The first obvious place seems to be The Sequoia National Park (any alternatives?).

Google maps place Sequoia Ntl Park at 277 mi – aprox. 5h 10 min from San Francisco. Which we should do on the 1st of Sept. arriving early/mid afternoon in the Sequoia National Park or its vicinity (yet to be decided - hopefully with your precious help) and hopefully also still in time to see those big lovely things, before sundown.

Following morning, from Sequoia Ntl Park or from its neighborhood to St. George (532 mi – aprox. 9h 10 min, according to Google Maps) , or somewhere in between. (Any suggestions as regards route and/or sleeping places?).

We are booked for 4 days in Las Vegas from the 6th till the 10th.

One of the days in LV will be spent with the bus tour to South Rim. Another day with Hoover Dam. On the 10th, back to SF.

Any additional help will be most appreciated.

Thanks everybody.

@MichelleY - Sorry! by "bad" I meant clogged up with cars.

@janisj - Sound advise. We booked St George and LV. There remains two driving days to decide where to stay. Thanks.