On our 9 day SW trip, I only have time for one rim. I've already made 2 nights reservations at Yavapai Lodge on the south rim, and two nights in a pioneer cabin on north rim. Both can be cancelled. I do not intend to hike to the bottom or ride a mule. This is our first trip to see the canyon. We will be traveling with 3 older children. Suggestions?

I answered your other thread. If you nix Sedona will you have time for both rims? Otherwise, do LV, Bryce, Zion , N. Rim etc.

Here is a link to a trip we did several years ago:

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

Hope it helps.

For your first visit - definitely the South Rim. There are buses that go along the rim and they have more lodging and dining choices, and a good IMAX film near the south entrance.

Note - the frequent buses are free and you can hop on/off at various viewpoints. Also you might hike just partway down the trial - get below the rim to experience something different.

South rim.

When are you going? The north rim is much less crowded in summer, you don't need to take a shuttle to get around, you can drive to plenty of scenic overlooks and do short hikes (you can also hike down in but you said you don't want to). Some say the views are better at the south rim. I haven't been to the south rim in decades but was just at the north rim last summer and it was pretty damn impressive. The north rim is definitely much more of a 'wilderness' type experience while the south rim is more 'disney'.

We did GCNR, Zion and Bryce last August. Here is my trip report and link to photos - http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...parks-trip.cfm

Hi,

I (partially) agree with isabel...and so with 3 older children (i think teenagers), you should first experience 'disney' than 'wilderness' of Grand Canyons. So I prefer South Rim in this case.
Check out iMAX theater, desert-view point and also check some evening/night programs scheduled by National park rangers...those would be fun for sure. Dont miss sunrise and sunset, as canyons looks B-E-A-utiful in those lights...You can also hike down bright angel trail as far as you want - just get a feel of hiking GC!
I would love to go to North Rim - as I have already visited south rim twice....

South, for the reasons mentioned above. But the north is also worth a day over some of the other places on your itinerary.

I'd do south first, then you'll appreciate the relatively low key vibe at the north rim more.

on the south rim you can see a lot more of the canyon and I would normally recommend that.I would discribe it more like yosemite than disneyland.the north rim has cooler tempuratures and works well in combination with Bryce and Zion.grand canyon might be the #1 of my top 3 must see places to see but if you are tight for time there is no real reason to spend two days there.catch a sunrise and a sunset and hit the road.Zion "might" also make my top three.

I have three younger kids (9, 9 and 6) and we did the North Rim this past summer. We had done the south in the past and I agree with Isabel. The north was wilderness and the south more touristy. After the heat of Bryce and the Escalante we LOVED the North Rim. I have a trip report on here that sounds like your trip if you are interested. Good luck!

I always recommend that first timers go to the South Rim. To me it's "grander" than the N. Rim.

Utahtea

Not sure if you read my trip report link, but our two girls said at the end of the trip that Las Vegas was their favorite part . This was due to the shopping, dining, Cirque show we saw and overall glitz value. Very disheartening for me after all the planning for the parks. Hope your girls will be different.