grand canyon resident here
Apr 15th, 2007, 08:59 PM
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grand canyon resident here
I just came across this site and saw there was a bunch of stuff on here about the Grand Canyon. I lived out there for about a year and a half, just moved away this last january and wanted to make my self available to answer anyones questions about the place. here are a few random tips also for anyone interested:
Tusayan is the town right outside the park entrance on rt. 64 if you decide to eat at a restaurant while in tusayan do not go to the steak house. they give terrible service(automatic 15% gratuity, no incentive for good service) and they charge 5 dollars a refill. my friend and i went there to eat, both had a refill on our sodas, cost us 20 bucks total. all of the locals hate the place. on the other hand the restaurant called "we cook pizza and pasta" is the finest in the area in my opinion. they might be a bit higher priced than what your used to but no more than any of the other restaurants there. they've got great food and friendly staff.
im not sure if all national parks are like this, but the GC is. there is absolutely no tolerance for alcohol in your system while driving inside the park. even if your BAC registers .02% you can get a DUI.
i did all of my hiking in well ventilated trail shoes and they served me fine all the way to phantom and back. if your traveling solo and staying at indian gardens you don't need a tent, the way it's set up is you get your camp site and it has a little clearing for your tent and also a picnic bench that has a roof over it. when i stayed there i didnt bring a tent i just set my sleeping pad and bag on the picnic table. this was in monsoon season and there was a torrential downpour that evening. the picnic table worked great since everything else flooded.
anyone has any questions about the place i'd be happy to answer. let me know how your trip goes too.
Tusayan is the town right outside the park entrance on rt. 64 if you decide to eat at a restaurant while in tusayan do not go to the steak house. they give terrible service(automatic 15% gratuity, no incentive for good service) and they charge 5 dollars a refill. my friend and i went there to eat, both had a refill on our sodas, cost us 20 bucks total. all of the locals hate the place. on the other hand the restaurant called "we cook pizza and pasta" is the finest in the area in my opinion. they might be a bit higher priced than what your used to but no more than any of the other restaurants there. they've got great food and friendly staff.
im not sure if all national parks are like this, but the GC is. there is absolutely no tolerance for alcohol in your system while driving inside the park. even if your BAC registers .02% you can get a DUI.
i did all of my hiking in well ventilated trail shoes and they served me fine all the way to phantom and back. if your traveling solo and staying at indian gardens you don't need a tent, the way it's set up is you get your camp site and it has a little clearing for your tent and also a picnic bench that has a roof over it. when i stayed there i didnt bring a tent i just set my sleeping pad and bag on the picnic table. this was in monsoon season and there was a torrential downpour that evening. the picnic table worked great since everything else flooded.
anyone has any questions about the place i'd be happy to answer. let me know how your trip goes too.
Apr 16th, 2007, 03:47 AM
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Hi there timbo. We visited GC last August as a day trip out of Vegas and we were completely speechless when we came upon the rim. Words can't describe it, the beauty and vastness of it. I want to go back! 
It was def the highlight of our southwest trip.
It was def the highlight of our southwest trip.
Apr 16th, 2007, 06:01 AM
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timbo,
i'm planning a 7day trip from vegas to zion (2nites/1-1days) then to GC then sedona and back. figured to see north rim from zion(1day/nite), south rim (2nites/3days) and sedona(2nites/2-3days). lots of hikes. how does this sound? how and where to get reserv. on/near north rim or should we cont to south instead? where to stay on/near south? it's girl's bday. we're mid 40s and fancy ourselves as outdoorsy city folk without kids. thx.
i'm planning a 7day trip from vegas to zion (2nites/1-1days) then to GC then sedona and back. figured to see north rim from zion(1day/nite), south rim (2nites/3days) and sedona(2nites/2-3days). lots of hikes. how does this sound? how and where to get reserv. on/near north rim or should we cont to south instead? where to stay on/near south? it's girl's bday. we're mid 40s and fancy ourselves as outdoorsy city folk without kids. thx.
Apr 16th, 2007, 11:08 PM
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thanks for the replies! i agree it's a beautiful place id love to go back some day, some day soon.
rva17,
that sounds like a real nice trip! a couple of confessions i have to make though, i didnt get around a lot while i was there. never made it to the north rim nor sedona.
im sure you've already seen this in your travel plans but for anyone not familiar with the canyon it's a long drive from the north rim to the south rim. as far as staying on the south rim i can give you the lowdown on the hotels of the area.
xanterra is the concessioner for almost all of the tourist stuff inside the park, they handle the restaurants, the hotels, some tours, taxi service, mule trips to the bottom of the canyon, etc. this is the phone number for their switchboard, they can help you out with pretty much anything south rim related: 928-638-2631 they also are the concessioner for the north rom so im sure the people at that number can give you contacts for the north rim also.
as far as the hotels, the el tovar is the nicest hotel there and the most expensive, i myself wouldn't spend the money to stay there unless you enjoy the ritzy kind of thing. the el tovar is right on the rim and is associated with the kachina lodge also. thunderbird and bright angel are much cheaper i believe and they also are right on the rim. maswick lodge is another cheaper place to stay and not very far from the rim. yavapai lodge is inside the park but it's a ways out there.
the other option is to stay in the town of tusayan, probably cheaper. from there to the rim it's about maybe 8 or 9 miles. the three hotels i would recommend there are the best western/squire inn(phone number is almost the same as xanterra's, 928-638-2681), the quality inn, or the grand hotel(if i remember right the grand's number is (928-638-3333). im not sure the price differences but i think they're all pretty comparable to each other. other option is to just camp out at mather campground inside the park! the general store(inside the park) rents tents if you don't have one.
rva17,
that sounds like a real nice trip! a couple of confessions i have to make though, i didnt get around a lot while i was there. never made it to the north rim nor sedona.
im sure you've already seen this in your travel plans but for anyone not familiar with the canyon it's a long drive from the north rim to the south rim. as far as staying on the south rim i can give you the lowdown on the hotels of the area.
xanterra is the concessioner for almost all of the tourist stuff inside the park, they handle the restaurants, the hotels, some tours, taxi service, mule trips to the bottom of the canyon, etc. this is the phone number for their switchboard, they can help you out with pretty much anything south rim related: 928-638-2631 they also are the concessioner for the north rom so im sure the people at that number can give you contacts for the north rim also.
as far as the hotels, the el tovar is the nicest hotel there and the most expensive, i myself wouldn't spend the money to stay there unless you enjoy the ritzy kind of thing. the el tovar is right on the rim and is associated with the kachina lodge also. thunderbird and bright angel are much cheaper i believe and they also are right on the rim. maswick lodge is another cheaper place to stay and not very far from the rim. yavapai lodge is inside the park but it's a ways out there.
the other option is to stay in the town of tusayan, probably cheaper. from there to the rim it's about maybe 8 or 9 miles. the three hotels i would recommend there are the best western/squire inn(phone number is almost the same as xanterra's, 928-638-2681), the quality inn, or the grand hotel(if i remember right the grand's number is (928-638-3333). im not sure the price differences but i think they're all pretty comparable to each other. other option is to just camp out at mather campground inside the park! the general store(inside the park) rents tents if you don't have one.
Apr 16th, 2007, 11:24 PM
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sorry had a few more things to say before i accidently hit post my reply
so those are the hotels for the area, nice place to have dinner inside the park is the arizona room which is located on north side of the bright angel lodge. it's a steak house, they open up i believe at 4:30 for dinner, no reservations it's first come first serve. as far as hikes go id recommend the bright angel trail. it's the most travelled trail there and you'll get some great views. if your just going for a day hike indian gardens is a nice destination if your both in good shape. it's about 4.5 miles down the trail and it's kind of like a lush little oasis, lots of nice trees, mule deer, and plenty of lizards. it's also 4.5 miles back up too though and some people have more trouble with that than others. you can also camp down there(permit needed from park service) or if your overnighting it you can always go the 5 additional miles to phantom ranch. definitely worth it.
another day hike is a place called shoshone point. hardly any tourists know about it because it's not publicized. it's basically a little turn off of desert view drive, you park your car and walk a mile down a level dirt road/trail. it comes out at shoshone point for an amazing spot on the rim, beautiful view, and most likely all to your self. it's a pain to find the turnoff though i still have trouble looking for it.
the directions im giving are from the main entrance. you go on 64 through tusayan, past the park service gates where you pay an exorbitant amount of money to get in, and keep going straight on that road after you get through the gate. go straight straight straight until you see desert view drive, i think it's a 3 way stop. turn right on to that(only way to turn) and go down that road for a little while. i can't remember for sure, it's somewhere between 1 and 7 miles down that road (i think around 3 or 4 miles) there will be a little turn off on your left. pull in there and you should see a gate that prevents you from driving down the dirt road that leads to shoshone point. so from there you just park and walk a mile. there is some deterring sign posted on a tree too but i dont remember what it says. i'd definitely reccomend that little sidetrip. in the past they were doing prescribed burns there but i imagine they are done now.
when are you going on your trip? im jealous im sure it'll be a lot of fun. sorry i dont know much about the north rim, keep me posted on how it goes!
so those are the hotels for the area, nice place to have dinner inside the park is the arizona room which is located on north side of the bright angel lodge. it's a steak house, they open up i believe at 4:30 for dinner, no reservations it's first come first serve. as far as hikes go id recommend the bright angel trail. it's the most travelled trail there and you'll get some great views. if your just going for a day hike indian gardens is a nice destination if your both in good shape. it's about 4.5 miles down the trail and it's kind of like a lush little oasis, lots of nice trees, mule deer, and plenty of lizards. it's also 4.5 miles back up too though and some people have more trouble with that than others. you can also camp down there(permit needed from park service) or if your overnighting it you can always go the 5 additional miles to phantom ranch. definitely worth it.
another day hike is a place called shoshone point. hardly any tourists know about it because it's not publicized. it's basically a little turn off of desert view drive, you park your car and walk a mile down a level dirt road/trail. it comes out at shoshone point for an amazing spot on the rim, beautiful view, and most likely all to your self. it's a pain to find the turnoff though i still have trouble looking for it.
the directions im giving are from the main entrance. you go on 64 through tusayan, past the park service gates where you pay an exorbitant amount of money to get in, and keep going straight on that road after you get through the gate. go straight straight straight until you see desert view drive, i think it's a 3 way stop. turn right on to that(only way to turn) and go down that road for a little while. i can't remember for sure, it's somewhere between 1 and 7 miles down that road (i think around 3 or 4 miles) there will be a little turn off on your left. pull in there and you should see a gate that prevents you from driving down the dirt road that leads to shoshone point. so from there you just park and walk a mile. there is some deterring sign posted on a tree too but i dont remember what it says. i'd definitely reccomend that little sidetrip. in the past they were doing prescribed burns there but i imagine they are done now.
when are you going on your trip? im jealous im sure it'll be a lot of fun. sorry i dont know much about the north rim, keep me posted on how it goes!
Apr 17th, 2007, 06:40 PM
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one other quick thing i wanted to comment on was the most popular book about the grand canyon. it's about all the people who died there. read my review and feel free to comment at:
http://spot86.com/index.php?topic=19.0
http://spot86.com/index.php?topic=19.0
Apr 18th, 2007, 03:24 PM
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thanks timbo,
that good info. i'll try to find that turnoff for the shoshone hike. i went down kaibab years ago to meet some rafts and prob half way down bright angel another time. i'm taking the sweetie for her bday memorial day week. she's never been there! since i had to wait so late to book it (couldn't confirm the time off til now) i was lucky to get a rm at yavapai. got nicer places in sedona and st george (for zion). it's a bit rushed..esp the drive from zion to the south rim but it's better than working!! take care.
that good info. i'll try to find that turnoff for the shoshone hike. i went down kaibab years ago to meet some rafts and prob half way down bright angel another time. i'm taking the sweetie for her bday memorial day week. she's never been there! since i had to wait so late to book it (couldn't confirm the time off til now) i was lucky to get a rm at yavapai. got nicer places in sedona and st george (for zion). it's a bit rushed..esp the drive from zion to the south rim but it's better than working!! take care.
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