We are planning a trip to the Grand Canyon for Spring Break. Our plan right now is to just spend the day there and drive to Flagstaff in the evening to spend the night. We have an 8 yr old which will limit us in the amount of hiking we can do.

Is one day enough and would we be missing out by not staying in the park?

I'd appreciate any recommendations as far as kid friendly hiking trails as well. Thanks!!

I would strongly advise staying in the park. The sunset and sunrises over The Canyon are stunning. There is a nice flat walk that goes west from the visitor center towards Hermit's Rest. Act now to get accomodations in the park. www.nps.gov If you can't get reservations in the park, you can try in Tusayan, which is just outside the south entrance. Also, the IMAX movie is really worth it.

Definitely stay in the park. There is no need to stay right at the rim if you can't get a place there as the shuttle bus service gets you around quite quickly. With an in park room you can do some exploring in the morning. Check-in & relax in the afternoon. You can then go to one of the restaurants near the rim (like the Arizona Room at Bright Angel). After dinner you can then take a shuttle bus to Hopi point for sunset, or just enjoy hanging out at the rim watching the condors soar in the afternoon thermals.

Grand Canyon is one Park where it is important to stay in the Park - outside hotels state they are only a few miles from National Park - and that is true - but the actual Canyon is not right at the entrance. All the South Rim lodging is a very short walk from the Rim.

No need to do serious hiking. You can even just take a trail a hundred yards or so below the Rim to get a feel for it (don't get over enthusiastic - it is a lot harder going up than down) or even just skip it all together - I am not a hiker and did not hike below Rim at all and enjoyed the trip.

Sunrise and/or sunset at Rim is a great ecperience that makes staying in Park worthwhile.

Where are you staying the night before the day that you spend at GC. Are you driving up from Flagstaff that day and considering returning that night?

One day is not enough and staying in the park is a much better idea.

Stay in the park. Bright Angel or El Tovar would be my pick. A helicopter ride would be great while there as well.

It's unanimous..I'm going to look into park reservations. Thank you for your input!

mrwunrfl: Our flight arrives in Phoenix early A.M. and planned to drive either straight to the Grand Canyon or to Flagstaff depending on how tired we are.

Reservations for the six lodges inside the park are made through Xanterra. The website is

wwww.grandcanyonlodges.com

If no rooms show up on the website, give them a call. Often there have been cancellations that don't show up on the website.

We like to get up early, get a cup of coffee or tea from the coffee bar, and walk along the rim trail to the east to enjoy the sunrise. Often you will see deer along the trail, and few people.

It is very cold in the early morning and evening in the spring, so be sure and take warm jackets.

Another thing we like to do a bit later in the morning is watch the mule riders mount up and depart for the ride into the canyon. The mule corral is a bit west of Bright Angel Lodge. Your child will definitely enjoy seeing this.