Las Vegas to Grand Canyon

Old Sep 7th, 2005, 09:15 AM
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Las Vegas to Grand Canyon

Hello. My wife and I are going to be celebrating our 1st year anniversary in Las Vegas. We will be there from Saturday 9/17 - Tuesday 9/20. We really want to squeeze a trip to the Grand Canyon in there.

We have designated Monday as our Grand Canyon day. I know people say that you should spend the night there, but we are on a time crunch. So we're leaving early Monday morning and returning Monday night.

We will be renting a car from the airport. Can you tell me how long it will take from the airport? Mapquest says 5.5 hours. Yahoo says 4.75 hours. Realistically, from your experience, how long should I estimate the drive to be?

Also, when in Grand Canyon should we stop? North Rim? South Rim? Which is closer? Which is better?

Where are the best spots to take in the view and take pictures?

Are there places to eat there? Or should we pack food? Where should we eat? Are there restaurants? Are there picnic areas?

What's a good length of time to stay there? A few hours?

Is there an entrance fee?

Is Hoover Dam on the way? That's something we'd be interested in seeing.

Thanks!
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Old Sep 7th, 2005, 09:49 AM
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Ike
 
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Go to GC airport and rent a helicopter ride for 30 minutes or so.........you will see all of the GC you want to.......then you can get back to Vegas..............
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Old Sep 7th, 2005, 09:57 AM
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TheWeasel
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This will answer most of your questions: www.nps.gov/grca

Hoover Dam is on the way if you travel to the S. Rim. You'll drive right over it, but the visitor center and tours will most likely be closed when you drive through that area.
 
Old Sep 7th, 2005, 10:09 AM
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Other good URLs:

http://www.americanparknetwork.com/p.../gc/index.html
www.kaibab.org
www.grand.canyon.national-park.com
www.thecanyon.com

Five hours of driving each way sounds about right. That means ten hours of driving on that day.
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Old Sep 8th, 2005, 02:58 AM
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I just checked my trip report (on this site) from our trip in 2004 and the drive from LV to Hoover Dam was under 45 minutes and then it was 3 1/2 hours from there to the South Rim. Granted, we don't drive slowly--that was probably going 10 MPH over the speed limit.

Check out the nps.gov website for South Rim maps. You will see the Canyon almost immediately upon entering the entrance (and, yes, there is a fee). You can then go to the area with El Tovar/Bright Angel hotels and find several restaurants.

We did a tour of Hoover Dam and it was interesting; however, we had two days to see the South Rim. You may not want to take the time to do the tour.

You ask how long to take to see the Canyon. You won't have much time unless you plan to drive late into the night (remember, getting a rental car always takes longer than you think!).

Sounds like a fun adventure for two newlyweds. Have fun
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