Four of us 30 sometings are planning a day trip via car to the grand canyon. I have already been to the south rim via Phoenix.

My question is (1) which quicker-- Vegas to South or North Rim. We will be there mid-October. (2) How long will it take? I am told to expect a 4-5 hour drive one-way. (3) Any advantage to doing either the drive to the south or north rim (any particular sites to see along the way that would make the south or north rim drive more interesting?).

I already did a search as I am an avid Fodorite (planned our trip to hike Kilimanjaro via information on the site-- we got to the top!). I am sure this question has already been asked, but I just couldn't find anything.

Depending on where you are starting from in LV, its pretty much a wash. Using just LV as a starting point in mapquest, it shows the south rim is 277 miles away and that it should take 4:33 to get there, not including stops. The north rim is 265 miles but, because of the mountain road across Zion Canyon, it shows a travel time of 4:42. If you plug in your actual starting point, you'll get a little more precise results.

One thing to consider is weather. In mid-October, you have a good chance of the northern route having excellent weather but there is a risk of early snows. That is not possible to predict at this point but, if they have snow heavy enough to close the road to the north rim, you'll be out of luck. As I said, the chances of this are not high but there is a rsik.

We went to the Grand Canyon via Phoenix one year mid October. The weather was wonderful, but the north rim was closed. We saw the south rim, then drove up to Zion National Park.. that took 5 hours. The South rim was spectacular.

If you've already been to the South Rim, and you only have a day, I would definitely do Zion National Park instead.

Thanks. Anything special to see on the way from Vegas to G.Canyon (besides Hoover Dam of course)?

Many thanks!

After the Hoover Dam/Lake Mead (where traffic was moving very slowly), I recall this drive as being a whole lotta nothin'!

The Grand Canyon as a day trip from Las Vegas is going to be the 4 of you spending 10 hours in a vehicle with just a short time at the Grand Canyon. In October, you're only going to have 12 hours of daylight so you will be driving back after dark. Anyway you could spend the night?

In Kingman, AZ there is a Museum on Old Route 66. You can also drive a section of Route 66 between Kingman and Seligman, but it's not as interesting as the section between Oatman, AZ and Kingman..which would be out of your way. I would skip the museum and spend the time at the Grand Canyon unless you decide to spend the night on the road.

Utahtea