Phoenix, Arizona: 4. 5 hours Las Vegas, Nevada: 5 hours Albuquerque, New Mexico: 7 hours Los Angeles, California: 8 hours Salt Lake City, Utah: 8 hours Denver, Colorado: 13 hours
If it is your first visit to Grand Canyon National Park and/or you are traveling with children, you’ll most likely want to visit the South Rim for its relative abundance of hotels, services and activities. Grand Canyon South Rim is open year-round, making it the best choice for a wintertime visit. Note that you’ll be at a high altitude, so you might want to read How to Prevent Altitude Sickness, just in case. Plan to experience sunrise, sunset, or both if possible. They are spectacular. If you plan to spend the night make your room reservations before you leave home. Rooms are limited. Camping is available but also limited. Plan to do some hiking down one of the trails into the canyon to fully appreciate the scale of the Canyon. It will take twice the time to hike out of the canyon that it will to hike down. A half hour walk down will take at least an hour back. An hour down can easily become a 4 hour ordeal with time used to enjoy the view. Dehydration is a common problem. Bring water with you even for short hikes. Share your water with those you see are suffering. You will become an instant hero. Grand Canyon North Rim, which is only open from mid-May through mid-October, is better suited to couples, hikers and those seeking a quieter, more low-key Grand Canyon experience. Visitor services at the North Rim are fewer in number and smaller in scale. If you have limited time for a Grand Canyon experience; if you want to experience going to the bottom of the Grand Canyon; or if your physician has advised you to avoid high altitudes, consider Grand Canyon West on the Hualapai Indian Reservation. Grand Canyon West is open year-round.
The new Grand Canyon Skywalk is not a part of Grand Canyon National Park. It is located at Grand Canyon West, on Hualapai Indian Tribal Lands. The main access road into the complex is unpaved for a distance of about 15 miles (24 km). Though recently graded, it is still very bumpy and deeply rutted in some areas. Those driving rental cars are strongly discouraged from taking vehicles down this road. Doing so could void your insurance policy. See How to Know Which Insurance to Take on a Rental Car.
Booking by phone? Choose one with a “redial” button. Grand Canyon reservations centers tend to experience very high call volume during peak travel months. Don’t be taken aback if you get a busy signal; keep trying. Cancellations do happen. If unable to reserve a seat on a mule ride or other activity, keep checking back, or ask about waiting lists when you arrive. At the same time, consider alternative activities. Did you know wikiHow offers coupons for a variety of travel websites? For money-saving deals and promo codes on flights, hotels, and activities, check out our coupon site for: Travelocity Expedia Travel Tripadvisor Hotels. com Hotwire Booking. com
