Grand Canyon National Park

We made it to Arizona!

And the Grand Canyon!

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Lets be honest, some parks are just famous, and few, if any, are more famous than the Grand Canyon. This park surrounds 277 miles of the Colorado River and includes almost 2,000 square miles of land. We are here to get a taste!

We decided to visit the South Rim of the Grand Canyon as it is more accessible for short trips, and because our next park (Petrified Forest) is to the south, so it just made sense. We arrived at the park late morning (around 10:00) and immediately put on more clothes before we sought the canyon. It was cold! It was windy! We wished we had gloves with us (and a nose warmer!) Mather Point was our first glimpse of the magnificent expanse! We have been to quite a few canyons on this journey, some deep, some wide, but none with the magnitude that we beheld here. The canyon stretched out of sight in both directions. The walls of the canyon; a combination of reds, whites, and browns. Sometimes steep, sometimes smooth, always delving deeper into the earth, with the Colorado River anchoring the bottom of the descent.

Our next stop (via free shuttle bus!) was Hopi Point, where the overlook provides a glimpse of the Colorado River to the west. The point provides another fantastic panorama of the canyon! We stopped for a few pictures, but the cold drove us quickly to our next destination, Powell Point, where we took a few more pictures, soaked in the expansive views, then hopped on another shuttle bus (blessedly warm!) and headed back to Bright Angel Lodge for a quick excursion down Bright Angel Trail! We didn't go too far down the trail (someday we will see the whole thing!) just down enough to visit the tunnel below the rim, take a few more pictures, and hike back up. With frozen fingers (and noses!) we headed back to the car and departed the canyon cold, but happy, anticipating our eventual return!

Personnel:
The only personnel we interacted with on this trip were the shuttle bus drivers. We took 2 different buses to get to and from the points, and the drivers couldn't have been more different! The first bus driver was very professions, consistent, and efficient. No extra words, very clear what was going on. The second bus driver was talking pretty much the entire trip about anything and everything, more like a tour guide than a standard passenger bus driver. We appreciated them both.

Climate/weather:
It was so cold. Not only was the air very cold, but the wind would slice right into your bones and leave you freezing! Because our trip was short in nature we were able to survive, but I can't imagine spending hours exploring in this weather. Not an ideal time to visit the rims (although the temperature in the canyon is supposed to be warmer. The sky was beautifully blue and clear, though, and we got an excellent view of the canyon at all stops.

Facilities/signage:
The restrooms we stopped in at the main VC were acceptable clean, with automatic sinks, hand operated soap, and hand dryers (no paper towels or hand sanitizer). The bathrooms were quite spacious as well. There were benches outside the bathrooms, along with a drinking fountain and water spigot. The entrance sign was sadly normal and unremarkable. Not grand at all. Not canyony at all. Within the park there were lots of driving signs. They were informative (there are so many things in the park it is hard to get all that info in one sign) and well placed. We didn't have any trouble finding things. The trailheads and rim trail were also well marked with both stop information and distances to next stop. Very well done.

Hiking experience:
Brief and cold. But the views were spectacular. The Rim Trail is especially good for viewpoints, and is well marked and maintained. And you can take a shuttle back to your car if you want a 1 way experience. We were glad we walked down the beginning of Bright Angel Trail to get a slightly different perspective. Someday we will go down to the bottom! If you are planning to hike at the GC, especially around the rims, maybe don't go in November.

Driving experience:
This isn't a great park to drive in. There aren't great views of the canyon from the road (mostly just trees and hills) there are lots of other cars on the road and especially in the parking lots. Even in November finding a parking spot was tough, parking at the main VC and taking the shuttle is recommended by us, especially in peak season!

Camping options:
There are 3 campgrounds. Mather campground (year round, reservations online or by phone), North Rim Campground (May-Oct, reservations online or by phone), and Desert View Campground (May-Oct, first come first served) as well as backcountry camping (permit required from Backcountry Information Center.) There are also several hotels in the park.

Hammockability:
On either of the rims there are plenty of trees for hammocks (we saw one as we were walking through the village!) but we didn't see much in the way of hammocking locations down in the canyon (granted we weren't very close... so maybe!)

Scenery:
Driving along, through the trees, when suddenly we caught a glimpse of a big ol' canyon out the window! Turns out there are many more opportunities to see this canyon (some would it grand...) during a visit here. How do you describe the Grand Canyon? Even when you are there looking at it, you really don't understand how massive it truly is. It's scope feels beyond reality. You should probably check it out.

Nearby food:
There is food in the park as well as plenty of options in the town just south of the park.

We are so glad we came to this park when we did. All the other canyon based parks are awesome... unless you have been to the Grand Canyon recently. If you are doing a canyon tour, definitely let this be the grand (hah!) finale! You will be glad you did. When we come back we are going to do a hike down to the bottom, do some backcountry camping, explore the north rim, and raft the Colorado River (so... we might be back more than once)!

Next stop: Petrified Forest National Park! Gonna see some rocks... er... trees... I guess!