What to See/Do at Grand Canyon?

[ShoopCE]

Hey guys,

I'll be driving cross country with my daughter to get her (& her car) to San Diego State for grad school and we're planning to spend a day at the Canyon, actually an afternoon, night and morning.

Any suggestions on what to see, do, or where to eat or stay for the night, would be greatly appreciated!

Sadly, I won't have the bike. But I will be renting one in SD and going for a spin with the official ambassador for San Diego. Take a bow, Cliff - Motogiro!

Chris

 

[VEGASRIDER]

Which part of the Canyon? South Rim, North Rim, or near Vegas on the Indian Reservation? If you stay in Vegas, you can take a helicopter trip out to the Grand Canyon that will put you down at the bottom of the canyon, or depending on the type of tour you purchase, you can spend the entire day out there, or even go on a boat ride up the Colorado River. Most tours will get you there and back (Vegas) in about 3 hours. It's expensive but well worth it in my opinion.

 

[Love@FirstRide]

I'm pretty sure the park pass you have to buy is good for 7 days, There is a lot to do. A friend and I didn't see everything on the southern rim in 1 day, we spent a lot hiking almost down to the bottom. It is advised that you do not attempt to hike to the river and back in the same day. IF i could do it again i would have loved to spend 2 full days instead of the one. I recommend you come prepared as we didn't see anything that looked like a good food stop. We had sandwiches and granola bars for days lol

 

[major tom]

Hiking to the bottom should be on anyone's bucket list. Camp the night on the river, hike out with the earliest start. Bring lots of water. The view from the bottom is otherworldly! You don't even have to be stoned, I think.

 

[VEGASRIDER]

Hiking to the bottom should be on anyone's bucket list. Camp the night on the river, hike out with the earliest start. Bring lots of water. The view from the bottom is otherworldly! You don't even have to be stoned, I think.

Hiking down to the bottom, you have to be in great physical shape. I hiked down to the bottom and back up the same day when I was attending Arizona State University. The way down is a breeze for obvious reasons, but the way up I nearly died. And you have to yield to the donkey's, kicking up all that dust while you go up a very steep grade.. Take a helicopter down to the bottom and back up, you won't break a sweat.

 

[ShoopCE]

Thanks for the suggestions! It was a great stop on an epic drive with the daughter.

Here's the short version.
I did a search the day before and came up with suggestions for a one-day visit from a site called lonelyplanet.com.
They suggested South rim. Come in from the East entrance - good point. Check.
On the way in, visit the Cameron Trading Post for Navajo tacos. Actually, we had the Navajo burgers. Check.
Next, visit several of the lookout points. Check. At first it was raining and the view was all cloud but then it opened up magnificently!
Important: take one of the trails at least partway down over the rim. They recommended the Kaibab trail since the beginning part is more interesting that the first mile or so of the Bright Angel Trail. We did Kaibab - WOW.
LAST: go to the western end, Hermit's Rest, for the sunset and stay till it's dark. We tried but the western end got socked in by clouds just before sunset, so we went to the main point and saw the very low-power version of the sunset.

BEST PART: The Kaibab Trail - daughter agrees. This shot is from about 600 ft down from the rim.




Could not resist posting the rainbow shot.