tips about visiting the grand canyon

Go to Zion National Park...........and do the Canyon walks.....

Utah.

4 Tips to Help You Prepare for Zion National Park

kidscrossingriver.jpg
 
Can anyone give me a heads up on it? We are thinking of driving out there later on in the year.
Been years since I was there.
Avoid peak season.
We went in early May before crowds.
Check with National Park Service as now private vehicles may be limited or not allowed during peak months. Not positive on this, but would check to be sure. At one time I heard they were initiating shuttle busses during summer.
Was one impressive area. No picture does it justice.
Everything in park and around it is overpriced as hell. Nothing else for miles.

If you have time, visit Sedona, AZ. south of Flagstaff. Cool red rock and we hiked out to Devils Bridge to walk across the huge arch.
Lots of weird nature hippie types there. Cool tourist western town.
We will go in October.
Should be fine for crowds.
Weather can be cold at canyon rim.
I believe elevation was at 7,000 feet along rim.
First day was 30 at the rim and at same time was 85 at bottom. Snow was falling and evaporating halfway down.
 
Have you ever seen it before?
Not in person.
The north side is nicer due to being 1,000 ft higher...but the trick is, if it's your first time, you want to NOT look at the canyon until you've parked and walk up to about 100 feet of the edge....then look up.....you will never get that OMIGOD feeling of the first time ever again.
 
You'll be amazed. Unbelievable beauty.

See the south Rim at the main visitor's center and you'll never be less impressed.

Avoid the "skywalk" tourist trap out to the west.

Some things to keep in mind. Bring a container to contain your own water unless you want to buy a container there. They no longer sell bottled water but have a copious amount of fountains around the developed areas. So if you have a Yeti, I would bring it over the cheap plastic bottles they sell in the park.

I recommend you come up from Williams as it is faster to get to the good stuff. The eastern approaches can be choked with traffic.

Doing an ariel view? Be careful. There are strict limits on the payloads so if you have more than 3 people, someone may get left behind; check it out thoroughly before you sign up.

Unless you're a glutton for punishment like me, hiking to the canyon floor is probably not a good idea. In the first part, you don't see much in terms of scenery from the floor. If you're going rafting or just want to camp out; okay but your best views are from up top. The animal dung is everywhere from the horses, mules, etc... It can also be pretty dangerous.

I'd go no earlier than May and no later than September. When it's cold, there is a fog that forms sometimes. It usually burns off but can linger at times.

The North rim is much less crowded but I would also argue that it's because there is far less eye candy.

Hope this helps.
 
Take the Bright Angel Trail down into the canyon. Constant switchbacks

Just remember it is a lot easier walking down than it is back up

As soon as you turn around, you have to deal with not only going uphill but with the altitude
 
Take the Bright Angel Trail down into the canyon. Constant switchbacks

Just remember it is a lot easier walking down than it is back up

As soon as you turn around, you have to deal with not only going uphill but with the altitude
Yup, biggest problem for lowlanders. Heck, I live at 3500 ft and if I was in great shape it would still be a problem for me climbing up out of the canyon.
 
Take the Bright Angel Trail down into the canyon. Constant switchbacks

Just remember it is a lot easier walking down than it is back up

As soon as you turn around, you have to deal with not only going uphill but with the altitude
Yup, biggest problem for lowlanders. Heck, I live at 3500 ft and if I was in great shape it would still be a problem for me climbing up out of the canyon.
Surprisingly, going down is very tough too....beats up on your shins, your knees and your hips. More wear and tear than you can imagine....and if you have loose fitting shoes, you'll actually run the risk of losing your toenails from the constant pounding and feet sliding forward in their loose shoes.
 
Take the Bright Angel Trail down into the canyon. Constant switchbacks

Just remember it is a lot easier walking down than it is back up

As soon as you turn around, you have to deal with not only going uphill but with the altitude
Yup, biggest problem for lowlanders. Heck, I live at 3500 ft and if I was in great shape it would still be a problem for me climbing up out of the canyon.

They warned us before going down not to try to go all the way to the canyon floor. Going down, I was thinking.......this is easy and not too steep, I can make it
But turned around at about the 3/4 mark
As soon as I turned around, I did about three switchbacks and was gasping for air. Made it back to the top, but it was tough
 
Take the Bright Angel Trail down into the canyon. Constant switchbacks

Just remember it is a lot easier walking down than it is back up

As soon as you turn around, you have to deal with not only going uphill but with the altitude
Yup, biggest problem for lowlanders. Heck, I live at 3500 ft and if I was in great shape it would still be a problem for me climbing up out of the canyon.
Surprisingly, going down is very tough too....beats up on your shins, your knees and your hips. More wear and tear than you can imagine....and if you have loose fitting shoes, you'll actually run the risk of losing your toenails from the constant pounding and feet sliding forward in their loose shoes.
I used to clamber up and down rocks and mountains in Colorado when I was much younger....... I know how beat up one can get. Snug fitting hiking boots with good ankle support is your best bet for footwear.
 
Last edited:
Take the Bright Angel Trail down into the canyon. Constant switchbacks

Just remember it is a lot easier walking down than it is back up

As soon as you turn around, you have to deal with not only going uphill but with the altitude
Yup, biggest problem for lowlanders. Heck, I live at 3500 ft and if I was in great shape it would still be a problem for me climbing up out of the canyon.

They warned us before going down not to try to go all the way to the canyon floor. Going down, I was thinking.......this is easy and not too steep, I can make it
But turned around at about the 3/4 mark
As soon as I turned around, I did about three switchbacks and was gasping for air. Made it back to the top, but it was tough
We would have friends and relatives visit us when we lived in Colorado Springs and wanted to drive to the top of Pikes Peak..... We'd make them wait until almost the last day of their visit for that jaunt, they had a hard enough time getting around the Springs at 6000 ft let alone trying to get around at 14000 ft........
 
Can anyone give me a heads up on it? We are thinking of driving out there later on in the year.
Been years since I was there.
Avoid peak season.
We went in early May before crowds.
Check with National Park Service as now private vehicles may be limited or not allowed during peak months. Not positive on this, but would check to be sure. At one time I heard they were initiating shuttle busses during summer.
Was one impressive area. No picture does it justice.
Everything in park and around it is overpriced as hell. Nothing else for miles.

If you have time, visit Sedona, AZ. south of Flagstaff. Cool red rock and we hiked out to Devils Bridge to walk across the huge arch.
Lots of weird nature hippie types there. Cool tourist western town.
We will go in October.

Should go earlier incase of early snow in Arizona Rockies...
 

Forum List

Back
Top