Grand Canyon

[rhood]

We are planning on a visit to the Grand Canyon area in the spring or early summer and are looking for advice. We can fly into Vegas and rent a car I suppose but are not crazy about going through Las Vegas and are looking for some other options. Any other destinations nearby that are serviced by Southwest?

[chuckinca]

Phoenix


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[ijusluvit]

Not sure why you'd rather not land at Vegas, but if you've never done this route, you might reconsider. We did the trip last Spring, renting a car in Vegas and stopping at the Hoover Dam on the way to the Grand Canyon. It was a delightful and not-too-distant drive. Getting out of Vegas and heading south into the desert is easy. The scenery looks surprisingly unique and beautiful, even though we've been there before. The Hoover Dam is a destination in itself, making this our first choice for getting to the Canyon. Whatever way you go, you are witnessing some of nature's finest miracles. Have fun!

[FMF Doc]

Which rim do you want to visit? Or are you trying to see both north and south rims? If so, you have over 200 mile drive from one side to the other.

North rim is less crowded and about 1000 feet higher but I don't think they plow the road from Jacobs Lake until around the end of May.The trip mentioned above over Hoover Dam is great. Coming from Phoenix you can go through Sedona.

George

[renrod]

My vote (I know I don't get one) is the Vegas route. We did it and I would do it again. You don't have to like Vegas for this trip, but if you do, it's another bonus.

[Mikeod]

I agree with going through Las Vegas. McCarron has an easy connection to I-215 then to US93 right to Hoover Dam and beyond to Kingman and I-40 to Williams.

[laryb]

If you go to Vegas, you'll usually get to stay in a nice hotel at a reasonable price, with reasonably priced food. We rafted the Canyon, and flew in a 6 passenger plane to a ranch on the rim, then helicoptered in into the Canyon. We played the Newlywed game with our family last night, and that's what we answered as our favorite vacation. We stayed in Vegas a couple of days before and after, and it's a great place to go for even non-gamblers. (we've been there 30+ times,as we ran tours there, so we're biased)

[St Louis Dave]

We did a similar trip last year and flew into Vegas, rented a car and drove to St. George, Utah then went to Mt. Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon, and then to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Awesome trip and my wife took almost 4000 pictures.

Enjoy your trip!

[KayakerNC]

Sounds like a great trip.
Would the Spring be a good time for the drive to the Canyon from Vegas? Early or late Spring?:pepper2:

[skyguy79]

Rhood, a previous poster suggested going to Sedona AZ and I wanted to mention that we were in Sedona this past July when we took the AutoTrain from Upstate NY to Flagstaff. We decided to stay a few days in Sedona on our way to Phoenix to attend a convention. On the way back we veered off to Prescott Valley then back to Sedona before heading back to flagstaff by Rt. 89A.

If you should decide to base out of Phoenix and make a stop at Sedona like someone suggested, be prepared to encounter a long winding stretch of mountainous highway via Rt. 89A between Sedona and Flagstaff. Sedona is beautiful and worth the visit and the stretch of 89A I'm talking about was pretty senic, but it's also quite tedious! My wife was a bit nerveous as we made our way through the twists and turns.

BTW, there is also a less tedious twisty-turney section between Prescott Valley and Sedona too. Anyway, have a good trip whichever approach you decide on! :)