Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon is located in northern Arizona near the Utah border (just in case you weren’t already aware of where this natural wonder is located), and as you may have learned from one of my previous posts, it is one of the first National Parks.  I have only visited the South Rim since it is open year round and we went the week after Thanksgiving.  It was still warm during the day in the low to mid 60s, but at night the temperature dropped well in to the 30s.  At this time of year the North Rim has already closed due to winter weather since it is a much higher elevation.

The South Rim is the most visited portion of the park and consequently has a decent number of amenities.  In case you forgot to pack something, the Grand Canyon Village Market allows you to pick up some of the basic necessities you may have left at home, and maybe a souvenir or two. You can also find a post office and bank on the South Rim.

There are two visitors centers, Canyon View Information Plaza and Desert View Information Center. The Canyon View Information Plaza offers several outdoor exhibits providing a variety of information about Grand Canyon National Park and what to do once at the park. It is located at Mather Point and is a place to find restrooms, pay phones, bookstore, and shuttle bus stops. The Desert View Information Center offers general park information, and the historic Watch Tower is located here.  You can also visit one of three museums, the Kolb Studio, Tusayan Museum, and Yavapai Observation Station.

There are lodging options directly in the park.  We stayed at El Tovar Hotel which opened back in 1905 for visitors. The rooms were small but comfortable and clean. Not many of the rooms face the Canyon, but the dining room offers a sweeping view of the Canyon. I was admittedly a little disappointed with my dinner, but breakfast was delicious. There are a few other hotels and lodges available to choose from and of course since you’re in a park the option to camp is always available, whether it be in a tent on the ground or in an RV.

We unfortunately were squeezing in as many sites as we could within one trip so we only had about two days to spend at the Grand Canyon and therefore never made it down in to the Canyon, but we found plenty to do up on the Rim to put us almost a full day behind on our itinerary.  It probably doesn’t hurt that you can’t help but just stand there and endlessly stare at the beauty in front of you.