# Grand Canyon



## 1927 (Sep 13, 2007)

Am just booking up my trip to US in November and will be staying in Vegas for a couple of nights and want to go and see the Canyon. There are so many trips available and all offer different view points. Which should I aim for west rim, south rim etc.


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## Spion (Sep 13, 2007)

1927 said:
			
		

> Am just booking up my trip to US in November and will be staying in Vegas for a couple of nights and want to go and see the Canyon. There are so many trips available and all offer different view points. Which should I aim for west rim, south rim etc.


Hire a car and DIY it. When I went we booked a campground pass for partway down into the canyon (Horsehoe Mesa) from the S rim and spent the night there. One of the most awesome (and I don't use that word lightly in this instance) things I've ever done

View from H'shoe Mesa


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## Detroit City (Sep 13, 2007)

1927 said:
			
		

> There are so many trips available and all offer different view points. Which should I aim for west rim, south rim etc.


I really doesn't matter, just go!


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## JoMo1953 (Sep 13, 2007)

Detroit City is correct....it is an awesome sight 

Have not been since they built the new clear platform you can walk out on so that would be a good starting point I would think.


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## mhendo (Sep 13, 2007)

JoMo1953 said:
			
		

> Detroit City is correct....it is an awesome sight
> 
> Have not been since they built the new clear platform you can walk out on so that would be a good starting point I would think.


I dunno. That thing sounds like a rip-off to me. It's expensive, and you can't even take your camera  on it.


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## D (Sep 13, 2007)

I have never been to the Grand Canyon.

 

or Vegas, for that matter


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## wtfftw (Sep 14, 2007)

Save up and get a helicopter.


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## phildwyer (Sep 14, 2007)

South rim, in the national park.  The glass platform's in the reservation, I don't think I'd bother.  Do you know the exact date you're going to be there--I may be in the vicinity myself.


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## twistedAM (Sep 14, 2007)

I went once (in December) and I saw nothing..it was full of clouds/mist/fog or a combo of all three.
Was a little disappointed but at least on the way i got to stand on a corner in Winslow, Arizona.


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## free spirit (Sep 14, 2007)

make sure you take a walk down into the canyon... not sure which bit it was I went to, but we walked down from the top to the river and back in a few hours (well under a day anyway) fairly easily.


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## free spirit (Sep 14, 2007)

oh yeah, and get there for dawn if you can, tis particularly impressive


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## ska invita (Sep 14, 2007)

1927 said:
			
		

> Am just booking up my trip to US in November and will be staying in Vegas for a couple of nights and want to go and see the Canyon. There are so many trips available and all offer different view points. Which should I aim for west rim, south rim etc.


I have just been lucky enough to have that same holiday this summer - thanks to kind extended family.

The Canyon is some 250 miles long, so it does make a difference where you go.

The North rim national park is for the hardened hiker - a lot less tourists, harder to get to, and an all round more rootsy experience.

The south rim national park has free busses taking you to different view points along the canyon, and has a couple of resteraunts and gift shops.
These are done exceptionaly tastefuly, and are very cheap, even by US standards.

I was blown away by the quality of the National Park service - very respectful to the environment, utterly unobtrusive to the views, lots of veggie options on food, and cheap.

All the buildings on the south rim were built by this amazing female architect MAry Colter, at the start of the century, and highly respectful of natural environment and native american history and culture.

This kind of thing:





She is very cool, and a great feminist icon. She only did about 5 buildings on the canyon - check out this one, built for a photographer:





Thats only on the south rim. The south rim, even though more touristy was still relatively quiet even in the height if tourist season. plus, from there you can take hike (guided) down into the canyon and so on, were you'll be all alone.


Then there is the controversial issue of the skywalk, Some 4hrs west of the south rim (nearer vegas) - it sits on native american land (i forget which tribe). 
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=BvzlZuWrJNw

However it is a tourist trap. You have to pay $75 a person, for which you get a compulsary meal, 15 minutes on the skywalk and something else (i forget what now). The most cotroversial aspect is that it distrubs the untouched-by-man view of the canyon.

The view is amazinf everywhere - im not sure the skywalk really adds anything.

All in all, unless your hardcore, go to the south rim, from which a number of possibilities exist. It also depends where your staying, as from the suth rim it takes 5hours to get to the north rim!

The CAnyon is fucking amazing though - even bigger than it looks in the pictures. Have a great time  

P.S. on the way back to Vegas try and go by The Valley of Fire - its like a canyone made of Ayres Rock on acid


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## ska invita (Sep 14, 2007)

drag0n said:
			
		

> Save up and get a helicopter.


helicopter flights go constantly, at some points you can see four in the sky at one time -  and I think were less than $50 a head - they have their own section of the canyone to fly over so as not to disturb other parts.

personaly i think its a waste of petrol and not in keeping with the spirit of the place, but its up to you of course. it is cheap though.


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## ska invita (Sep 14, 2007)

free spirit said:
			
		

> oh yeah, and get there for dawn if you can, tis particularly impressive


we only managed a sunset (lazy buggers) - which was great - but lots of people say that dawn is particularly special.

And also seconded about getting down in the canyon - a completely different perspective on it from down there.


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## phildwyer (Sep 14, 2007)

free spirit said:
			
		

> make sure you take a walk down into the canyon... not sure which bit it was I went to, but we walked down from the top to the river and back in a few hours (well under a day anyway) fairly easily.



Its not always easy--be very careful doing this.  Take a map, loads of water and a cellphone.


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## chilango (Sep 14, 2007)

free spirit said:
			
		

> make sure you take a walk down into the canyon... not sure which bit it was I went to, but we walked down from the top to the river and back in a few hours (well under a day anyway) fairly easily.



 

Thats terrible advice!

YES. Walk into the canyon.

But people trying to walk to the river and back in a day can end up dead.

Remember, coming back is way harder than going down. Whilst you'll miss the heat in November, and the weather should be good for hiking, the trails may well be in pretty poor condition that time of year. making the going considerably harder.


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## JoMo1953 (Sep 14, 2007)

mhendo said:
			
		

> I dunno. That thing sounds like a rip-off to me. It's expensive, and you can't even take your camera  on it.


Did not realize the cost involved...... $75 for fifteen minutes


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## christonabike (Oct 5, 2007)

We took a coach from Vegas, stayed the night, saw it at dawn, and came back

Our accomodation was near the photographers hut in the pic above

It was ace, but I wish we had done the trek to the bottom

Next time we shall deffo go to the bottom, otherwise youare just looking at it and are not in it, experiencing it

(My Dad took a mule ride down about 20 years ago, that's another experience as well. Read up about the mules and why they are different to horses, it's fascinating and funny)


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## Kanda (Oct 5, 2007)

Treebeak and I got a 'copter over and had a picnic at the bottom. Wasn't massively impressed tbh.

She puked the whole journey too which didn't help


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## christonabike (Oct 5, 2007)

> Treebeak and I got a 'copter over and had a picnic at the bottom. Wasn't massively impressed tbh.



Was it smaller than you thought?

 

I would say that the walking down and staying overnight would add massively to the experience, in that you would be part of it

And a helicopter to the bottom sounds a bit slack (but not if someone can't walk or something, obviously)


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## Kanda (Oct 5, 2007)

I think it probably looks more impressive when there isn't sick everywhere, on a warmer day and from above.


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## christonabike (Oct 5, 2007)

Haha, oh well


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## oneflewover (Oct 6, 2007)

Some friends and I did an aeroplane flight from Las Vegas to the Rim (grand Canyon airport) and then a helicopter to the bottom and then a boat trip down the river and reverse. It is incredible. The helicopters are not as intrusive as you would think, they are dwarfed by the enormity of the canyon. Instead of the meal that is forced on you, use the time to wander, in minutes you can feel like you are in a wilderness and sit on the edge of the canyon it is awesome.


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## Gavin Bl (Oct 6, 2007)

Flagstaff is a good place to stop, if you there overnight - its about an hour from the south rim, iirc - and has a nice little downtown area with some very decent bars and nice, slightly pricey restaurants.

Anyone know if the Monte Vista hotel is still there? It was very reasonable and full of character, and you can hear the trains wail as they roll through, which is was very nice and 'On the Road'.

The drive from Vegas is a fair old trek, but you can tank along at a good pace. The desert terrain is wonderful if you are not used to it, and a short stop at the Boulder Dam is worth it too. I think we drove most of the day, and were at the South Rim for sunset, which was great. Some git drove behind me all the way back to Williams, with his full beam in my rear view mirror.


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## D (Oct 7, 2007)

There's a great veggie place in Flagstaff called "Macy's".


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## chilango (Oct 8, 2007)

Gavin Bl said:
			
		

> Flagstaff is a good place to stop, if you there overnight - its about an hour from the south rim, iirc - and has a nice little downtown area with some very decent bars and nice, slightly pricey restaurants.
> 
> Anyone know if the Monte Vista hotel is still there? It was very reasonable and full of character, and you can hear the trains wail as they roll through, which is was very nice and 'On the Road'.
> 
> The drive from Vegas is a fair old trek, but you can tank along at a good pace. The desert terrain is wonderful if you are not used to it, and a short stop at the Boulder Dam is worth it too. I think we drove most of the day, and were at the South Rim for sunset, which was great. Some git drove behind me all the way back to Williams, with his full beam in my rear view mirror.



Flagstaff is great. The Monte Vista (iirc) was still there when I was there 18 months ago. Some great brewpubs too.


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## duvel (Oct 16, 2007)

.....Grand Canyon is amazing.... 

http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=grand%20canyon&w=30713155%40N00

As mentioned Flagstaff is a good, close pit stop.


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