Firstofflet's startwithjust a bitofbackgroundonthepark. TheGrandCanyonisanoverwhelmingexperienceandnothingprepares a visitorforthesiteofsuch a massivegorge. WhatyouseetodayistheresultofalmostsevenmillionyearsofColoradoRivererosion. Thecanyonissimplyimmensemeasuringover 250 mileslong, onemiledeep, andupto 18 milesacrossanditexposessomeoftheoldestrockonearthgoingbacknearlytwobillionyearsintoEarth's history. It's nowondertheGrandCanyonisknownasoneofthesevennaturalwondersoftheworld. ThecanyonwasfirstdiscoveredbyEuropeansin 1540 whenSpanishexplorersweretakentherebylocalHopiIndianguides, butitwasn't until 1858, morethan 300 yearslater, thatthecanyonwasofficiallymapped. And a decadeafterthatuntilJohnWesleyPowellmadehisfamousexpeditiondowntheriver. SoonafterthatthoughtheSantaFeRailroadbuilt a railroadspurfromFlagstaffArizonatothecanyon's southrimandearlytourismeffortsbegan. Andfinallyin 1919, aftertwopreviousrejectionsbytheUSCongress, theGrandCanyonwasfinallydesignated a NationalPark. Todaythecanyonisoneofthemostvisitedparksinthecountryand a crownjeweloftheNationalParkSystem. Theparkconsistsoflandonbothnorthandsouthrimsofthecanyon, butduetoitsaccessibilityadvantageoverthenorthrim, thesouthrimreceivesthevastmajorityofalltourismvisits. Forthisreasonourguideherewillfocusonalltheopportunitiesandamenitiesthesouthrimhastooffer. Nowlet's talkaboutthepark's location, gettingthere, entryfees, andhours. Thesouthrimparkentranceis a oneand a halfhourdrivefromFlagstaffArizona, a littlemorethan a threeand a halfhourdrivefrom
Phoenix, or a fourhourdrivefromLasVegas, Nevada. There's a smallprivateairportnearthepark, buttheclosestcommercialairportisinFlagstaff, oneand a halfhoursaway. Thesouthrimparkentranceisopen 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, andtheNationalParkentrancefeeis $35 a vehicle, whichshouldbenotedisgoodfor a totalofsevendays. Intermsofwhentovisit, onecanvisitthesouthrimanytimeoftheyearandseethesameimmensebeautifulgrandeur, andmanypeopledo, withalmostsixmillionvisitorsinpeakyears. Butthebesttimesforidealweathertendtobelatespringandlatefall. Summerscanbeveryhotandwinterscanbeverycold. Otherthanwinterseason, whenyoumightfeellikeyouhavetheparktoyourself, youshouldexpectlotsofothervisitors, hotelstobebooked, andmostprimesitestobeverycrowded. Nowlet's talkaboutthelodginganddiningchoicesyouhaveinandaroundthepark. Thereare a surprisingamountofoptionswithintheparkitself. ElTavaris a National
MaswickLodgeislocatedabout a quartermileofftherimin a woodedareaandhassomelargerroomsgreatforfamilies. Bothnorthandsouthsectionsareopenyear-roundwithcabinroomsopeninthesummer. YavapaiLodgeissetbackfurtheraboutonemilefromtherimin a woodedareaandhasabout 350 roomsseparatedintoeastandwestsections. Kings, doubles, andbunkbedroomsareavailable. Ifyou'd liketosee a reviewfortheYavapaiLodge, checkoutourdedicatedhotelreview. JustsearchScottsdaleTravelChickYavapaiLodge.
Reservationsherearerequiredforlunchanddinnerbutbreakfastisjustby a waitinglist. BrightAngelChoicesnearbyareperhapsthenextnicestoptionswith a steakhouseand a FredHarvey's BurgerandTavernbeingthesit-downchoiceshere. MaswickandYavapaiLodgesbothhavelargerfoodcourtstylediningalongwith a popularpizzapubatMaswickandtheTavernBaratYavapaiwhichhas a greatoutdoorpatio. Inadditiontoallthesemaindiningoptions, therearemanysmallersnackanddrinkchoicesstrategicallyplacedthroughouttheparkandalso a grocerystorewith a nicedelisectionatthe
ランチとディナーは予約が必要だが、朝食はキャンセル待ちとなる。近くのブライト・エンジェル・チョイス(Bright Angel Choices)は、ステーキハウスとフレッド・ハービーズ・バーガー・アンド・タバーン(Fred Harvey's Burger and Tavern)がある。マスウィック・ロッジとヤバパイロッジには、より大きなフードコート・スタイルのダイニングがあり、マスウィックには人気のピザ・パブが、ヤバパイには素晴らしい屋外パティオがあるタバーン・バーがある。これらの主なダイニング・オプション
MarketPlazanearYavapaiLodge. Finally, justoutsidethepark a fewmilesawayinthesmalltownofTucson, you'llhaveanother 10 to 15 diningchoicestochoosefromifyousodesire. Nowlet's talkaboutgettingaround. TheSouthRim
Parkisquitelargewith a totaldistancewithintheparkofmorethan 32 milesfromeasttowest. Butbeawareparkingisverylimitedandsomeoftheroadsdonotallowtravelbypersonalvehicle. However, oneofthegreatthingsabouttheparkisthattheParkServicerunsanextensivefreeshuttlebusservicethroughouttheSouthRimwiththreeinterlockingroutes, Blue, Redand
Orange. Inseasonthere's even a fourthroutewhichbringsyoutoandfromthesmalltownofTucson. Theserviceisfreeandrunsfrombeforesunriseuntilwellaftersunset. Youmightdrive a vehicletogettotheparkbutonceyou'retherethere's littlevalueforit, particularlysinceparkingisdifficultneartheprimarysitesandmuchoftherimtopdriveisoff-limitstocars. Ifyou'd like a littlemoreexercisethanjustridingthebus, thentheparkalsooffers a reallyexcellentgreenwaytrailsystemforwalkingandbiking. It's mostlyseparatedfromthemainroadsandrunsthroughthenearbyforesteasilygettingyoutoallthemainsites. We'd highlyrecommendthisandit's verylikelyyou'llgettoseesomeofthelocalwildlifealongtheway. Ifyou'relucky, you'llevenseesomeelkrightnextdoor.
View. It's attheveryfareastentranceofthepark, about a 25-miledrive, alongtheRimRoadfromthemainvisitorcenter. Inthisarea, you'llhave a numberofgreatviewpointsand a coupleofattractionstocheckout. PerhapsthebestthingaboutDesertViewisthatit's muchlesscrowdedcomparedtotheotherareasofthepark. ThreeofthemostpopularsitesintheDesertViewareaaretheWatchtower. It's anotherhistoricstructuredesignedbyMary
TucsonPuebloRuinsandMuseumarehereaswellandhighlightdetailsandhistoryof a smallancestralPueblanvillage. NavajoViewpointisalsohereandit's oneofthebestviewpointsintheentirecanyonandgreatforsunsets.
The 90-mile-longHermitsRoadis a populartourusingtheParkServicebusorbicyclesanditoffersupmanyincredibleoverlooksandinformationsignsalongwiththeinterestingHermitsRestattheend. Hereisjustoneoftheawesomeoverlooksyoucanexperiencealongthisroad.
Whitewaterrafting, mulerides, andhiking. Forwhitewaterrafting, youmightbesurprisedtoknowtherearenotouroperationswithinthepark. First, you'd actuallyhavetohikeallthewaytothebottomofthecanyonandthenyou'd need a multi-dayfloattriptogetout. However, ifyouwanttodo a rivertrip, therearehalf-dayandfull-daytouroptionsjusttothenorthoftheparkstartingfromGlenCanyonDam. Andthereareotheroperatorswhoprovidemulti-dayoptionsintoandthroughtheparkitself, startingfromthreedaysallthewayupto 21 days. Giddyup, cowboy, howabout a muleride? Muleridesintothecanyonoperateyear-roundandalsobookupwellinadvance. Tripscanbeasshortas a three-hourguidedrideallthewaytoovernighttripstothebottomofthecanyon.
Supposedly, a weightlimitof 200 poundsandotherrestrictionsarestrictlyenforced, sobeawareofthat. Finally, wegettothegrandpooh-bahofallthethingstodointheGrandCanyon, hiking. HikingintheGrandCanyonisunlikeanywhereelseonearth. Trailsrangeindifficultyfromeasy 15-minuteloopstomulti-weektreksandalmostallofferspectacularviews. Forindividualswhopreferguidedhikes, thereare a varietyofoutfittersofferingmanyoptions, butinthisvideo I'm goingtogiveyouthethreebestandeasiesthikestodointhepark. Thatmeansthesehikesarebestforthetypicalvisitorwhoaren't heavydutyhikersandcometothecanyonforlessthan a day. Before I talkaboutthosethreehikesthough, just a bitonhikingtheGrandCanyoningeneral. Therearefourmaintrailheadsonthesouthrim. BrightAngelTrailhead, SouthKaibab