Grand Canyon

[BruceBowker]

I have a few days free in Las Vegas and want to see the Grand Canyon and Hoover dam. Has anyone used any of the tours available from the hotels?

 

Thanks

Bruce

[twobone]

Bruce, for an extra strange vegas experience, go to the Gun Store (http://www.thegunstorelasvegas.com) and fire a fully automatic Thomson Sub Machine Gun. I did the WW2 package with my wife and it was a unique experience to say the least.

 

Back to the topic, though, enjoy the Canyon, if even just making your way there and walking the ridge.

 

On a recent trip to California, I rented a Hertz Corvette (435HP) convertible for about $200. Perhaps you should rent a muscle car and blast your way across the desert to the Grand Canyon!

[twobone]

Here is the link to the story of my California drive. I turned out to be a sun-up-sun-down dream drive.

 

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/511871-california-guys-need-some-p-car-guy-travel-advice-3.html

 

I also had a great time driving a 350z convertible from Pheonix to Vegas and back. Maybe some of these Porsche driver road recommednations from my other post will be helpful.

 

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/534052-driving-route-advice-pheonix-vegas.html

[DeanG]

With a bit of luck the roads in the park will be open to private vehicles. Consider a tour around the canyon. The N. rim is very different, much less crowded. I have driven I-15, rt-89 - rt-89A loop and I-40 in our M100 during late September. Wonderful. Spend time walking and looking. It is the most spectacular natural sight my wife and I have ever seen. It takes a bit of time for the magnitude of the canyon to sink in.

 

Watching a thunderstorm roll through the canyon was the highlight.

 

Good luck.

[BruceBowker]

Thanks for ideas and links. Would the north drive be an all day thing from Vegas? Don't mind all day but not sure about an overnight. I'll have my GPS with me!

[twobone]

Mapquest says 5+ hours one way

 

http://www.mapquest.com/mq/2-Xi76GWlSJZV1r0LS

 

I was quite surprised how mountainous the area is so the drive would be fun and the speeds can be kept fairly high. If it was me, I'd pick up the car as early as possible, drop the roof head for the horizon.

 

PS - there is a traffic issue around the Hoover Dam due to construction on the main highway so a driving trip to the Hoover Dam maybe a problem

[DeanG]

Truthfully there aren't may hotels but there are enough and they will be cheap. Kanab UT has a few. Almost any town will have one. The loop is about 700 miles so 2 days at a minimum if you want to see things. I would plan to start out going to the south rim and stay in the national park if I could get a room. That way you could get an evening and a morning view. You cold then decide to press on for the loop or just take a trip to Flagstaff and back to Las Vegas.

[David C]

My favorite by far is the North Rim.

It is higher so it is colder and gets more rain so it is more foresty than the South Rim. It is less crowded, views are awesome, more wildlife, and aspens turn colors in the fall.

Lodging & camping is far more limited however so if you plan on staying there check for reservations ASAP.

Takes a while to get there and it is a dead-end road out to the Rim.

If you are lucky enough to be there on a clear night, north of the Rim it continues to climb and, if I remember correctly, it levels out at around 9000 ft. With VERY few light sources around the number and brightness of the stars will knock your socks off.

 

The South Rim also has it's benefits: It is more developed, has more museums and look out points. Aerial tours from the airport, vistor centers, ranger support, dining choices, variety of levels of rooms from basic through the El Tovar Hotel, etc. Being lower at 7000 feet and with way more lights the stars are not as prominent. More traffic, some roads are closed to private vehicles but there are tours.

 

You are kind of reaching the end of the summer monsoon thunderstorm season. But be prepared for a surprise rain in the afternoon even if it looks clear during the day. I've seen it go from clear to thunderstorms and back to clear in just a few hours.

 

Although you can seen the North Rim Lodge point from the South Rim (if you know where to look), the drive is about 200 miles and usually takes 4 hours depending on the amount of tourist traffic. I made it waaay less than that hitting the road pre-dawn on my Honda CBX.