Make the best of South Rim, Grand Canyon in a day

This is a unique page, where just in 6 minutes you will find out how to reach, explore and see the most of South Rim Grand Canyon in a day. This is your pocket guide to South Rim, and your best friend while exploring Grand Canyon.

GRAND CANYON

About

One of the first things that you will think of when planning a vacation in US, most certainly is Grand Canyon. A breath taking place, that has been a regular scene in many Western movies, it was inhibited by Native American, precisely Ancestral Pueblo Peoples over span of 4000 years. In mid 16th century canyon become known to the conquistador Francisco Vasques de Coronado. In 1869 an U.S. Army Major John Wesley Powell discovered how rich this area is with minerals. However, instead of becoming a mining hub, by beginning of 1900s, government has realized that Grand Canyon will be more profitable as a tourist attraction and by 1919 Grand Canyon got its status of the U.S. National Park.

Nowadays Grand Canyon is protected as a national treasure and it receives about 4 million visitors each year.

How to get there?

Closest airports

· Phoenix Sky harbour international airport 231 miles, Las Vegas and Flagstaff airport are closest airports around Grand Canyon.

· Flagstaff Pulliam Airport is the closes small commercial airport, only 81 miles (130km); however it might not be well connected with other cities, so it might not be a great choice if you are coming from overseas.

Phoenix Sky Harbour International is is just over 230 miles (370km), similar to Las Vegas Int which is 270 miles (435km).

I’ve chosen Las Vegas as it was well connected to the east US coast where I was heading afterwards.

Las Vegas offers different kind of tours that include visit to Grand Canyon and many parks around the area, but if you like to see the most of it in one day, you better just rent a car and do it on your own.

Tips and tricks***

It is good to have an offline downloaded map as in many places around you won’t have any reception.

Also, watch out for signs on the road for radio frequency that will tell you current visitor information: availability of parking places, opening hours, temperature, facilities etc.

North Rim and South Rim

Grand Canyon is an area that stretches on almost 5000km2, and it is divided into two areas, as you know the most visited South Rim and more popular with hikers, North Rim.

South rim

Considering that I have only visited South Rim I will try to introduce it to you, and give you the best I can guide on how to explore it in a day.

South rim consists of numerous viewpoints and trails along the rim. If you have few days to spend over there, you may enjoy some activities like river rafting and mule rides. Inside the park there are also lodges and plenty of convenient stores, bathrooms and water fillers stations.

When to visit?

South Rim is open throughout the year however; North Rim is open usually from 15th of May till 15th of November due to winter weather conditions. When visiting South Rim, I would say that it would be smart not to hit the peak season in summer, when is overcrowded, and also when it's too cold, because it may be very windy over there.

You would also like to come as early as possible, so you can catch few photos with less people around and secure your parking place. In case you have only one day to spend here, the earlier you come, the more you can see. I’ve visited it beginning of May, we arrived 9.30am, on a week day, and we had a lot of fun, and a lot of opportunities for pictures.

Refer to the actual opening hours below

07.00-18.00 May – Sep

08.00-17.00 Apr- Oct

How to explore South Rim in a day

Most convenient and time saver way to explore GC is by using shuttle buses.

There are 4 available shuttle routes: Red, Purple, Orange and Blue. Not all routes have same starting point, however bus stops are well marked and buses are frequent as every 10-15/30 minutes. Your ticket includes as many rides with these shuttles as you like, and guess what, your drivers will also be your guide in a way, giving you a bit of history and interesting facts about viewpoints along the way.

Bus etiquette

- No open food containers or drinks

- No pets apart from service dogs

- No over sized strollers, baby trailers, or children bicycles

- Bus can accommodate around 2 or 3 adult bicycles.

- Wheelchair accessible

More information: https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/shuttle-buses.htm

- Once you enter the park there will be several parking lots just next to the GC Visitor Centre. There are coffee shops, water stations and restrooms for your convenience.

- From there you can walk to Mather Point Lookout, which will take you 5 minutes. This is just a beginning of amazing viewpoints that you will be able to enjoy, so I’d suggest you to stay not more than 15 minutes.

- Go back to the visitor centre where bus stops are, and take the Blue route which will drop you off at Train Depot. This is the only a Train station inside the park that still serves as a depot. It was built in 1910, and it is a National Historic Landmark. It is also the last stop to Red route, where you have some souvenir shops, restrooms and water stations.

- Take the bus until Village Route transfer stop where you will take Red line bus and drop of at Maricopa point. Allow around 10 minutes there and take a bus for your next stop to Powell Point, where you will start your panoramic walk through the path of South Rim.

- Powell Point is the highest overlook in the South Rim. It is one of my favorite, and most beautiful spot maybe...... but. This lookout has a very instagramy spot which is not fenced and from where many people fall off every year. Approximately 12 deaths are reported annually, in Granc Canyon. Powell Point can be crowded because it gives you the opportunity to make a picture of you as if you are sitting on top of the world, however one wrong step can end your life.

- All these viewpoints can be reached by bus, however in order to experience the rim fully you have to walk a bit. Take an opportunity to walk along the rim until Hopi Point. This spot is the most northern spot in South rim, and its fenced platform will allow you to see 2000 feet bellow the overlook, and have perspective of 20 miles ahead. Opposite of this point there are few mesas with Egyptian names: Isis Temple, Horus Temple and Osiris Temple etc.

Take a bus to Hermits rest and shop, take photos or just enjoy beautiful view of Colorado River.

On the way back, drop off at Mohave Point and let me know if you can spot the heart shape rock.

Optional

From Hermit Rest you can take a bus to Monument Creek Vista and walk along the Greenway trail with spectacular views at Pima Point (1.7 mi/2.7 km) or Hermits Rest (2.8 mi/4.5 km).

If you still have time you can continue on to Orange route, for which you will have to take the bus back to the visitor centre and take the shuttle from there. The orange route takes 50 minutes by bus, with 5 stops along the way, excluding the visitor centre; this may take an hour or so.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to check out this route, so I can’t say much about it, but what I can tell you is that the road that I took towards Page city took my breath away.

So in case you don’t have much time, and your next destination is Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe bend etc., you might want to take this path.

From the visitor centre parking, take your car and drive towards Desert view Watch tower. On the way you can stop at many viewpoints, which are quite magnificent and quite different from what you have seen so far on the Red and Blue route. When I reached this area, it was around 7pm and I could see canyon bathing in sunset lights, I hope that you will have the chance to experience that too.

Your last stop before finishing your Grand Canyon visit, which is outside of the park, is Little Colorado River Gorge. The lookout is located on the East of Grand Canyon, and it is a bit tucked in, so you might miss it. It is characteristic by its finely layered upper limestone cliffs that contrast massive sandstone below. Make sure you mark it on the map. There is also a gift shop so you might get some good local stuff there.

From then on, if you are lucky to still have sunlight, you will enjoy view of beautiful scenery around you until you reach Page, where more Nature master pieces are made.