Grand Canyon South Rim, Arizona, United States

5SS_Forever 5:00 PM Sep 30, 2022

Wonderful place just do your Research
Our journey to the south rim was our stop after a couple of days in Sedona. We travelled North and made sure we had a full tank of gas before heading that way as we had heard the gas stations were few and more expensive. Glad we did. We reached the gate around 11am and there was about a 20 min wait. Highly recommend the America The Beautiful Pass which we used many times on our 2 week journey. The cost without the pas $35 a car. Our room was booked at the Maswik Lodge so we looped direct there as we tried to pull into a couple of lookouts on the entry side and could not find any parking. I was pleasantly surprised of the distance between items and the nature around was nice. Note many roads are one way so you have to loop to get to the different places. On our last day we found the Market area which we wish we had found sooner. It is a grocery, gift shop and deli. Gift shop prices the best in park and had many bundle shirt options that were great prices. The grocery area had pre-made sandwiches, cheese sticks, juices for grab and go. They were pretty fresh as you could tell they stocked them often. Second half of our group got a hot sandwich from deli which was delicious. Was able to fill our travel mugs with ice water at soda fountain as our hotel did not have the ice machines on to save water. Also picnic tables on front and side to eat there and bathrooms on side of building. Note there is recycle bins here and all thru the park, even in the bathroom. Hope you will use them as we do. My Tractor man loved the craft beer selections and the ability to build his six pack with local brews.

5kathy1966 5:00 PM Jan 4, 2020

Magnificent Sweeping Views
Our family spent two nights at the Holiday Inn Express in Tusayan. Traveling from Page, Arizona after our morning 10:30 am Antelope Canyon tour, we took our time along Desert View Drive stopping at the scenic views at Watchtower, Navajo, Lipan, Moran, and Grandview to enter the park from the east entrance arriving just in time for dinner reservations at El Tovar. The drive with stops from Page took us about 4 1/2 hours. Dinner service at El Tovar was extremely slow and we thought the food was average. Of course, you need to remember that you are in a national park. The next day, we were parked in a lot next to the Visitor's Center before 8:30 am-no issues with crowds this early during the holiday week. We took a shuttle to South Kaibab Trailhead and hiked 3 mile RT (2 hours) down to Cedar Ridge for beautiful views. This trail was well worth the hike and not too difficult after the recent snowfall. Back to the Visitor's Center by 11 am (parking lots completely full and long lines to the bathrooms) to hike the 2.5 mile Rim Trail to the Village. We wore our Ice Trackers the entire day for safety and witnessed numerous people go down on the ice laden pathways. Back at the Village, bathrooms at El Tovar much less crowded but shuttle buses were packed to go back to the Visitor's Center. Multiple buses were unable to load passengers and we had to wait a few extra minutes to catch one. Parking lot in the afternoon and road near the Visitor Center was a zoo! Park Ranger stated that the holiday week was one of the busiest she had ever seen. We spent the rest of the day driving along the Hermit's Rest Scenic Drive with more magnificent viewpoints of the canyon before heading back to Tusayan for the evening. I recommend getting to the park early to park your car, bring water and snacks, wear multiple layers for flexibility, use shuttle system to get around park due to lack of parking, check the website for road closures if inclement weather is a factor (Desert View Drive was closed prior to our arrival and fortunately opened early afternoon.) This was a great experience-we loved our short visit to the GC!