Going to the Grand canyon from Vegas?

I went to the south rim of the grand Canyon May 17th. I thought I researched everything enough - not!

I searched the LVA message boards and found it would take about 5 hours and the south rim of the canyon seemed to have the best reviews, but not much other info.

Here is some other info that I think you should know.

I took a shot and rented a Best Western hotel room in Tusayen (south rim) which is a bout 15 minutes from the state park. $211 for one night, it would have been half as much in the Williams best Western which is 1 hour from the park.

It "does" take about 5 hours at 75 MPH (which is the speed limit) and there is pretty much nothing but cactus's to see for most of the way......ladies, use the ladies room before leaving on this trip! The 2 "potential" rest stops that we saw had truckers running away screaming in terror after looking in them! Which of coarse meant I had a better chance of hitting the megabucks slot machine jackpot than getting my wife to go in one, which of coarse also meant I had to listen to...Ive gotta go pee for 4 hours!

On the other hand, I am pretty sure we found were they shot the Kevin Bacon movie "Tremors" though!

It cost $10 for a car load to get in. You have a better chance of finding big foot than finding a parking spot! so take a scenic tour bus at the 1st parking area like they recommend when you buy a ticket to the park!I have no idea what that costs as "I" opted to drive around the park aimlessly for the 1st hour looking for a parking spot

The Grand Canyon is reportedly between 7000 & 8000 feet above sea level and it was snowing when we got there!No shit-real snow!On May 17th! I am from New Hampshire and have seen my fair share of pictures and movies of Arizona and the grand canyon and I just dont remember seeing much snow in them let alone in may..... and of coarse no one on these boards mentioned anything so I had to go and wear a T-shirt and shorts for the trip (Brrrrrr!). The thermomoter in the car read 84 degrees in Las Vegas(sunny) and 36 degrees at the canyon rim! I wonder what its like in February there? and no-I have never heard of google before someone asks!

Did I mention the grand Canyon is between 7000 and 8000 feet above sea level? This also means there is "just" enough oxygen in the air at the rim to support human life! Another fact LVA'ers left out!

I thought I was having a heart attack or something as I had to stop and gasp for air at times! I eventually got dizzy and slightly nauchious. When I looked around at the locals and the younger crowd , they were running around and having a good time which was scary for me as I had no idea what the hell was going on!Things got slightly better when a couple of other gentlemen having the same issue brought up the elevation and things started to make sence. (like the Doritoes bag that was fully inflated and ready to pop in the car!) it turns out most people had this same problem just to differant degrees.

Be fore- warned people!

By the way the Canyon was beautiful but I am staying at the craps table while in Vegas from now on....its safer!

weggie

Wow, weggie! Thanks for that report! I will definitely keep that in mind and tell others who might express some interest in going there.

RecVPPlayer

Hilarious weggie! Our first day trip to GC was by car also. When we left LV it was a million degrees and just above freezing by the time we got up there,i swore i could see my breath. Of course i had a tank top and shorts with my wife dressed similar. Had to laugh also about yuor parking comment,so true!
Enjoyed reading it and great tips.

JOHN

PS I know,it is irritating when asking about something and you get "what?dont you know how to google?" It's like "yes,but i thought i might get some personal insight from experience dipshit'LOL

Northern AZ is definitely in a different climate zone than Phoenix or Vegas. I agree snow in May may be unusual but snow in general is not.
It rained last Wed in Phoenix and we are enjoying the unseasonably cool temperatures.

Grand Canyon in winter photosfficial&prmd=ivns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=_8PdTYTUF4LSsAPTyomSBw&ved=0CBkQsAQ&biw=1600&bih=742">Grand Canyon in winter photos

Wow! What a trip..... Too funny!

I am just about to book a flight-bus tour to the Grand Canyon from LV for mid-week in early June. The tour includes R/T hotel pick up, a 45-minute flight to the Grand Canyon, a 2 1/2 hour bus tour with three scenic stops at the South Rim, and some time to explore the shops. A box lunch is also included. Total per person price is $220 for the 8-hour day.

Anyone have experiences with this type of tour?

e did a 4 wheeler tour of the GC a on our last trip and it was a blast! Consisted of a pick-up at our hotel and a 45 min flight on a 28 seater twin prop plane to and landed in the bottem of the canyon. Then we did a 3 hour ride on 4 wheelers through the bottem of the canyon,so cool. We got back to the ranch(it was actually a working ranch,something like 110,000 acre ranch that extended into utah)where we had a really good BBQ lunch served in a cabin/ranch style building. Flew back to vegas,got back to hotel around 6pm or so(oh yea,pick up was 6am i think). It was a fantastic trip/ and would do it again in a heart beat. I've got some pics,i'll try and post them.

JOHN

PS cost was around 240 PP i think.

My first trip to Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon we did it the right way. The morning after we landed in Vegas they brought us (a group of teachers) to Lee's Ferry where we boarded a raft and spent 7 days White-water rafting down the Colorado River through the entire Grand Canyon. We took side hikes during the day and slept on the shoreline at night. This was August so the Canyon was like an oven. No need to bring anything except a tee shirt and bathing suit. This was the experience of a lifetime. One night there was a full moon and I stayed up all night because as the moon moved from one side of the canyon to the other, shining off the river and the canyon walls, the entire character of the environment changed. It was not something I was going to miss by sleeping through it. During the day you would go through a rapid and get totally drenched, and 5 minutes later you would be completely dry because of the heat and warm breeze.

You must like to rough it because there are no creature comforts (you just sleep on the ground at night and bath in the 50 degree muddy Colorado) and you must book at least a year in advance to get a spot. It also is not cheap, but will probably be less than spending a week in Las Vegas (if you include gambling).

Larry from Las Vegas, NV

We took our first trip to the GC in Feb. It was cold and windy and people were actually hiking in/down the canyon in the snow! Because it was Feb--there were plenty of parking spots and we drove the entire length of the South Rim. At times we (hubby and I) were the only ones at the turn-off! Because it was cold (in the high 40's) it was clear--so viewing was excellent. I was kinda amazed at how many people were there in Feb--not packed but more than I expected . . . . many foreign tourists. . . . . We drove to the canyon from Vegas and then returned to Laughlin for the evening/over night. It was a great day and beautiful views.

Thank you for this post -- we will be in LV this summer and have been debating whether to go to the Grand Canyon.