Minnesota to Grand Canyon - Your Advice

OurJayco · 07-09-2022, 09:06 AM

Hi All,

We are planning a trip from Minneapolis Minnesota to the Grand Canyon.
I have many questions:

1) If you spent anytime at the Grand Canyon, what area do you recommend?
2) What did you do if you spent 3 or 4 days while at the Grand Canyon?
3) Did anyone do a helicopter ride? If so, can you give me rough cost?
4) We will be staying at a hotel, not in our RV. Where do you recommend?
5) What other attractions do you recommend in or around the Grand Canyon?

Thank you in advance for your suggestions.

CAG · 07-09-2022, 09:45 AM

Some more specific info might help here.

1. When do you plan to travel? The next couple of weeks is probably not good. High/dangerous heat warnings out for the Canyon and venturing below 1K feet or so into the Canyon is not recommended due to temps at or above 110.

2. What sights are you wanting to see? Geography, area towns, Indian Res ? Keep in mind, unlike the eastern US, sites are many hours apart here and travel to Flagstaff or Williams, which are the closest towns of any size is 1-3 hours. Petrified Forest is 4-5 hours and a day sight seeing. There are not a lot of "attractions" in that area besides the Canyon that are not going to take some driving.

3. Hotels are pretty much booked for the season. Where do you want to stay. The Canyon? Start booking now for several months down the road or next year.

4. Try Google for attractions, especially helicopter rides. You can find some companies that will quote you prices but some/many of those are restricted by "quiet" regulations as to where they can fly and when.

Generally, while info from others is helpful, peoples tastes and expectations are vastly different and I seldom depend on other's evaluation alone. Google, and phone calls and a bunch of my own prep work. Here is a start, and there is more available with searches:

https://capturetheatlas.com/grand-ca...licopter-tour/

RogerR · 07-09-2022, 09:52 AM

We camped at the canyon several years ago. We found the mule trips were booked years in advance and maybe the helicopters also.
The best thing we did was get up befoe dawn and watching the sun come up over the rim.

The hike to the bottom requires a lot of prep in equipment but more importantly in fitness. Don't consider it unless you are really prepared.

We spent 2 of our days camping on one side and three on the more popular side. The drive between was long and slow but very scenic.

OurJayco · 07-09-2022, 09:57 AM

Thanks for your questions. I was planning on being there after Labor Day for about a 3 or 4 day stay.

I really want to do a helicopter ride.
I really want to see the most of the sites as possible in the limited time.
I know the short time frame is not the best for booking a hotel. If we have to stay in a hotel that is 30 or 45 minutes away, that is fine. I plan to book this coming week and for the closest place possible.

The main attraction is obviously the Grand Canyon, but if there are other attractions around, that would be nice to see, that would be great advice.

#1 Is a helicopter ride of the Canyon.
#2 Is a tour of the Grand Canyon of some sort. A full or half day.
#3 Local attractions and sites.

CAG · 07-09-2022, 10:08 AM

More Info:
https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvis...ttractions.htm

Kim Gass · 07-09-2022, 10:16 AM

https://www.grandcanyonlodges.com/pl...ive-bus-tours/

be sure to keep up to date. Covid is affecting some operations

CAG · 07-09-2022, 10:21 AM

More Stuff:
https://www.mygrandcanyonpark.com/things-to-do/

If you do not find a room inside the park or just outside in Tusayan your next closest is Williams which is about an hour south. Then it is Flagstaff which is two hours away.

Take a look at the first URL I send and note the distances. I think you may be spending more time driving than you will seeing considering the limited time you have.

And I think Sunset Crater is still closed since all of the facilities burned in a major forest/range fire a few months ago.
I just double checked that and it is open. The visitor's center survived the fire.

LuckyDuck · 07-09-2022, 12:07 PM

We did a trip from Northern California to the GC and Utah parks this past May. I planned it and booked all three weeks last October/November and even then some were filling up. I’m sure hotels are the same way, but since you are going a bit after tourist season, you may have some luck.

We booked three nights within the South Rim and four at Jacob Lake outside the North Rim. The logic was the North Rim only gets 10 percent of the visitors and would be much less crowded. If I were to do it again, I’d spend most or all the time at the South Rim. It was only slightly more crowded but there were far more trails and sites within a few minutes drive (or walk) to keep us busy for a week. The North Rim entrance is an hour from the nearest RV park or motel and there were fewer trails that attracted us. While the main visitors area at the North Rim was busy, there were some spectacular views from other spots if you don’t mind a little more driving.

There are several hotels right on the rim at South Rim as well as restaurants, stores etc. The rim trail is easy walking and picturesque and Desert View Drive to the east has more vista points.

If you are making the trip, you might try to make time for at least some of the Utah parks. Kanab, Utah, is a cute town that isn’t too far to Bryce and Zion, giving you a jumpoff for this sites. Or, stay in Springdale or Hurricane to run up to Zion only.

CAG · 07-09-2022, 01:39 PM

No way he can make the parks in Utah from the South Rim in a 3-4 day trip. It is a good 3+ hours from the South Rim to Jacobs Lake and more hours on to Utah parks on the west side of the state.

I actually like to send visitors to the North Rim and on to Utah parks. Much more to see and do without the crushing crowds and buses trying to run over you. There are many remote, and beautiful viewing points on the North Rim, which is a 1000 higher in altitude than the South. You do not have to fight the crowds to get a photo from one of them.

The South Rim is fine, but unless you plan to hike Rim to Rim, do the mules down, hike down and back, none of which I recommend this time of year unless you are experienced in 100+ temps and long climbs, it becomes like visiting churches in Europe. A day or two and you have seen it all, just change the location by a few hundred yards.

LuckyDuck · 07-09-2022, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CAG

…No way he can make the parks in Utah from the South Rim in a 3-4 day trip. It is a good 3+ hours from the South Rim to Jacobs Lake and more hours on to Utah parks on the west side of the state…

Of course not. We spent the better part of two weeks doing that exact route and barely scratched the surface. My point was, if you’re coming all the way out from Minnesota, it would be advantageous to spend a little extra time hitting the other parks that are so close while you’re here. And, if you choose the right spot, you can hit those two fairly easily.

CAG · 07-09-2022, 05:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LuckyDuck

Of course not. We spent the better part of two weeks doing that exact route and barely scratched the surface. My point was, if you’re coming all the way out from Minnesota, it would be advantageous to spend a little extra time hitting the other parks that are so close while you’re here. And, if you choose the right spot, you can hit those two fairly easily.

Pretty much what I was suggesting.

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