Going to Las Vegas and would like to do side trip to Grand Canyon?
December 23, 2009 by Lisa McLaughlin
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I will be travelling to Las Vegas for a wedding and thought I should see Grand Canyon also, travelling with a 18 year old. Not looking to be so touristy with loads of people, any suggestions?
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The Grand Canyon is a pretty neat place if you have never been there, but it will be quite a day worth of driving to get there from Vegas.
It takes about 4 1/2- 6 hours to get there from Vegas, depending on which rim you decide to visit. You have to kinda drive round about to get there. The best way to go is take Highway 93 South, to Interstate 40 then head East to Highway 64.
The South Rim is where the Grand Canyon Village is, and is the best place to start and get oriented with the National Park. The visitors center is located in the village and offers lectures, videos and rangers are there to answer questions and help.
You can also hit the Bright Angel Trail from there, if you have any desire to hike to the bottom of the canyon. If you drive from the Village to the east rim there are some very pretty views.
The North Rim, is a lot less touristy and is just as pretty without the fanfare.
All in all I think it is worth seeing at least once in a lifetime. It is amazing, but it will take a good day to get there and back.
There are also tours that you can get hooked up with in Vegas that will take you to the Grand Canyon and back. They normally have good package deals and offer extras like food or activities.
You might consider renting a car and driving it. With most bus tours, you will be touristy with load of people.
It’s a 3 hour drive to the West Rim and actually a 5 hour drive to the popular South Rim.
http://www.lasvegas-how-to.com.....-trips.php
You can take a helicopter or rent a car.
Hi
This is my favorite way to do this trip and the stretch from the bottom of the Virgin River Gorge to GCN is one of my favorite stretches of road in America>and I’ve driven about 80% of Readers Digest top 100 scenic drives in America
Pop this into mapquest exactly like this
LAS>Colorado City AZ>Jacob Lake AZ>GCN >LAS= 675 mi with 267 of them being GCN>LAS
Notes:
Leave LAS about 1 before sunup b/c the first 90 miles are on flat boring desert
Get breakfast & gas in St George UT>I-15 exit 8
Get gas in Cameron AZ Kingman AZ I-40 exit 48
Since the drive from GCN to LAS is boring as hell then you may as well watch the sun set over GCNP >Maricopa Point works,> have dinner & back to LAS
The other way to do it is to go LAS >FLG >Cameron AZ >GCN >LAS and while it’s 40 miles less it’s half as scenic & you have to go over or around Hoover Dam twice, which negates any potential savings in time
Enjoy the Canyon
A little expensive, but IMO this is far and away the best way to see the Grand Canyon. This is one of those once in a lifetime experiences, that you never forget.
Maverick Helicopter
http://www.maverickhelicopter.com/canyon.html
Papillon Helicopter
http://www.papillon.com
~Jack~
I have been to Las Vegas many times and never gone to Grand Canyon because I don’t believe it really is a day trip – I think it needs much more than that. Driving there and back in one day would be really pushing and probably spoil the fun. Going for a day return by plane or helicopter must be fun but short and expensive.
IMHO if you are considering it you should think about a side trip that will last at least 2 or 3 days.