Grand Canyon National Park

We were supposed to be in Utah for most of this trip. We weren’t supposed to be in Arizona at all really. But sometimes plans change. When we decided not to double back to Zion to try to hike The Narrows, it only made sense to poke our heads into the most famous canyon in the world.

Do not consider this blog to be any kind of guide for what you must see or do on a visit to Grand Canyon National Park, but more of an inspiration to say that you can get a little taste of something amazing without spending all the time and money planning it.

For every other National Park we visited on the trip, research began 9 to 12 months out and itineraries were made before the 6 month mark. Mostly that’s so that we know what nights to book campgrounds at Parks that require advanced bookings. For the Grand Canyon, our plans were made about five hours out — because that’s how long the drive is from the Needles District of Canyonlands.

We had the afternoon for Grand Canyon. We mainly stayed in the most visited areas. He went to Desert View and climbed the Watchtower. The Visitor Center was closed (NPS staffing shortages), but the gift shops were open. We were able to get Junior Ranger books and badges — thank goodness. We walked out to Mather Point, drove around Grand Canyon Village a bit, and then headed toward Las Vegas, pulling into the city under cover of darkness.

Phase one of trip number three was complete. After a little break in Vegas it was time for phase two.