Visiting the Grand Canyon

[disny_luvr]

We are planning a trip to Utah/Arizona next summer. Our home base will be Kanab and we are going to Zion, Bryce, and the Grand Canyon. Being that we are staying in Kanab, we will probably only visit the north rim. Are we missing out if we don't visit the south rim? We could leave our airbnb and travel to the south rim and spend a night there, but we'd rather not if the north rim is just as nice. Thoughts?

 

[Simba's Mom]

Frankly, I have no idea what attractions, if any are at the north rim. We went to the South rim and feel like "we went to the Grand Canyon". The Shuttle bus takes you around, and it only operates at the south rim. We saw Hermit's Rest (I think it's called), the famous El Tovar Lodge (seen in "National Lampoon's Vacation"). Beautiful Views! DH did the overnight hike to Phantom Ranch-an unforgettable experience. At first I missed not seeing the Skywalk, since that's the only thing I knew was not at the South Rim. But it's not near the north rim either.

 

[Breezy_Carol]

We've visited both. DH prefers north and I prefer south. North is less built up and fewer trails. It is a much smaller developed area. And it is a long drive from Jacob Lake through nothing to get there. The sight of the canyon is the same to me. There are more "rim" trails and easy hiking at the south. And a large visitor center on the south.

Look at the National Park service website.

I went back and looked at the map. Based om where you are staying, the north is significantly closer. That would be a hard decision.

 

[MICKIMINI]

We've been to both. It was a very long drive in our motor home between them.

South Rim: Grand Canyon Railway rolls in and is magnificent. Stay at El Tovar. Experience the views that go for miles.

North Rim: Not many people are willing to drive here. It has a totally different view and not as expansive as the photos you see everywhere.

If I had a choice, I would park in Williams and take the train (AAA discount) in and splurge for El Tovar. Once in a lifetime experience and same or less than staying at a monorail resort and buying tix for a day!

It is hard to imagine the grandeur. Enjoy!

 

[Skippy918]

The north rim had great views. Do you plan to hike into the canyon or just see it from the viewing platforms?
My husband said the best way to see it is to do a rafting trip through it.

I’ve been to several national parks, and I much preferred Zion, arches, and Bryce, so I would spend more time there doing some hiking in those versus traveling to the south rim. In Zion, the virgin river narrows hike is great as is the canyon overlook hike (I think this one was near the tunnel exit going east bound). There are lots of other hikes. If you aren’t afraid of heights, angels landing is a popular one.

 

[NannyBeBe]

I was so petrified that somehow I would fall or be pushed over the edge that I didn't really look much at the Canyon. It is beautiful, though, and I hope you enjoy your trip.

 

[disny_luvr]

The north rim had great views. Do you plan to hike into the canyon or just see it from the viewing platforms?
My husband said the best way to see it is to do a rafting trip through it.

I’ve been to several national parks, and I much preferred Zion, arches, and Bryce, so I would spend more time there doing some hiking in those versus traveling to the south rim. In Zion, the virgin river narrows hike is great as is the canyon overlook hike (I think this one was near the tunnel exit going east bound). There are lots of other hikes. If you aren’t afraid of heights, angels landing is a popular one.

We aren't going to hike into the canyon. I've heard the same thing from many other people - they like Zion and Bryce more. Unfortunately, we won't make it to Arches this trip, but one day we will.

 

[mamamary]

We are planning a trip to Utah/Arizona next summer. Our home base will be Kanab and we are going to Zion, Bryce, and the Grand Canyon. Being that we are staying in Kanab, we will probably only visit the north rim. Are we missing out if we don't visit the south rim? We could leave our airbnb and travel to the south rim and spend a night there, but we'd rather not if the north rim is just as nice. Thoughts?

We did this exact trip (plus Vegas) last October. I absolutely loved everything. I haven’t been to the south rim so can’t talk of that but I loved the north rim. We were there for hours and only came across a few people. We had the Grand Canyon practically to ourselves. What a great trip.

 

[jdb in AZ]

The north rim is higher elevation and cooler. More pines; less desert. I wouldn't bother to drive clear to the south rim then back to Kanab the next day. I have a friend who has done the "death march" with her DH. They start hiking at the south rim, middle of the night with head lamps, then hike to the north rim, turn around, and go back to the south. They've done it several times, and try to do it quicker each time. If you don't make the 50+ miles in 24 hrs it doesn't count as the death march, tho it would sure be the death of me.

 

[disny_luvr]

We did this exact trip (plus Vegas) last October. I absolutely loved everything. I haven’t been to the south rim so can’t talk of that but I loved the north rim. We were there for hours and only came across a few people. We had the Grand Canyon practically to ourselves. What a great trip.

That sounds awesome! I’m so glad you enjoyed the north rim so much and had an awesome trip! I’m excited!

 

[disny_luvr]

The north rim is higher elevation and cooler. More pines; less desert. I wouldn't bother to drive clear to the south rim then back to Kanab the next day. I have a friend who has done the "death march" with her DH. They start hiking at the south rim, middle of the night with head lamps, then hike to the north rim, turn around, and go back to the south. They've done it several times, and try to do it quicker each time. If you don't make the 50+ miles in 24 hrs it doesn't count as the death march, tho it would sure be the death of me.

I cannot imagine hiking rim to rim. That would be the death of me, too.

 

[Skippy918]

We aren't going to hike into the canyon. I've heard the same thing from many other people - they like Zion and Bryce more. Unfortunately, we won't make it to Arches this trip, but one day we will.

Don’t forget to make reservations for Zion. Not sure when they open for next year. I am not sure if Bryce requires reservations. I haven’t been since 2004.

 

[irlandaise]

We are planning a trip to Utah/Arizona next summer. Our home base will be Kanab and we are going to Zion, Bryce, and the Grand Canyon. Being that we are staying in Kanab, we will probably only visit the north rim. Are we missing out if we don't visit the south rim? We could leave our airbnb and travel to the south rim and spend a night there, but we'd rather not if the north rim is just as nice. Thoughts?

Some friends and I were in Kanab years ago and had a lovely excursion to the North Rim. As others have noted, it's higher in elevation than the South Rim, so it's cooler and you're driving through beautiful forests.

We scheduled dinner at sunset at the lodge's dining room. and were seated just one row of tables away from the big picture windows. Do consider doing that. Here's what it looks like:

https://www.grandcanyonnorth.com/dining/grand-canyon-lodge-dining-room/

Are you going to Best Friends? We stayed there for a week volunteering, with trips to the nearby national parks.

 

[disny_luvr]

Don’t forget to make reservations for Zion. Not sure when they open for next year. I am not sure if Bryce requires reservations. I haven’t been since 2004.

Thank you for mentioning about reservations. I did not know they are required for Zion. I’ll look into Bryce.

 

[disny_luvr]

Some friends and I were in Kanab years ago and had a lovely excursion to the North Rim. As others have noted, it's higher in elevation than the South Rim, so it's cooler and you're driving through beautiful forests.

We scheduled dinner at sunset at the lodge's dining room. and were seated just one row of tables away from the big picture windows. Do consider doing that. Here's what it looks like:

https://www.grandcanyonnorth.com/dining/grand-canyon-lodge-dining-room/

Are you going to Best Friends? We stayed there for a week volunteering, with trips to the nearby national parks.

This might sound like a silly question, but is it safe to drive from the Grand Canyon back to Kanab at night if we’d decide to have a later dinner at the lodge? We’ve visited several national parks and I’ve read that it’s not always safe to drive at night because of animals (I know this was the case in Yellowstone).

I do not think we’re doing Best Friends only because of time constraints. I’ve read about it and I think my boys would love it. The only thing we are really doing in Kanab besides staying there is a UTV trip to Peekaboo Slot Canyon and somewhere else (the name is eluding me at the moment).

 

[gsdweller]

I generally prefer the North Rim, but that depends on what you like to do. It is never worth trying to visit both North and South on the same trip if you are driving. At either rim there are hikes of all types. From gentle strolls to extremely difficult.

If you are going to the North Rim, get reservations for dinner today. They may be sold out already. If you are familiar with driving in the wild, the drive back at night is not an issue. Just go slower than normal.

You do not currently need reservations at Bryce. Remember that Bryce is famous for having some of the darkest skies in the world. You should plan to spend a night there and do some stargazing. It is unreal.

 

[WarEagleFan]

In 2021 we did a 2 week trip to the Mighty Five and the 2nd week of our trip stayed in Kanab as our home base. We left Torrey, where Capital Reef is located, and drove down a scenic Byway that passed Bryce and stopped here on our way to Kanab. We loved Bryce! We hiked the Navajo Loop and Queens Garden Trail and then drove and stopped at other scenic pullouts. This park really deserved more time than we gave it, but we only spent a day here.

While in Kanab we went to Zion 3 different days, to the Grand Canyon North Rim one day, and drove to Page, Arizona one morning to kayak at Lake Powell and then went to check out Horseshoe Bend. When we were there the Navajo land was still closed due to COVID, so the only way we could see some of Antelope Canyon was to do the kayak tour that took us to a 1 mile section of Antelope canyon that is not on Navajo land - we were able to park the kayaks and hike into Antelope Canyon for that mile and then back out. We chose to do the earliest kayak tour and were so glad that we did. Heading out to where you park the kayaks to see Antelope Canyon was so peaceful and the water was smooth as glass. Coming back there were more people on the water so the water wasn’t as smooth making it not as easy to paddle. (I saw on another post you have that someone recommended the Secret Canyon and Horseshoe Bend tour to see Antelope canyon and Horseshoe Bend. We had originally planned to do that tour, but due to COVID, it was not running).
The Grand Canyon north rim is an easy 1.5 hour drive from Kanab. We loved the North Rim! It was beautiful. My favorite article with tips about the North Rim was Picturesandwordsblog.com - Things to do at Grand Canyon North Rim. I debated doing a mule ride while there, but my sister is very afraid of heights so she wouldn’t have enjoyed being at a drop off on a mule - ha. If you drive here from Kanab, when you turn off 89A onto 67, stop at the Inn on your right - they have yummy cookies there (our kayak tour guide recommended us stopping there) and good priced souvenirs. I did read to not drive these roads at night due to the chance of cows being on the road, so we made sure we got back to Kanab before dark.

The closest Zion entrance to Kanab is the East entrance - about 30 minutes from Kanab). When you enter there you go down a gorgeous drive - Mount Carmel Hwy- that will take you down to the visitor’s center. There are beautiful scenic pullouts along this drive and an easy 1 mile hike called Canyon Overlook Trail that takes you to a gorgeous view with little effort. If you like to hike I liked this article about Zion’s hikes: Picturesandwordsblog.com - The Best Hikes in Zion. One day we hiked the Narrows, which was awesome, and another day rented bikes and put them on the shuttle to go up the scenic road that is only open to shuttles and bikes during heavy tourist season, and then rode the bikes back down and stopped at stops along the way. It was an easy beautiful ride! We needed shuttle passes when we went. Not sure if that is still required. It was stressful getting them - I literally had just a few minutes on the day I could get them for our trip, and had 2 people at work helping me get the times I wanted for the 3 different days we would be there. They ended up being a blessing, and worth the effort, because right after we left it was Memorial Day weekend and they stopped requiring shuttle passes and I heard people were having to wait up to 5 hours to catch a shuttle. Definitely research and see if you need any passes or timed entries for the parks you plan to visit.

Well, after all that - ha, I just wanted you to know that we really enjoyed the North Rim and thought it was beautiful!

 

[Skippy918]

I am not sure how adventurous you are but there are several outfitters near Zion that do rappelling/ canyoneering trips through various canyons. You may want to check that out if that’s something that interests you. We did Birch Hollow and that was cool.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I was so petrified that somehow I would fall or be pushed over the edge that I didn't really look much at the Canyon. It is beautiful, though, and I hope you enjoy your trip.

So glad to know that it wasn't just me. DH kept making fun of me-I wouldn't go anywhere near the edge. And when he showed me pictures of the trail he took down to Phantom Ranch, I was so glad that I didn't have the physical ability for the hike-no way would I have wanted to be on that trail!

 

[hardcorestitch]

We are planning a trip to Utah/Arizona next summer. Our home base will be Kanab and we are going to Zion, Bryce, and the Grand Canyon. Being that we are staying in Kanab, we will probably only visit the north rim. Are we missing out if we don't visit the south rim? We could leave our airbnb and travel to the south rim and spend a night there, but we'd rather not if the north rim is just as nice. Thoughts?

I actually had a customer at my work jab a little about visiting the Grand Canyon. Definitely go all in... I hear both rims are very distinct. Online doesn't do it justice-both rims are worth visiting!