Driving Vegas to Grand Canyon in mid Dec...advice?

[pxlbarrel]

Ooooodles of questions:

I've decided that our family of four adults should not take a bus tour to the Grand Canyon from Vegas. Too expensive and everybody on the net say they're horrible.

So, if I can confirm with National that I can take the car out of state, we're thinking of driving there from Vegas. Has anybody done this in mid December before? How are the roads? Is there snow there? I drive in snow every winter but I'm not sure the car we get will have all season tires on them or not... Am I crazy to think that there will be snow?

And...at first I was thinking of getting a hotel there for the night and driving back in the morning but how much time do we really need at the Grand Canyon if we're not hiking down into the canyon. (Two of the adults have had heart problems so hiking at that elevation will be...well, probably not advised). Maybe I can drive us all back in the evening? Is the drive back ok at night?

And finally, what's the weather like at the Grand Canyon in mid December. We're looking at going on the 12th or 13th. I've read that it's not very crowded in December. (Yay...but is there a reason? LOL)

I'm a GC newbie so please help.

 

[kuusimo]

Yes there is snow at the Grand Canyon. Last weekend it was 20 degrees there for the low.

It depends if you are going to the north or south rim of the canyon. If there is a lot of snow, then the road to the north side is closed. It generally closes during the winter because of the ice.

I personally have not driven from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon, but I know there are other posts on this site that will let you know the driving time.

The north rim is prettier, but it is also a higher elevation so it is cooler and gets more moisture.

Driving back at night would be fine. I hope this helps a little. In the Phoenix area come Dec/Jan, we have to scrape frost off our windows in the morning as well.

 

[pxlbarrel]

Thanks for the info. Hmmmm...that's pretty cold. I think we've decided to actually go to Sedona first, spend the night there and hit the Grand Canyon on the way back to Vegas.

Definitely going to the South Rim. I think the North is already closed when we go.