Grand Canyon Questions

[lroger01]

I've heard the entrance to the Grand Canyon during the summer gets backed up and it can take forever to get in. We'll be arriving around 3-5pm on a Sunday (south rim, south entrance).

Anyone know if there is likely to be a back up during that time of day? We could buy our entrance permit in Williams if so, but I don't want to stop if it isn't necessary.

I've read that parking at the GC can be a pain. Any info on when it begins to clear out? We're staying at the Bright Angel Lodge. Is any parking reserved for hotel guests? It seems odd that we'd have to park at the visitors center and shlep all our stuff on the internal bus or something.

We're only staying the night. Anything we should make an effort to see (besides the canyon of course!) I mean shops, galleries, ranger talks, nature walks, restaurants, etc. I'm not against "touristy" things, kinda like them actually, heck I am a tourist after all.

Thanks in advance for any tips!

 

[disneyfaninaz]

Try to get a dinner reservation at El Tovar.

Yes, parking can be a PITA. Hopefully, most people are leaving on a Sunday and you will be able to find a place to park near Bright Angel. Once you do, leave your car and walk or take the shuttle to wherever you want to go.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

When we visited GC, we rode the train. http://www.thetrain.com/

It was a great experience and it dropped us off a short walk to the rim. I have to admit it's not the fastest. We also regret not staying overnight. We had traded our timeshare for one in Sedona and didn't want to be paying for a 2nd room too but looking back we really should have. We also did the tour as part of our train package that included lunch and we enjoyed it. I would still recommend the train but don't do RT in 1 day. It was nice but not something we would do for every visit. Hopefully we get back there someday.