Grand Canyon
First of all, a few basics about Grand Canyon:
- Crowds -- be prepared for huge crowds of people everywhere you go. Like most national parks, visitors don't stray more than about 1/4 mile from the visitor centers, so everyone is concentrated in the key spots. The crowds are excessive to the point of being uncomfortable, and you will even have to stand in a long line to talk to an actual Ranger.
- Bring Water - In a fit of politically-correct environmental fervor, NPS prohibited the sale of bottled water in 23 national parks a couple of years ago. You can buy bottled soda, juices, Margaritas, hard cider, beer, etc -- but water is apparently evil. Who knew?
- (Not sure if this is part of the recently announced sponsorship agreement between NPS and Anheuser-Busch...
Probably not.)
- Actually, the stated reason is to reduce trash. I guess they figured out it was easier to ban their concessioners from selling water to ALL visitors, rather than enforcing their own regulations against the handful who litter our national treasures. Typical bureaucratic solution.
- NPS has placed free water-bottle refill stations in numerous locations at Grand Canyon -- grocery stores, visitor centers, lodges, and a few trailheads. That's convenient for the casual tourist visitor (as long as they don't mind standing in line for a bit), but not much help for hikers and other adventurers. OP is apparently going to be hiking, so my advice would be to load up with a couple of cases of water before you go to the park.
- Restricted Driving - Private vehicles are prohibited in the western part of the South Rim -- from the Village to Hermit's Rest. There is a free shuttle bus service which seems to work well, but plan for more time due to the buses. (We did not use the buses, so I can't give any personal observations.)
*****
So, what is there to say about the Grand Canyon? It's grand! Really -- very beautiful place.
Most visitors go from overlook to overlook to overlook and leave telling friends that it all looks the same. And to them, it does. A better strategy is to either do what OP is doing -- hike down into the canyon -- or pick one beautiful spot and just sit there in the afternoon watching the sun change the colors of the canyon walls below.
There is abundant wildlife, but we didn't see much (neither did we make any effort to see wildlife). We saw a fox, couple of ground squirrels, one mule deer doe, and a bunch of ravens. But elk, mule deer, mountain lions, California Condor, coyotes, and all sorts of other critters are commonly seen.
The park service recommends staying a good distance away from all wildlife, and they even have a chart with suggested distances that I can't find right now. Generally, tho, stay 75 feet (6 car lengths) away from big critters like deer and elk. Both deer and elk WILL charge humans (and cars) who disturb them, and those cute little deer injure more visitors in national parks each year than any other wild animal.
Mountain lions are one of the rare species who consider humans as part of their prey-base, and they kill a few people every year out west. If you see one, consider yourself very lucky but stay the heck away from it...preferably in your car.
The general rule with any wildlife is quite simple: if the animal changes its behavior
in any way (stops grazing, for example, or looks up at you), you are TOO CLOSE.
All animals in national parks are WILD, and all of them have ways to either kill prey or defend themselves -- and they will use those tools. Harassing or feeding wildlife is harmful to them, dangerous for you and all other nearby humans, and illegal. And that is one law the rangers will gleefully enforce with a stiff fine.
Lodging
We stayed at Xanterra's Maswik Lodge inside the park. It's located away from the rim, but nearby, and was quite convenient. Our room was a typical national park lodge room -- two queen beds, private bath (not all GRCA lodge rooms have their own bathroom
).
Like most national park lodges, Maswik Lodge is an older property, but the room was spacious enough, everything worked, and it was spotless. Also because of the somewhat remote location, our room was very quiet.
Dining
Maswik Lodge has a food court, and we ate one dinner and both breakfasts there. The food was widely varied, with lots of choices, reasonably priced, and better than expected -- actually quite good. The breakfasts, in particular, were
very good.
We also ate dinner one night at the El Tovar hotel, GRCA's iconic lodge. My wife and daughter both had "Sustainable Salmon" (environmentally/politically-correct fish) and loved it.
I had a pork chop thing that was awful. Part of the fault was mine; I should have known better than to order it in the first place -- pork chops with sauerkraut (which I don't like) and apples, which turned out to be sour green apples. I almost never send food back, but if I hadn't made a dumb decision I would have sent this back. The pork chops were overcooked, dry, and tasted like cardboard with vinegar poured over it. Yuk! But, in all honesty, that was my bad -- I should have ordered something else.
The evening was capped off by a fire alarm and evacuation of the El Tovar just as we paid our check.
But despite all that, the El Tovar is a great place to eat. Also a great place to sit on the porch, enjoying a cocktail as sunset changes the colors of the canyon before your very eyes.
Hiking
OP, I assume you are all experienced hikers in very good physical condition if you're hiking down to Phantom Ranch...and back. Ranger wisdom:
"Hiking down into the Canyon is optional; hiking out is mandatory."
If you are not all in great shape (or worse,
used to be in great shape), you really should reconsider that hike. It is much too long for one day, very difficult with a more than 4,000 foot elevation change, widely varying temperatures, and exposure to dangerous weather and elements. While we were there, the temps on the South Rim (6,800 feet) were in the mid/high 70's. Temps at Phantom Ranch (about 2,400 feet) were 103-104. So, on the way back up, you will be making a very steep ascent in close to 100 degree heat, in the sun, in the wind.
There are lots of other options, including doing some of the upper part of Bright Angel Trail, hiking along the Rim Trail, or hiking away from the rim on one of the numerous backcountry trails.
Good, easy hike
There is one nice hike to a sorta-secret overlook with great views -- Shoshone Point. This trail is open to the public, but the park service doesn't promote it (no signs, trail and trailhead are not on maps) because they rent it out for special events like weddings, etc.
The unmarked trailhead is on Desert View Drive, a little east of the Yaki Point overlook, on the north (rim) side of the road. There is a small unpaved parking lot, a gate blocking a small dirt road, and a sign that says the facilities can't be used without a Special Use Permit. It's about a mile walk uphill on the dirt road from the parking area to the picnic area (with restrooms), and just a few hundred yards as far out on the point as you want to go. We saw one couple walking back on our way up, and there were two people there when we arrived at the picnic area. Great view, no crowds -- a real hidden treasure.
Weather
Summer is "Monsoon season" in northern AZ, with lots of huge thunderstorms and the potential for flash floods.
As far as Grand Canyon is concerned, that presents two drawbacks -- weather difficulties when driving or hiking, and haze. The canyon is so vast (10 miles across or more, as the Condor flies, in most places) that the haze really affects the views and pictures. Being from the lightning capital of the world (Florida), we're used to the hazards of thunderstorms, but not everyone is.
The climate issue for us was the low humidity. We found ourselves easily getting dehydrated, despite consuming 2-3 times the water we usually drink and being very aware of dehydration/heat-related issues. We were never "hot" at GRCA, but we were often thirsty and in need of lip balm.
Biking
We didn't bike this trip, but next time we will. At the main South Rim visitor center area, there is a concessioner who rents bicycles. They have literally
hundreds of bikes of all descriptions, including kid trailers. We didn't see many people biking, but biking would be a fabulous way to get away from the crowds and really enjoy the place.
Favorite books in the Visitor Centers?
You're thinking something about the history or geology of the place...or something about nature's palette of colors dramatically displayed across the vast landscape...right?
Naw. The favorite book in all the bookstores is
Over The Edge: Death in Grand Canyon !
And it is a book that is about precisely what you think -- people falling to their death in Grand Canyon. And...in any of the bookstores, you will also find 3-4
other books on the same topic. Dying is apparently a popular thing to do at Grand Canyon.
It's no secret why there is so much material for such books. You will see literally hundreds of visitors tempting fate -- and living to tell the tale -- during any visit to Grand Canyon.
Just like visitors trying to feed bears or get close to bison at Yellowstone, or petting alligators at Everglades, park visitors never disappoint!
