Grand Canyon News

Good morning Grand Canyon travelers, what’s up?  Here’s some news courtesy of a regular poster on Trip Advisor that will help you get the most out of your Grand Canyon vacation: the National Park Service at Grand Canyon South Rim has designated a second lane as a “prepaid entrance” lane. 

Not sure what that implies for your Grand Canyon vacation?  Well….which would you prefer?  A. breezing right into the park with minimal wait time at the entrance gate or b. sweating in your car up to an hour or more waiting in line to pay your entrance fee?  For those who choose option A, read and heed.  Those who chose option B….what, are you NUTS?! Just playin’

Anyway, during the peak travel months of summer, it is not uncommon to see folks waiting in line for a LONG time to pay their Grand Canyon park entrance fees, especially during the mid-day hours.  How do you avoid that?  Prepay your park entrance fee BEFORE you get to the park. 

There are several ways to accomplish this. 

If you’re going to several National Parks on your vacation, purchase a National Park Pass.  For just $50, this handy little card grants you and all passengers in your vehicle access to ALL National Parks, Monuments and Federal Fee areas in the continental US for one calendar year.  If, like many Grand Canyon visitors, you also plan to go see Bryce Canyon, Zion National Park, Lake Powell/Glen Canyon National Recreation Area on your trip, then you should definitely get one of these.  Why?  Because it will save you money. 

Let’s do a little math: the entrance fee to the Grand Canyon is $25/vehicle.  The entrance fee to Lake Powell is $15/vehicle; Zion National Park is $20/vehicle; Bryce Canyon is also $20/vehicle.  Those are just a few examples of some of the amazing National Parks and Monuments within easy access of the Grand Canyon.  Some others are Tuzigoot and Montezuma’s Castle, near Sedona, or Wupatki/Sunset Crater near Flagstaff.  So if you are planning to go and see at least three parks or monuments on your trip, the National Park Pass would pay for itself in short order. 

Another cool thing?  You can actually pre-purchase your park pass before you go on vacation!  Visit  https://buy.nationalparks.org/default.asp?ref=nps or call 1-888-Go-Parks.  Otherwise, simply purchase the National Park Pass at the first National Park or Monument on your itinerary.  If you are 62+, ask about the Golden Age Pass; if you are disabled, ask about the Golden Access Pass.  (Some notable exceptions where the National Park Pass would NOT grant you access are Indian Tribal Parks, such as Monument Valley and Grand Canyon West)

Now, if the Grand Canyon is going to be “it” for you on this vacation, you can also save time by prepaying your Grand Canyon park entrance fee at one of two Official Grand Canyon National Park Pay Stations: the Valle Travel Stop in Valle, Arizona, which is located about 30 miles South of the park entrance at the junction of Highway 64 & 180.  Another is located inside the IMAX Theatre in Tusayan, just one mile South of the park entrance.  (While at the IMAX Theatre, of course, don’t miss the chance to experience the spectacular film “.”)

By prepaying your Grand Canyon National Park entrance fee in one of these ways, you will save yourself time and frustration, because when YOU go to the entrance gate at the South Rim, you’ll be able to go directly to Lane 1 or Lane 4, flash your card or receipt, and go right in.  If not – it could cost you over an hour of your valuable vacation time. 

A couple of other guidelines for cutting down on your wait time: get there early or come in late.  Lines are their longest during the mid-day hours.  Carpool when you can.  And when you get inside the park, park your vehicle and use the free in-park shuttles to get to the various Grand Canyon hotels, gift shops and restaurants, and to see the viewpoints on the Hermit’s Rest/West Rim Drive. 

Want more tips on how to save time, money and hassle on YOUR Grand Canyon vacation?  Get ”The Insider’s Guide to the Grand Canyon: Summer Edition“ right now – it’s FREE!  (Visiting in fall or winter?  Call us and order your advance copy of “The Insider’s Guide” for these seasons!)

Morning travellers, what’s up?  For those of you visiting the Grand Canyon right now, hope you’re having a great time - sorry about all this wind, but at least the cloud cover is cooling things down a bit!  Story for another time….

Anyhoo, right about now, we’re starting to talk to a lot of you planning a Grand Canyon vacation over 4th of July.  And invariably, the question comes up about fireworks.  Now you could NEVER EVER light them in the park.  I mean don’t even think about it.  But… normally, there are actually quite a few impressive fireworks shows in the various gateway communities outside the park: Flagstaff, Mormon Lake, Lake Powell, Williams….

Well, this year, Grand Canyon weather has been anything but normal.  That in itself is not news.  The Southwest has been in the midst of a drought, and it is expected to continue.  (In the desert?  Ya think?)  Winter 2005 was one of the driest in recorded history, with snow not occuring at the Grand Canyon until – shoot, I think it was late February.  I felt like a real moron, advising people to pack sweaters and they’d get here and wish they had shorts for Pete’s sake! 

But moving on…  As a result of that utter lack of moisture for the better part of a whole season, fire danger is through the roof this summer.  Thankfully, the recent LaBarranca fire in beautiful Sedona was contained in relatively short order.  Two homes burned, which is tragic, but it could have been much worse.  

It has been well-known amongst Grand Canyon and Northern Arizona residents that fireworks were probably not gonna happen this year, and one community has now made it kinda-sorta official-ish for now: Flagstaff.  Other communities in the area will certainly follow suit…. unless Mother Nature abruptly changes her mind and decides to let loose with a very moist monsoon season.  Stranger things have been known to happen! 

But even though this holiday will occur sans “rockets red glare,” hey, who needs ‘em?  You’re out on the road seeing “the sights every American should see.”  Heck, the sights every PERSON should see.  A road trip through our National Park is the ultimate celebration of freedom.  BUT – that doesn’t give you license to wing it. 

For those of you who’ve already got everything booked, BUYA!  The rest of you – plan ahead, have your ducks in a row (flight, rental car, hotels at various stops, tours, dinner reservations if you need them, etc.).  Don’t expect to show up and be able to find a room.  Mule ride?  Get real.   

I have been around hotels for a long ol’ time and I’ve seen many a family drive into the wee hours of the night looking for a room at Disneyland ’cause they didn’t make reservations.  One of those families was mine.  *sigh* Story for another time… but I’ve been helping people avoid those pitfalls since 1987.  Call me.

And hey…… “Let’s Be Careful Out There.” 

Alley Kaye, GrandCanyon.com

Hey, travellers, what’s up?  As promised, here’s a random thought!  Today, it was elicited by a very timely article in the Arizona Republic that you parents will definitely want to check out.  Especially those of you travelling to the Grand Canyon with young kids, some of you for the first time. I take my hats off to you folks, especially ’cause I travel with dogs.  More on that another time. 

I can’t remember my first road trip, ’cause I was a baby at the time.  Several times a summer while I was a small child, my family would pack up the Plymouth Valiant and escape the scorching heat of Fresno, California to the beach community of Santa Cruz, California.  My pop’s family had a summer house there, just minutes from the Boardwalk.  It was pretty darn sweet.  Sometimes my cousins would meet up with us, other times it was just me, mom, dad and my younger sister, Krista and my lil’ bro, Robert.  The drive up there was about three hours each way, and I loved every minute of it.  All you had to do was find a rockin’ radio station and I was good!  Road trippin and I got along just fine.  

My younger siblings, on the other hand, weren’t as into it.  They couldn’t shut up to save their LIVES.  If only they’d had some of these cool gadgets that this article talks about!  I say this to you, Dear Travelers, because if three hours in a car sounds like a long drive to you, I got news for ya if your coming to the Grand Canyon: around here, a FIVE hour drive is a hop, skip and a jump.  And guess what?  The nearest major metropolitan airports to the Grand Canyon are just that far away, or further.  Las Vegas? 5 hours.  Phoenix?  4.5 hours.  Salt Lake?  7 hours – from the North Rim; Albuquerque?  Again, a good chunk of a day. 

What’s up with that, you say?  Well…. just the nature of the West..  And the way God made the Grand Canyon.  You can’t drive across her, ya gotta drive around her.  Shortcuts?  Not without GPS and a 4-wheel drive…  The Dixie Chicks sing about wide open spaces, well… the Southwest is full of ‘em.  We’re OK with that ’cause the scenery is so dang cool.  Some of the littler kids, though, might not fully appreciate that.  An 8-year-old girl told me in an e-mail once (we sometimes help kids with their school projects during the off-season) that “kids just aren’t into scenery.”  Nature has yet to be cool. 

So, of course, try to foster appreciation for Nature in your kids, but don’t feel like you have to force it down their throats.  Don’t feel guilty if your boy seems more interested in his gadget du jour instead of the vastness of the Grand Canyon.  ’Cause ya know what?  Even if it seems like they’re not looking at the scenery, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised to find later on that it did affect them more than you thought.  In our experience, we’ve found that this usually becomes apparent when one’s children are grown and one fine day, they feel that certain compulsion to introduce their own kids to the Grand Canyon. 

Here’s wishing you all Happy Travels! 

Want to hear more about the best Grand Canyon hotel for families?  The best Grand Canyon family tours?  Where you can find the best gas prices?  Or how you can cut your drive time in half while doubling your sightseeing opportunities?  Give us a call – we’re Grand Canyon.com, helping you get the most out of your Grand Canyon vacation and beyond.  L8R.