Grand Canyon News

Good morning to all ~ sorry for being such a delinquent about keeping up the blog, but duty calls.  That duty, of course, is helping folks like you plan your Grand Canyon vacations, and lately, we’ve been doing that very thing in SPADES!  We’re having a ball helping you put together your spring break and summer vacations.  There are all kinds of exciting things going on this season, most notably, the long-awaited opening of the Grand Canyon Skywalk at Grand Canyon West.  More on that later. 

Y’know what’s really fun is talking with those of you fortunate enough to have a good long time to spend here in the beautiful American Southwest.  Yesterday I had the pleasure of helping a family from Dallas plan a week-plus-long scenic odyssey that they will surely never forget: fly to Las Vegas on an early flight, rent car, head over to Zion National Park for 2 days, from there, head to Grand Canyon North Rim for a couple of nights, then on to Lake Powell, Bryce Canyon, then back to Vegas, fly home. 

Surprised that they’re not spending the entire time at the Grand Canyon?  Don’t be.  Odd as this may sound, we wouldn’t want you to either!  It’s not that we don’t love the Grand Canyon, but the Grand Canyon is merely one incredible attraction out of literally dozens (heck, maybe hundreds!) in this area, and while you’re here, we recommend that you see as many of them as you can (without literally driving yourself crazy, of course!). 

Did you know that the average Grand Canyon visitor spends maybe 4–5 HOURS in the park?  It’s true.  Some even do just a quick “look-see” a la Chevy Chase in “National Lampoon’s Vacation.” The family that spends 2 or 3 days at the Grand Canyon is truly fortunate.  But unless you’re going to be doing a lot of hardcore hiking in the area, you really don’t need much more time than that.  If you’ve got a week or more to spend, you have plenty of time to see the Grand Canyon and a heck of a lot more. 

If you’ve got a map or road atlas, here’s where you might want to grab it.   Now, find the area known as “The Four Corners.”  For those a bit unfamiliar, the Four Corners is the area of the United States where four states join: Arizona, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico.  If you’re on Yahoo! Maps or Mapquest, pull up a place called “Teec Nos Pos, Arizona.”  Now, if you were to draw a big circle around that point, say 200 miles out from the center, you’ll discover something amazing: within that big ol’ circle are a whole bunch of cool places: National Parks, Monuments, State Parks, Recreation Areas, historical and cultural sites and more! 

This area is collectively known as “The Grand Circle” and here’s the best part: a big chunk of the Grand Circle is within easy access of the Grand Canyon.  “Such as,” you say?  Well… Lake Powell is 2.5 hours from Grand Canyon South Rim OR North Rim; Monument Valley Navajo Indian Tribal Park is 3.5 hours from Grand Canyon South Rim and 2 hours from Lake Powell; Zion National Park is about 1 hour from Lake Powell, 2 hours from Grand Canyon North Rim; Bryce Canyon is 2.5 hours from Lake Powell; Cedar Breaks National Monument is 2.5 hours from Lake Powell; the Paria Canyon Wilderness and Vermillion Cliffs National Monument are 2.5 hours from Grand Canyon North or South Rim, 30 minutes away from Lake Powell. 

See a pattern there?  Yup, thought you would: Lake Powell seems to be at the center of it all, which is why it is frequently (and appropriately) referred to as “The Hub of the Grand Circle.”  10 minutes from the shores of Lake Powell (which is actually a part of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area) is a small town called Page, Arizona (or “Page America” as it is known on the local radio station).  

Originally built as a “Worker’s Camp” for the construction of the Glen Canyon Dam, Page is now a tourism-centered town of about 6,000 people.  Great Lakes Airlines offers daily air service from Phoenix to Page Municipal Airport (PGA), and you can rent a car from Avis or Hertz on-site.  It does cost more to fly to a small commuter airfield such as Page, but it may be worth it to you in terms of cutting down on your drive time: the North AND South Rim of the Grand Canyon are located an easy (and pretty) 2.5 hour drive from Lake Powell.  Day trips can also be made easily to surrounding attractions.  By flying into Page, you can practically cut your driving time in half while doubling your sightseeing opportunities. 

So how’d I get started talking about the Grand Canyon and end up talking about Lake Powell, and why should you care?  Well.. if you’re coming out here for Spring Break and you don’t have Grand Canyon hotel reservations yet, I’ve got some bad news for ya: all the hotels in the immediate area of the Grand Canyon are either full or getting there fast.  There are other places to stay for your Grand Canyon vacation, such as Flagstaff, which is 1.5 hours from Grand Canyon South Rim, or Williams, which is 1 hour South.  Both are nice towns, but frankly, we’re partial to Lake Powell (and not just because we live here!).   Lake Powell has so much to offer not only in beautiful scenery (it looks like the Grand Canyon with water in it), but fun activities (like the Half Day Colorado River Float Trip, Antelope Canyon Safari Jeep Tours, scenic air tours), reasonable hotel rates, and being at the center of it all, it makes a great “base camp” from which to enjoy everything the Grand Circle has to offer. 

Want to hear more?  Give us a call and get it from “the horse’s mouth.”  Our phone number is at the top of your screen.  Thinking you need to get on making those Grand Canyon hotel reservations?  You’d be right.  If you strike out at the Grand Canyon, consider making a bit of a diversion to Lake Powell and enjoy the Grand Canyon for a day.  To check availability and pricing of hotels in both areas, visit the hotels link on our website, or call 1–800–916–8530. 

Happy Travels!  Alley Kaye

P.S.  GrandCanyon.com is also a member of the Grand Circle Association.  They offer an excellent free travel planner for the region that you can order via their website, www.grandcircle.org

Good morning to all ~ it’s 23 degrees and kinda gray outside as the Grand Canyon makes ready for President’s Day Weekend.  Typically a busy time, we’ll be greeting a lot of folks from Phoenix, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and other Western cities taking advantage of the opportunity to enjoy a long weekend away from the hustle and bustle of urban life.  For those of us who live here, this weekend usually serves as a “dress rehearsal” for what’s ahead: the spring break rush.  

As that sage philosopher Bob Dylan once said, “the times they are a-changin’” and that’s definitely been the case over the years with the Spring Break Holiday.  With Easter occuring on April 8th, and with many schools switching to year-round schedules, spring break rush at the Grand Canyon has been starting earlier and ending later than in years past.  We’ve helped many spring break travelers with their Grand Canyon hotel and tour reservations over the last few weeks, and the dates of their holidays are varying from early March to late April.  More alarmingly, though, we’ve also spoken to a lot of people who were surprised by this. 

So, at the risk of sounding redundant (I think this is the 3rd time we’ve discussed this subject), if you’re planning on visiting the Grand Canyon anytime soon, GET YOUR RESERVATIONS IN NOW!  Many a Grand Canyon vacation has been ruined by people who make the assumption that they don’t need reservations for a hotel room or for seats on a popular Grand Canyon tour. Trust me, I’ve seen it happen, and I don’t want it to happen to you, especially if you’ll be coming over from abroad.  I remember distinctly dealing with a very irate lady back in the late ‘80’s who was flabbergasted that she couldn’t get a room at the El Tovar when she showed up without reservations on a day in early March – her rationale for not booking ahead of time?  “It’s supposed to be the off-season!” 

Truth is, Grand Canyon National Park doesn’t really have much of an off-season any longer.  Gone are the days when the park would only be busy from Memorial Day through Labor Day and eerily quiet in fall and winter.  Nowadays, the park gets busy in March and stays busy until Thanksgiving.  We get a bit of a reprieve during the “dead of winter” months like December, January and February, but then again, holidays like Christmas, Martin Luther King day, and President’s Day are busy.  Once the spring break rush begins, we’re “off to the races” until November. 

A quick note about a popular travel route from Sedona, Arizona: a section of Highway 89A just South of Flagstaff was recently rendered unstable after a winter storm, so one lane of the highway is closed at the moment.  Traffic is “stop and go,” which can be a drag if  you’re in a  hurry to get to the canyon.  There is an alternate route you can take that will save you a bit of hassle and won’t add much to your drive time, and that is to take AZ-179 to Interstate 17, which you’d take to Flagstaff.  From there, you can choose to go up Highway 180 through the San Francisco Peaks, which joins with AZ-64 in Valle, or you can get on Interstate 40 to Williams and catch AZ-64 North from there.  For road conditions all over the state, visit www.az511.com

Wow.  2007 is barely 3 weeks old and already it promises to be a year full of change!  It truly is the only constant in this world, and it’s certainly a constant here at GrandCanyon.com.  We’ve been busy helping lots of you get your Grand Canyon hotels and tours reserved – clearly, you’ve taken our advice to heart about getting your ducks in a row ASAP for your Grand Canyon vacation and you’ll definitely be glad you did.  We’ve also been posting a lot of new Grand Canyon tour videos.  We’re particularly proud of our Grand Canyon Railway video – take a gander if you get a minute!

Getting back on the subject at hand … well, I have a few subjects on the agenda…  One thing I wanted to discuss today was Grand Canyon camping.  You may think that if you’re camping, you don’t need to plan ahead like you would if you were staying at hotels.  Let me tell you – from 20 years’ experience – that that assumption is just flat out W-R-O-N-G!  During the summer months, campgrounds can be every bit as busy as hotels, and reservations are every bit as necessary (with a few exceptions – keep reading), and next month, the place to go to make those reservations will change. 

Effective February 7th, the National Recreation Reservations Service will take care of National Park camping reservations: online, visit www.Recreation.gov  If you prefer to make reservations by phone, call toll free 877–444–6777.  Apparently this service will take care of all the National Park campgrounds in the country, which is good – one stop shopping!  So if you’ll be visiting our campgrounds, make your reservations soon, but don’t try to make ‘em today – the systems are in transition mode until the 7th and will not “go live” until then.  RV spaces are still managed by Xanterra South Rim LLC, who can be reached at 888–297–2757, 303–297–2757 or www.grandcanyonlodges.com  To every rule, there is of course an exception, sometimes a few.  In this case, there are a few car campgrounds that operate on a first-come first-served basis.  To learn more about these campgrounds, take a look at my post-script to this entry.  

This change WILL NOT apply to camping in the inner canyon, such as Cottonwood, Indian Gardens or the Bright Angel Campground near Phantom Ranch.  These reservations are still taken care of by the Backcountry Office of the National Park Service.  Backcountry permits for Bright Angel Campground and elsewhere open four months ahead of time for the proposed month of your trip (i.e., if you want to camp in September, you can make reservations as of May 1), and they typically get booked up as soon as they become available.  For more information on how to obtain a backcountry camping permit at the Canyon, click here.  Dorms, cabins and meals at Phantom Ranch are still manged by Xanterra (see contact info above). 

Speaking of Bright Angel – the Lodge this time – renovations are underway at this historic property designed by famed female architect Mary Jane Colter.  Dating back to 1935, Bright Angel Lodge  (a Xanterra property as well) consists of European-style rooms with shared baths and others with private bath.  My favorites are the charming cabins, some of which are located right on the canyon rim!  From now through April 30th, the lodge rooms will be closed as furniture is  refinished, fixtures are replaced, and walls and ceilings are repainted.  The boardwalk that connects some of the rooms to the main lobby is also scheduled for replacement.  The main lobby of the lodge, including the Transportation Desk, Coffee Shop, Lounge and Gift Shop will remain open.  The Arizona Room is closed through February (which is their usual seasonal closure). 

What does this mean to you?  Well…. it means that 80 or so of the area’s most economically priced rooms will be out of commission over Spring Break, making it even more important that you get hotel reservations made if you’re visiting us then.  In March, you can still take advantage of off-season rates at several Grand Canyon hotels, including our preferred hotel, the Best Western Grand Canyon Squire Inn.  Standard rooms, for example, are $89/night, deluxe rooms are $109/night through March 31st, which is a $50 per night savings over peak season.  The Squire is actually a really nice hotel (I’ve stayed there myself several times) and an excellent choice for families with young children since it has an on-site play center with a bowling alley, video games and pool tables.  They even have spa-type services by prior arrangement (can we say massage after a mule ride?  Yeeeeeeeeah BOY!).  Sound good?  Book a room right now! 

Up the road a ways in beautiful Lake Powell, we’re making ready to bid “adieu” to a local institution: the Canyon King.  A genuine paddle-wheel boat that made its first splash in 1979, the Canyon King ferried thousands of people around the lake as they savored juicy prime rib or munched on bacon and eggs.  I’ve been on this boat several times myself (my first rock band played its first gig on this boat) and have made many a cherished memory with friends and family as we glided past Lake Powell’s trademark towering rock formations (that tower even higher now with water levels lower than in years past).  Now, the old vessel simply can’t be brought up to modern safety codes without it costing an arm and a leg, so Lake Powell Resorts decided it was time to retire her (or is it a him since it’s a “king”?).  According to the Lake Powell Chronicle, speculation has already been made about turning the Canyon King into a roadside attraction at the new visitor center scheduled to go in on US 89 near Page, Arizona.  If our friends in the UK will pardon us just this once for stealing one of their phrases: “Long Live the King.”

As we say “good-bye” to a King, we’ll say “hello” to a Princess: the Canyon Princess, a modern luxury yacht-style vessel featuring richly appointed cherry wood salons, a curved grand staircase and an open air deck.  She’s gorgeous and due to arrive here in a few weeks.  She’ll be available for breakfast cruises, sunset dinner cruises, and maybe even nighttime star gazing parties, not to mention private events like weddings and such.  I can’t wait to meet her. 

Lake Powell is just 2.5 hours away from Grand Canyon South or North Rim.  In addition to our line of Grand Canyon tours, we can also book you on a Lake Powell Scenic Cruise Adventure.  Just give us a call or drop us a line at info@grandcanyon.com 

Til next time, Happy Travels! 

Alley Kaye

P.S.  Oh hey!  We just posted our seasonal Grand Canyon Travel Guides for 2007 – yaaaay!  We decided to put ‘em all up at once because so many of you have already decided when you’re going (good call).  For those of you who have yet to decide when/where to go, we’ve put up our very first Grand Canyon Annual Travel Guide.  All are available as Adobe pdf downloads (about 2 mgs) and they’re even better than last year’s.  They feature an extended camping section (which discusses first come-first serve campgrounds), more information about Grand Canyon West, and our Annual Guide has a special “You Asked We Answered” section that discusses things like fireworks (forget it), weddings (possible with a permit), ski areas (don’t laugh), even where to watch “March Madness.”  You’ll find the links underneath the videos section just “under the fold” on the homepage, GrandCanyon.com.  Thanks in advance for reading! 

This morning dawned cold, gray and windy at the Grand Canyon.  Snow is predicted for later on today, which I’ll believe when I see.  Otherwise, this morning is almost a carbon copy of what it was almost exactly this time last year.  A couple of big differences: this time last year I was in Las Vegas, wondering what the heck I was doing on an airplane on a day like this, but, there I was, winging it over Hoover Dam, making my first trip to “Grand Canyon West”! 

Here’s an excerpt from my personal blog entry after that trip:

If you’ve been to the Grand Canyon at all in years past, I’ll bet your visit happened kind of like this: you stood at the edge, took a look down, and thought, “man, I’ve gotta get to the bottom of this thing!”  So you asked around how to go about it and you soon found out that getting to the bottom of the Grand Canyon was HARD. 

For most it boils down to two choices: 1. sit on a mule  for two days (which you have to plan your life a year ahead for) or 2. hike 18 miles  - 10 of those miles uphill!  You also had to plan ahead to get lodging or camping at the bottom of the canyon.  A 3rd choice is take a helicopter to Havasu Falls… (fun, but pricey).  a 4th is to take a Grand Canyon white water rafting trip, which usually requires a 4-day minimum commitment of your time (with one exception).  Long story short, getting to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and back in a day was basically not an option for the average working person.  Well, three words are changing all that as we speak: Grand Canyon West.

I’ve been to the bottom of the Grand Canyon the hard way.  I’ve ridden the mules to Phantom Ranch and I’ve gotten there under my own steam, from both the North and South Rims.  In both cases, the trip took a rewarding but exhausting two days.  To this day, making the North to South Rim hike is one of the proudest accomplishments of my whole life.  This time, however, we were getting to the bottom of the canyon and back in a fraction of the time, and the beauty part, with very little exertion. 

Our day began bright and early at the Sahara, when we boarded our shuttle bus for the North Las Vegas Airport (editor’s note: most Las Vegas Grand Canyon Tours now originate from the Boulder City Municipal Airport).  I knew we were in for an adventure, and I was right!  We boarded our 19-passenger Twin Otter Vistaliner and off we went, eastward over the stark, shadowy landscape of the Nevada Desert en route to the Hualapai Indian Nation . 

Soon, we were over Lake Mead, one of the world’s largest man-made lakes.  On this particular morning, the waters were a beautiful, sparking blue-green color that particular morning.  Other times I’ve seen it, the water’s been navy blue, almost black.  It just depends on the light, which on that day was a dramatic contrast of ominous clouds pierced by stray sunbeams, reminiscent of an Ed Mell painting. 

Next, the Hoover Dam  came into view.  Even from this far up, you can see the distinctive art-deco lines of this engineering marvel that unbelievably dates back to the 1920’s.  We swing back over Lake Mead again, and just as the twinkling waters below the aircraft are about to hypnotize me, we hit the first big bump - a telltale sign that our destination, the Grand Canyon, is just up ahead. 

Turbulence is a fact of life up here.  Think of it as part of the adventure.  Wind behaves much like water in this kind of terrain.  Like water rises and falls when it flows over boulders in a riverbed, wind rises and falls as it encounters mountains and cliffs like those around us.  We cross a pointy, angular uplift in the earth.  The land rises up in front of us, and the blue-green waters of Lake Mead morph into the brownish-red Colorado River . 

Our pilots fight crosswinds as we prepare to land at the Hualapai Airstrip.  The plane rocks back and forth as our crew tries to land the Otter.  No go.  We pull back up – whoooooooooaaaa Nelly! – and swing back around for another try.  Second time’s a charm.  We disembark, glad to be on solid ground. 

After getting my bearings, I can’t believe what I’m seeing.  I’d actually been here years ago and had flown over the area many times.  Back then, there was a whole lot of nothing out here.  The occasional Cessna or Piper would flit in and out, ferrying Grand Canyon river rafters back to civilization.  Now, there’s a developing visitor services complex manned by members of the Hualapai Nation.  The terminal features a small gift shop, cafe and tour desk.  Several helicopter companies operate here, and that’s what we were off to do next. 

After a brief but thorough orientation, we boarded a helicopter for the ultimate thrill-ride – 4,000 feet down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon!  This part of the trip was the most fun – just like the IMAX Movie , except it’s all for real.  From a helicopter, you can see the various formations up close and personal, down to tiny little details, like a little creosote bush that manages to survive on a slab of seemingly solid rock, or a raven’s nest tucked into the crags of a cliffwall.  This ten minute ride was better than any roller coaster! 

We set down on a helipad on a rise just above the Colorado River, where a pontoon boat was waiting for us.  We made our way down a short dirt trail, then a couple flights of stairs, then a small but steep ramp.  I was glad that I chose to wear tennis shoes instead of boots, and make a note to warn people that this is the only potentially strenuous part of the day.  Time to go cruisin’, Grand Canyon West style!  

We motored briefly up the channel, then floated back.  Our friendly river guide shared the history of the National Park, and its relationship to the many Native people who have called it home.  Down on the river, I totally forgot myself, forgot that I had a camera and should have been snapping pictures.  Maybe it was because of the clouds and the moisture, but on that particular day, the reds were richer, the greens were deeper.  The gorge is a little shallower at this end, and the channel is narrower, but I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: it is no less beautiful than the areas upstream – just different. 

After about thirty minutes on the water, we bade our guide “farewell” and headed back up the stairs for another helicopter ride that was a blast and a half, this time – goin’ up!  Back on top, it was time to switch modes of transport again.  We climbed aboard a motorcoach for a tour of the canyon rim, stopping first at Eagle Point, so named for the appearance of an eagle in flight in the rock face to the east. 

This place is also the future home of the Grand Canyon Skywalk , a horseshoe-shaped, glass-lined walkway where you’ll be able to walk 70 feet out over the Grand Canyon, and all you can see between you and the Colorado River is … a lot of air!  For months, I’ve been answering incredulous e-mails, usually accompanied by the artist’s rendering, always asking “is this for real?”  In mid-2006 it should be (editor’s note: since then, the opening of the Skywalk has been delayed several times.  Current estimates put opening in early 2007).  

We continue to Guano Point, which is named for a now-defunct mining operation.  Here, we sat down to lunch of barbecue beef, corn bread and veggies with the Grand Canyon providing our ”ambiance.”  Gourmet fare?  Nope.  But the view sure couldn’t be beat!  After lunch, it was time to head back to the airstrip, where our plane was waiting to whisk us back to Las Vegas. 

Unbelievably, I actually dozed off momentarily on the trip back.  I was overwhelmed.  I couldn’t believe I’d actually been to the bottom of the Grand Canyon – and back – in a day!  And what a day it had been.  But that was just it – it hadn’t really been “a day” at all.  We did all this incredible, amazing stuff – the plane flight, TWO helicopter flights, the raft trip, the rim tour, the barbecue - in about six hours; that’s HALF a day! 

Back at the airport, we waved goodbye to our fellow Voyagers as they boarded shuttle buses back to their various hotels.  We met up with our boss at Pumi Oriental Restaurant  for a late ”2nd lunch” of miso soup and tiger rolls.  Too bad we couldn’t have stayed another day.  That tour had us back in time to take a nap, freshen up, maybe go out and do some karaoke.  Some of us had to be at work the next day, so we hit the road back to Page, America .  Oh well.  We’ll do some karaoke next time.  Know any good places? 

A cool thing – well, a couple of ‘em actually – are that this trip runs year-round, weather permitting, making it possible to actually have a Grand Canyon rafting experience in wintertime.  Also, there are no rapids on that stretch of the river, so kids as young as 3 or 4 can do this trip no problem.  As long as you can make it up and down the stairs, you’ll be fine.  AND: though the tour I described above took off from Las Vegas, you can do this exact same tour out of Grand Canyon South Rim, too.  Watch a video right now! 

Sound like fun?  Book your seat now! 

Stay tuned – it’s “beginning to look a lot like Christmas” at many Grand Canyon hotels! 

Alley K

Boy, the times they are a-changing.  What am I going on about today?  Well…for those of you planning  visits to the Grand Canyon here in the near future, a friendly heads up: you’re going to hear a couple of expressions bandied about as you plan your vacation.  You may be tempted to think they refer to the same place, and that’s not always going to be the case.  These are “Grand Canyon West” and “the West Rim.” 

Back in the late 1980’s when I first arrived at the Grand Canyon, whenever you said “the west rim,” you were talking about the two-lane road just off Grand Canyon Village on the South Rim.  Like its name suggests, this road extends for 8 miles in a westerly direction from the Village to various (and stunning) overlooks of the Grand Canyon.  One such very famous viewpoint that this road goes to is Hopi Point, which is popular with visitors hoping to catch that ultimately mind-blowing Grand Canyon sunset.  My personal favorite is the Abyss – you really see the depth of the gorge from there in a very in-your-face way, IMHO.  At the end of the road is a place called Hermit’s Rest, a really neat old building which houses a gift shop and snack bar.  Like many other buildings in the park, Hermit’s Rest was designed by Mary Jane Elizabeth Colter.  More on her later – but anyway, because of that, the West Rim Drive is also referred to by some locals as the “Hermit Road.”

The West Rim Drive/Hermit Road was built (correct me if I’m wrong people!) a bit after the turn of the 20th century, back in the day (BITD) when not many cars actually made it up to the Grand Canyon.  Of course, the ensuing decades brought more and more cars, eventually necessitating the closure of the West Rim drive to private vehicles during the lazy hazy crazy days of summer…and eventually that closure would extending from late spring through early winter.  Now, the National Park Service provides an easy-to-use free shuttle to those viewpoints during that time, and the in-park concessionaire, Xanterra South Rim LLC provides a guided bus tour to that area year-round. 

In the late-1990’s, another phrase began to circulate around: ”Grand Canyon West.”  Now, I had actually flown over that area many times back in the 1980’s.  Then, what would later become Grand Canyon West was a little airstrip on the Hualapai Indian Reservation almost smack dead center between Las Vegas and the South Rim (as the crow flies).  Back then, there was a whole lot of NOTHING out there.  Not so anymore.

Today, Grand Canyon West is a developing visitor service complex manned by members of the Hualapai Indian Tribe.  It has an airport, cafe, gift shop, tour desk, and several helipads that they lease to various Grand Canyon helicopter tour operators.  Those helicopters take people down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon for short pontoon boat trips or just for a look-see.  They’ve also built an Indian Village and some stables for horseback trips.  

Grand Canyon West also has a work in progress that a lot of folks are excited about, the Grand Canyon Skywalk, a horseshoe shaped glass bridge that will stick out past the canyon rim about 70 feet.  This walkway will be cantilevered, which means no struts or support beams will be visible to whoever’s standing on it – just hundreds of feet of air between them and the Colorado River below!  It was supposed to open this year, but construction delays and design revisions have pushed that day back to January of 2007.

Are the views of the Grand Canyon different between the two places?  Very.  The South Rim is at 7,000′; Grand Canyon West is at about 4,000′.  The views of the Grand Canyon from the South Rim are more vast, sweeping and panoramic than those at Grand Canyon West.  The rock formations on the South Rim also run the full spectrum of color (from red to purple and just about everything in between) whereas Grand Canyon West is more muted and earth-toned.  The South Rim is covered by a thick pine forest; Grand Canyon West is more of a true desert landscape (which means it’s hotter than a pistol in summertime). 

The Colorado River is more easily seen from Grand Canyon West by virtue of it being lower in altitude.  Grand Canyon West’s views are more stark and vertical, and mostly devoid of guardrails, too, prompting some visitors to crawl to the edge on all fours to take a picture.  Grand Canyon West is also a much smaller area than the South Rim, so there’s less of it to see.  And the main access road out there is still unpaved, so you’ll want to think twice before driving your rented Ford Focus out there.  Talk to us instead about a Las Vegas Grand Canyon tour package. 

At Grand Canyon South Rim, you have 6 hotels inside the park (managed by Xanterra), and 5 more just outside the park in Tusayan.  At Grand Canyon West, there aren’t as quite as many hotels at the moment, and most will be located outside the immediate area.  The Grand Canyon West Ranch is an actual working ranch located near the Grand Canyon West airport.  There are also a few small motels in the nearby communities of Peach Springs (Hualapai Lodge, the Grand Canyon Caverns Inn), and Truxton (the Frontier Motel).  The old Route 66 goes through Peach Springs, too – very cool.

In summary, the South Rim (home of “the West Rim”) and Grand Canyon West are very different places.  A couple of things they do have in common are that they are open year-round, and both places can be visited with an air-ground day excursion from Las Vegas or Phoenix.  In the process of planning your Grand Canyon vacation, you may hear Grand Canyon West referred to as “the West Rim.”  But that phrase was actually used to denote the West Rim Drive of Grand Canyon South Rim long before Grand Canyon West came to be.  I guess old habits die hard!  After all, most of us at GrandCanyon.com have lived in the area for 20 years, some were even born and raised here.     

The terminology is a potential source of confusion if you’re unfamiliar with the area.  If you’re not sure which place is being discussed, please ask.  A phrase you’ll want to add to your vocabulary as you plan your vacation: when in doubt, check it out.  But in general, when we (GrandCanyon.com) talk about ”the West Rim,” we too will be referring to the West Rim Drive on the South Rim.  When we talk about the area over on the Hualapai Reservation, we call it “Grand Canyon West.”

Which one should you choose?  …. We’ll talk about that on another post.   As usual, I’ve rambled on too long!  Not hard to do about my favorite subject.

L8R – Alley Kaye

P.S.  Hey, speaking of the West Rim Drive/Hermit Road, the National Park Service will reopen it to private vehicles on December 1st.  One thing that will be different this year is that Yaki Point and the South Kaibab Trailhead parking lots will remain closed through the winter (they used to reopen those too).  Free shuttle access will continue throughout the winter to those areas.  Overnight hikers will be allowed to park there by permit only.  The Grand Canyon Village shuttle will also continue running year-round.  For more information on Grand Canyon shuttles (and lots of other stuff too!), visit http://www.nps.gov/grca