Grand Canyon News

How does one define “wilderness?”  The American Heritage Dictionary defines it as “an unsettled, uncultivated region left in its natural condition, especially:“ A large wild tract of land covered with dense vegetation or forests; an extensive area, such as a desert or ocean, that is barren or empty; a waste; or a piece of land set aside to grow wild.” 

Modern man tends to define it as “a place where a. the nearest Starbucks is a 2 hour drive away or b. a place where one’s cell phone won’t work!”  Cashman73, a contributor to a forum on Slashdot, had this to say in response to an article about the African nation of Namibia’s experimentation with solar and wind powered towers to bring cell phone coverage to remote remarked:

“Heck! They need to put a couple of these suckers in Arizona (not Phoenix); I-17 has horrible cell coverage in places, and could really use something better. The only cell phones that even work at the Grand Canyon are Verizon phones.”

Actually, Alltel and Verizon both serve the area, but cashman73 brings up a very important point that you should know about: you won’t be able to count on your cell phone working 100% of the time.  Even Alltel and Verizon’s subscribers say coverage can be spotty due to the remoteness of the area, high afternoon winds, etc.  That’s not to say that you shouldn’t bring your cell phone – they can be absolute lifesavers in case of emergencies, which do have a way of happening out in the middle of nowhere – but if there’s a chance someone may need to contact you while on the road, give them your hotel phone numbers, just in case.    

…and if you think that’s a handy tip, there’s more where that came from in our brand new FREE Grand Canyon travel planning video!  Watch it on Google Video now or sign up for to get your own personal e-mail link at GrandCanyon.com. 

‘Til next time – Alley Kaye

P.S.  Actually, there IS a Starbuck’s at the Grand Canyon, at the Grand Hotel in Tusayan.  There’s also one in Flagstaff inside Barnes and Noble, and – STOP THE PRESSES – Page-Lake Powell Arizona is in the process of getting one inside Safeway.   

Are we Arizonans obstinate as mules, or what?  Back in the fall, we said, “we won’t back down.”  Well, we won’t “spring forward,” either!  

Just a friendly (and short) reminder as we make the jump to Daylight Savings Time, travellers: Arizona is on Mountain Standard Time year-round.  Of course, to every rule, there is an exception, and there is one here: the Navajo Indian Reservation DOES observe daylight savings time.  This would matter a great deal to those of you who are leaving Grand Canyon National Park headed for places like Monument Valley, Navajo National Monument or Canyon de Chelly.  These destinations will be one hour ahead.  So if you’re leaving Grand Canyon and doing a horseback ride in Monument Valley or perhaps a jeep tour of Canyon de Chelly when you arrive in the area, remember you’ll have to leave one hour early.  Same thing applies if you’re heading to Utah, Colorado or New Mexico. 

Confused?  Remember this one sentence that will bail you out of any quandary that comes your way on your Grand Canyon vacation: “WHEN IN DOUBT, CHECK IT OUT!” 

L8R – Alley K

P.S.  Those of you saying “wow, these other places sound cool, tell me more!”  Well, we’ll SHOW you more – click this text link to view a short video on other incredible attractions you can easily enjoy on your Grand Canyon vacation!  

Good morning all, it’s your ol’ pal Alley Kaye.   It’s a beautiful morning up here in Northern Arizona and we’re happy to report that we’re expecting wonderful weather to kick off Spring Break at the Grand Canyon!  Hope those of you coming up next week are getting excited. 

Well, a rare thing occurred here in the GrandCanyon.com office recently: we were asked a question that had NEVER BEEN ASKED BEFORE!  But in light of recent events, it made sense that it was a first

By now, the whole world should know about the Grand Canyon Skywalk – our inboxes here at GrandCanyon.com are just full of news updates, not to  mention your e-mails and questions!  And for those who still think this has to be some kind of joke, it isn’t.  The “Bladerunner”-esque structure was sucessfully rolled out over the rim of the Grand Canyon yesterday, and judging from what we’ve seen and heard, many of you are anxious if not to walk on it, at least to see it for yourself. 

I guess it was inevitable that I was asked the above question here recently.  So – what WAS the scoop on wheelchair access to the Grand Canyon Skywalk?  Although I figured the answer to the question would be “yes,” my motto has always been “when in doubt, check it out” (a motto you would be well-served to adapt when you come out here), so I called the offices of Grand Canyon West, where I was told that yes, the Grand Canyon Skywalk would be wheelchair accessible.  Advance reservations should be made for a Grand Canyon West tour package, which can be made by calling 1-877-716-WEST (9378) Toll Free in US or 1-702-878-9378 International Toll.  In addition, they suggest calling the Grand Canyon West Tour Desk prior to arrival at 1-928-699-0269 to ensure that personnel are in place to provide any assistance that may be needed.  

Again, AND WE CAN’T STRESS THIS ENOUGH TO EVERYBODY: before you commit to driving to Grand Canyon West, remember that it’s main access road is unpaved for a distance of about 20 miles.  It’s not recommended that you drive a rental car on this road; even if you do decide to brave it, it’s very bumpy and heavily travelled by busses, hummers and other tour vehicles.  It is recommended that you instead take advantage of the park and ride shuttle from the Grand Canyon West Welcome Center in Meadview.  If you have a wheelchair, it is suggested that you make arrangements ahead of time to ride the shuttle. Many of the walkways you’ll encounter at Grand Canyon West will be unpaved, or unevenly paved, so it is best to have assistance navigating a wheelchair around some of these areas.  Take special care around Guano Point (photo below left).  

For more information, watch some of the Grand Canyon West video coming out on the various newswires (or just turn on your TV – the Grand Canyon Skywalk is the “talk of the town,” globally speaking).  We also have some Grand Canyon West tour videos located throughout our site.  

Ask how you can get a FREE Grand Canyon Vacation Planning Kit including an 80–minute travel planning video, a Grand Canyon Vacation Guidebook and a Grand Circle Area Travel Planner for a nominal shipping and handling fee.  Give us a call at the number on your screen or e-mail info@grandcanyon.com

‘til next time, happy travels!  Alley Kaye

P.S. Watch some cool new Grand Canyon Skywalk video on www.cnn.com!

Grand Canyon Hotels and Lodges;  Video Length: 8 minutes

There are 6 hotels inside the park at Grand Canyon South Rim: the El Tovar Hotel, Kachina Lodge, Thunderbird Lodge, Bright Angel Lodge, Maswik Lodge and Yavapai Lodge.  The El Tovar Hotel (1905) and Bright Angel Lodge (1934) are registered National Historic Landmarks.  The El Tovar Hotel, Kachina Lodge, Thunderbird and Bright Angel Lodge are situated on the very rim of the canyon; Maswik and Yavapai Lodge are ¼ mile and 1 mile from the canyon rim respectively.  All in-park hotels (except Kachina and Thunderbird) have restaurants and cocktail lounges on-site (Yavapai has a restaurant, but no cocktail lounge).  El Tovar, Bright Angel, Maswik and Yavapai also have tour and activities desks.  None of the in-park hotels have pools, jacuzzis or workout rooms.  Grand Canyon South Rim hotels are typically booked 8 months to a year in advance from mid-March through mid-September.  

If your trip is within peak season and/or less than 3 months away, you are unlikely to be able to secure lodging inside the park.  Your next best option will be to stay in Tusayan, which is located 7 miles (10 minutes) from Grand Canyon South Rim.  The most popular hotels in this area are: The Best Western Grand Canyon Squire Inn, The Grand Hotel, The Quality Inn Canyon Plaza, The Holiday Inn Express, and the Red Feather Lodge.  These hotels date from the mid 1960’s (the Red Feather) to the late 1990’s (the Holiday Inn Express and Grand).  All have on-site amenities such as pools (Grand and Holiday Inn Express have indoor heated pools open year-round; the others have outdoor pools open seasonally [usually Memorial Day through Labor Day]), workout rooms, restaurants and continental breakfast included in their rates.  The Best Western Grand Canyon Squire Inn also has an on-site play center with a 6-lane bowling alley, video arcade and billiard tables.

Other popular choices for gateway community lodging are Williams (60 minutes from the park), Flagstaff (90 minutes from the park), and Page Lake Powell (2.5 hours from the park).  For more information on these communities, watch the video above.

For availability and pricing of hotels in Tusayan (Grand Canyon), Williams, Flagstaff or Page, call 1-800-916-8530.

The only in-park lodge at the North Rim, the Grand Canyon Lodge, has a couple hundred cabins and some motel rooms.  This lodge is usually booked several months in advance.  The concessionaire for Grand Canyon Lodge on the North Rim is Forever Resorts.  For reservations and information, visit www.grandcanyonlodgenorth.com or call 877-386-4383.  

If your trip is within peak season and less than 3 months away, you are unlikely to be able to secure lodging inside the park.  Out-of-park lodging is also limited, with two small facilities situated within an hour of the park, and two others located about 90 minutes away.  They are in order of proximity to the park:

The Kaibab Lodge, 30 miles North of the park (open seasonally), 928-638-2389; The Jacob Lake Inn  at Jacob Lake, Arizona, 60 miles North of the park, (928) 643-7232 or (928) 643-7898; Marble Canyon Lodge , at Lees Ferry, Arizona, 90 miles North of the park, 1-800-726-1789 or (928) 355-2225; Cliff Dweller’s Lodge , at Lees Ferry, Arizona, 90 miles North of the park, (800)962-9755 or (928)355-2261

The next nearest lodging is about 90 minutes from the park in Kanab, Utah, or 2.5 hours away in Page-Lake Powell Arizona.  Grand Canyon North Rim is best visited outdoors-minded people seeking a quiet getaway, especially those who’ve already been to the South Rim.  Visitors traveling in the fall, particularly late September, should seriously consider at least a brief visit to the North Rim to experience the spectacular fall colors of the Kaibab National Forest.  Because of its high altitude, Grand Canyon North Rim is not recommended for those with cardiac or respiratory ailments.  It is also not recommended for families traveling with younger children, especially those who have a high requirement for sensory stimulation.    

When folks ask what I do for a living, my answer can vary.  To some, I’m a “travel counselor.”  To others, I’m a “reservationist.”   Depending on when you catch me, I’m also a part time journalist, part time concert promoter and a part time bass player in a classic rock band (story for another time).  Some of you have called me an “educator,” others have called me a “lifesaver.”  This time of year, though, is when a lot of you call me something else: a “professional party pooper.”  

What’s up with that?  Well… ‘round springtime, I get a lot of calls from folks who’ve got it into their heads to just up and go to the Grand Canyon.  Great idea, right?  The days are getting longer, the weather’s getting nicer, we’ve been cooped up inside all winter… What’s not to like about a spontaneous jaunt to a beautiful place?   That’s something that’s about as American as apple pie.

Well, picture this: you’ve been driving through the desert for what seems like an eternity.  Up ahead, the lights of a town glisten.  Finally, you’ll be able to get a room and some much needed sleep!  Imagine your disappointment when the front desk clerk tells you that there’s “no room at the inn.”  So you go to the next motel – and the desk clerk says the same thing.  And so on, and so on… In fact, there are no rooms anywhere to be found because they’ve all been booked up for weeks.  Your best hope, says the desk clerk, is the next town up the road – 3 hours away. 

I know, because that desk clerk was me.  I’ve born that bad news to many people over the years, and I’ve been bearing that bad news to a lot of you lately.  So to all of you, let me say – I’M SORRY!  But Spring Break marks the beginning of peak travel season for the Grand Canyon and nearby attractions, and Grand Canyon hotels typically get booked up anywhere from 6 months to a year in advance.  If you want to come here next week, with all due respect, folks, don’t bother to ask which hotel is best or which one we recommend.  At this point, that doesn’t matter one bit.  Because it’s not a question of what’s best; it’s a question of what’s left.   

Just for giggles, I did a random query of Grand Canyon hotels for March 16th for a 3 night stay (though 2 nights is typical for most Grand Canyon family vacations).  I found that, miraculously, there are some rooms available at Yavapai Lodge, which is in-park at Grand Canyon South Rim, 1 mile from the Rim.  Outside the park in Tusayan (10 minutes from the canyon rim), I found some rooms left at the Canyon Plaza Quality Inn.  Other than that, it’s gonna be Williams, which is 1 hour South of the park, Flagstaff, which is 90 minutes away, or Page-Lake Powell, which is 2.5 hours away. 

So while that spur-of-the-moment road trip may sound great in theory, in reality, well… sometimes reality bites.  I say this to you from experience, having gone on a spontaneous spring break trip to the Grand Canyon in college, where me and 3 other girls barely lucked out on a campsite, froze our tookuses off ‘cause we didn’t know the Grand Canyon was at 7,000’ (which means nights get cold even in springtime), nearly killed ourselves hiking in the canyon because we didn’t realize we had to pace ourselves (it’s MUCH easier going downhill)… let’s say I’ve made a career of helping folks like you avoid the same pitfalls ever since. 

Speaking of things like dreams, reality, the two melding into one, etc., we here in Northern Arizona are anxiously awaiting what promises to be the event of the year, if not the century: the opening of the new Grand Canyon Skywalk over at Grand Canyon West.  Once considered an “urban legend” (I received many e-mails over the last two years asking about the “Grand Canyon Skywalk Hoax”), it finally looks like the Grand Canyon Glass Skywalk is poised to become a reality.  Today, construction workers at Grand Canyon West begun the “jack and roll” process, lifting the massive steel and glass structure off the ground and slowly inching it out over the canyon rim.  It will eventually be attached to footings anchored deep into the canyon wall at Eagle Point.  

For those unfamililar, the Grand Canyon Skywalk (pictured above right) is a cantilevered steel and glass walkway that will jut 70 feet past the lip of the canyon… those bearing the price of admission (and lacking the fear of heights) will be treated to the surreal sensation of floating high in the air, hundreds of feet above the Colorado River – TRIP-PYYYYYYY!  How this attraction will fare remains to be seen (understandably, it has not been without controversy).  Admission prices ranging from $25 to $75 a head have been bandied about all over the media, but still, I certainly intend to try and walk on it as soon as I possibly can!  I’ll let ya know if I chicken out. 

‘til next time, Happy Travels – Alley Kaye

P.S.  Hey!  Have you seen our brand new Grand Canyon Travel Planning Video?  Did I mention it’s got 80 minutes of GREAT information and it’s ABSOLUTELY FREE?  Hmm…. I just did.  Get yours now by going to Google Video and type in “get the most out of your Grand Canyon vacation,” or sign up on the homepage for your free e-mail link.  I promise you’ll get answers to all your Grand Canyon questions and then some!