Grand Canyon/Las Vegas / Other?

Has anyone done a trip to the Grand Canyon... rented a car and sort of drove to/from the Vegas area.. but made some stops in between , at national parks and the like?

I am not talking about taking a short flight/helicoper to/from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon.. I've done that before. I actually wanted a trip where you stay a few days in LV, rent a car, start making the drive to the Grand Canyon and perhaps stopping at Yosemite..

I know there are many tour companies that plan out trips like this.. fly you into LV, you make a few stops along the way and wind up in the Grand Canyon.. but I am considering planning something on my own , don't want to be on a 'touring' schedule, etc.. and was wondering if anyone had 'winged' it and planned a trip themselves

Any advice would be helpful .. this is a very tentative idea and was wondering if anyone had any insight at all!

TIA!

Re: Grand Canyon/Las Vegas / Other?

Felicia, I have not done this but it sounds like a great idea!! Hoover Dam I think is on the way no? My GF just drove from Vegas to Sedona --- said it was so wonderful.

DH wants to take me, and I keep taking him overseas instead!! Maybe after you do, I can copy-cat you!! lol....!

Re: Grand Canyon/Las Vegas / Other?

Flee I did this with my parents and aunts and uncles. It was an AWESOME trip! We did Scottsdale, Prescott , Red Rock in Sedona Grand Canyon hoover dam and then Vegas. Was an awesome trip. I was probably 15 when we went so my parents booked everything but I can ask my mom for some of the info of where we stayed.

Re: Grand Canyon/Las Vegas / Other?

Oh Juney if you could look into that for me , or just ask your folks some general questions, that would be awesome of you!!! No need to go crazy tho..

Do you remember how many days you spent traveling?

I wanted to do Sedoma too but wasn't sure how much time it took from place to place, or how much time we could get off work.. and I dont want to be driving TOO Much but I just thought this would be a great way to see that part of the country

And Kara, if I do wind up pulling this off I'll def. keep you posted I did so much European traveling in my wild single youth that I am now trying to explore our very own country a little bit more if possible

Re: Grand Canyon/Las Vegas / Other?

I cant remember if it was a week or 2 weeks. I was young so I had no sense of time. I will ask mom when I talk to her. It was really pretty. I love the west coast.

Re: Grand Canyon/Las Vegas / Other?

Posted by FeliciaDP

And Kara, if I do wind up pulling this off I'll def. keep you posted I did so much European traveling in my wild single youth that I am now trying to explore our very own country a little bit more if possible

Re: Grand Canyon/Las Vegas / Other?

we've driven from vegas to both the north and south rim of the grand canyon (seperate trips). next year we are planning to go to vegas and drive to the north rim of the gc and stop at zion national park and bryce canyon national park as well. those three are really close together, and arches and canyonlands national parks are not far either. the north rim is great b/c it is much less crowded than the south rim and it's just a much more pleasant experience imo. feel free to pm me if you want.

Re: Grand Canyon/Las Vegas / Other?

So we didnt stay in Prescott and Scottsdale but I remember them?

This is what mom said I talked to her through IM


we went in November. i think we were there about 4 nights. 1 night in Phoenix, 1 night in Sedona, 2 nights in the best western on the outskirts of the south rim grand canyon.

then we drove from there to Vegas about 3 1/2 hours think we were in Vegas for 4 nights

the grand canyon road closes Nov 15 and doesn't reopen until late march. it's so high altitude, snow happens

Re: Grand Canyon/Las Vegas / Other?

Message edited 7/25/2005 11:00:56 PM.

Re: Grand Canyon/Las Vegas / Other?

if you're staying at the south rim there are lots of hotel choices. the nicest being el tovar, but it's probably already sold out. did you mention when you were going? anyway, we stayed at the maswik lodge, which is a 5 minute walk from the rim. it's a nice little place, but as with most of the hotels there the rooms are small and more cabin-like than hotel-like. we've also stayed at the yavapai lodge which is a short drive from the main village. same as maswik imo, but i liked maswik better b/c we could walk to the rim and it also had easy access to the shuttle buses.

as for the north rim, there's only one hotel within park boundaries, the grand canyon lodge. again, it's very cabin-y, but the lobby is gorgeous and has the most amazing sunroom and deck.

try checking out nps.gov and going to the grand canyon section, then the "in-depth" page. you'll get lots more info and also links to the hotels.

Re: Grand Canyon/Las Vegas / Other?

Re: Grand Canyon/Las Vegas / Other?

I've done a few different road trips out west.

One was from phoenix we rented a SUV and drove to Sedona then to the grand canyon. We stayed inside the park at the grand canyon for a few nights then off to Bryce NP. We were going to stay at Bryce but it was in the middle of the winter and the town was very quiet. We drove to LV a day early then back to phoenix.

Another trip was from LV renting a truck and drove to Southern Utah - Zion NP, Cayonland NP, and Arches NP then drove down to Arizona and stopped at National monument. Then back to LV.

From what I gather Yosemite is a trip from LV. That might be the only national park you get to see and spend some time at. Its really big and lots to see.