Weekend in AZ #1: Grand Canyon

Getting There

We were in Arizona on a three-day weekend for a wedding. The wedding was in Phoenix, which is a four-hour drive from the Grand Canyon, but I had never been this close to the Grand Canyon before and had wanted for some time to visit it, so I had to find a way to get there. After landing in Phoenix on a Friday night, we drove 2.5 hours north to Flagstaff, AZ, where we spent the night, before driving another 1.5 hours north Saturday morning to the Grand Canyon, where we spent the entire day.

Starting at the South Rim

There are four main entry points, or destinations where to begin your viewing at the Grand Canyon: The South Rim, North Rim, Grand Canyon East, and Grand Canyon West. The South Rim was the nearest to us coming from Flagstaff. It also seems to be the most popular and most highly recommended for a one-day tour. So, we chose to visit the South Rim.

(The North Rim is a better access point if you are coming from Colorado, but is only open from May to October. I never really even looked into the East or West entrances. Grand Canyon East didn't seem to be too much further away. I read that Grand Canyon West is a good starting point if you are coming from Las Vegas.)

Getting there and entering the Canyon site was pretty easy. We entered from Rt-64 North, found a spot in the Visitor Center Parking Complex, bought our tickets, and then started our day.

Here is a great article about doing a one-day trip to the Grand Canyon: https://fullsuitcase.com/grand...

Mather Point

All around the Grand Canyon there are overlooks, or viewing points. Mather Point was the closest one to the South Rim Visitor Center, where we parked, so it was naturally our first stop.

South Rim Trail

Next, we walked along the South Rim Trail like you can see shown in the picture below.

Bright Angel Trail

Along the South Rim Trail, there is an entry to the Bright Angel Trail, which you can take all the way to the base of the Canyon. We entered this trail, but did not hike all the way to the bottom. Hiking to the base and back is probably a two-day adventure. Some people will camp overnight in the Canyon. We obviously did not because we only had one day here.

The Hermit Shuffle --> Maricopa Point

There is a bus called the Hermit Shuffle that will take you around the Canyon rim to different viewing points for free. It drives along Hermit Road. We decided to abandon walking and instead take the Shuffle because that was going to be the only way that we would be able to stop at a number of other overlooks along the South Rim before the end of the day. The Shuffle picked us up at the Bright Angel Trailhead. Our first stop was Maricopa Point.

Hopi Point

Next stop on the Hermit Shuffle: Hopi Point.

Mohave Point

Misty Skies at Sunset, Pima Point

Our last stop of the day was Pima Point. We weren't going to make it to Hermit's Rest, the Hermit Shuffle's last stop, because we were losing daylight. At least we got to watch a beautiful sunset, as you can see from this post's final slideshow of pictures below.

(The shuffle will take you back to the Visitor Center Parking Complex.)