We will be driving to the Grand Canyon West Rim from the Mirage in a few weeks and would like to know if there are any good restaurants during the drive. We will be on US-93 from vegas to Pierce Ferry Rd. Any suggestions?

Take the Pink Jeep tour to the grand canyon. They provide great views, an option to go on the skywalk which is BEAUTIFUL, water, rest stops, and food.

Please suggest how many days should I spend in Vegas & how many days do I need for Grand Canyon & what are the must see locations there like Hoover Dam….

Since the visit is planned for Christmas weekend so is there any specific suggests day one may not want to miss in vegas.

5 days is fine in Las Vegas. You can do the Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon by helicopter. It takes about 3-5 hour round trip, and gives plenty of time for a landing in the Canyon with champagne. It is fantastic and very relaxing. Please do not miss the Blueman group show at the Venetian, and the chocolate fountain at Ballagio.

Camping at Indian Gardens (half-way down the grand canyon).

Even though the South Rim is at 7000 feet elevation, Indian Gardens is down around 3800 feet elevation and quite a bit warmer. Indian Gardens is located on the Tonto Plateau where daytime July high temps often pass 90F while the nightly low rarely goes below the 60sF.

I generally prefer backpacking the canyon in the cooler months, but when I have gone in summer, the one big advantage is that you don’t have to carry as much clothing/gear. I don’t even take a sleeping bag that time of year, just a very light weight fleece liner (throw in a light cheap, solar blanket to be safe).

Weatherwise, July is when the monsoon season starts in northern Arizona where afternoon thundershowers are not uncommon. Having a light waterproof jacket is a good idea, but frankly you will probably enjoy the rain and certainly the clouds (if you are lucky enough to get them).

Other gear to bring: broad-brimmed hat, lots of sunblock, LED headlamp, and a camera. Those light synthetic hiking pants where you can zip off the bottoms to make shorts are ideal. Remember that campfires are not allowed anywhere in the canyon, so if you are going to cook any food, you must bring a little backpackers stove. Another strong recommendation for backpacking in the canyon is trekking poles (like collapsable ski poles) – they take a large amount of stress off your joints and legs.

If you are going to hang out around camp a bit than a deck of cards can be fun or (if you don’t mind the weight) a small book (I would recommend the excellent and appropriate "How the Canyon became Grand" by Stephen Pyne).

Avoid hiking in or out during the heat of the day (10AM to 4PM), carry lots of water on the trail (2-3 liters min between rim and IG) and have salty snacks and electrolytes (like Gookinade) with you to replenish the minerals you will be sweating out.

Indian Gardens is probably the best inner canyon camp in summer (Bright Angel camp at the bottom is nothing short of brutal in summer). Indian Gardens has lots of shade, decent composting outhouses (with toilet paper), a running stream and drinking water. Each campsite has a covered ramada with picnic table (a big plus for both shade and rain protection), poles to hang your packs on and ammo cans to keep the critters out of your food.

I would NOT recommend trying to go down to the river and back (or Phantom Ranch and back) during your free day. The inner gorge has little shade and the rocks heat up like a solar oven. Temps well over 120 degrees F along the river are not uncommon.

However, following the stream through the little canyon in the Tapeats Sandstone below IG (before it hits the Inner Gorge switchbacks) would be a nice place to hang out and explore during the day (running water and quite a few shade trees). If it a relatively cool, cloudy day, taking the Tonto Trail east toward the South Kaibab trail to Pipe Spring would be a neat little day hike along a very pretty and less visited stretch of trail. Would not do it if it was clear and hot though – not much shade.

And of course, you must spend sunset out at Plateau Point, the classic inner gorge overlook near Indian Gardens. One of the best views in the whole canyon and a favorite hangout spot for condors.

With so many excursions available is there any way of knowing which is the best?

We can rule out all of the overnight tours as we only have a few days to see the whole of Vegas itself but there are still so many different day trips to choose from.

I quite like the tours which combine several modes of transport i.e. coach, plane, helicopter and boat such as the ‘Grand Canyon Adventure Tour’ but don’t know if these are actually as good value as the pure helicopter trips.

In a more general question about sightseeing in Vegas someone answer with a suggestion of using Maverick Helicopters, can anyone else recommend them?

My wife is quite apprehensive about going in a helicopter as we haven’t been in one before so does anyone know of any operators who are sensitive to passengers who may more nervous than normal?

There is a large number of companies out there that do these trips. if you look on www.heliusa.com you will see the biggest company that does these trips and they have a huge variaty from Las Vegas. Pick out the trip that you like the look of, and then call Airline Network on 0871 7008521 if you are in the UK, they are the main booking agent. I booked my trip with them and it was fantastic, I personally did the overnight ranch adventure, but they do have a huge choice.

I’m dying to go check out the grand canyon. but it’s really difficult to find a bus that goes to grand canyon. i’m looking for tours but they’re extremely expensive. does anyone know any bus tours that go there for a person with a budget

If you want to take a bus, you might look into taking Greyhound from NY to Phoenix. http://www.greyhound.com/home/ It’s around $200 round trip, but will take you 2.5 days to arrive and 2.5 days to return. That’s a killer bus ride — personally, I’d look for cheap airfare and fly.

You can more easily find day or overnight trips from Phoenix. Check Google for millions of them. Here is one example of a bus-based day trip for $148 http://www.coachamerica.com/citypages/sightseeing.cfm/tour_id/704/mode/tour_detail/location_id/1044?gclid=CP-D8cHTrZMCFQwrswod4n34ng.

Good luck!

I’m doing a report on the Grand Canyon National Park and need the names of the Indian tribes native to the area. Please and thank you to anyone who can help!

Here

cutting through and creating this magnificent canyon,” Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne said after he pulled the lever releasing the water from Glen Canyon Dam, upstream from Grand Canyon National Park. More than 300000 gallons of water per second were being released from Lake Powell above the dam near the Arizona-Utah border. That’s enough water to fill the Empire State Building in 20 minutes, Kempthorne said. The water gushed from the dam into the Colorado River below, creating a churning …
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Abondoned Mine Closure Plan Public Scoping
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Linda Powers & cultural friend alice tour Grand Canyon. more info about cultural tours at culturalhours.com

Duration : 0:5:16

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Grand Canyon NP. South Rim.
June 2008

Duration : 0:6:39

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