Is it Absurd to plan a trip to The Grand Canyon in the end of August?
Will it be way to hot?
What will the Temperatures be?
Will it be too crowded with tourists?
When is a better time of year to go?
What would be the minimum amout of time to get a good experience of this National Park?
Thank you!!!
End of August would be an excellent time to visit the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. It is at 8000 feet elevation with quite nice summer temperatures (Aug highs in the 70s). Also, the North Rim is much less developed than the South Rim (there is only one lodge) and so the crowds are pretty mild on even the busiest days. I greatly prefer the North Rim to the South Rim during summer.
Because the North Rim is more remote (5 hours from Vegas, 6-7 from Pheonix), it is hard to do as a day trip. Spending two nights, with one full day at the canyon, would give you more than enough time to wander around and see the main nearby overlooks. Your biggest challenge will be getting reservations since there is only the one lodge and the nearest town with hotels is Fredonia/Kanab on the AZ-UT border (about 1.5 hours away). The lodge at the rim is ran by Xanterra and you can make reservations online (see link below).
As for the South Rim… at 7000 feet elevation, it is considerably warmer (Aug highs in the 80s), but no where near as hot as Vegas or Phoenix which are at much lower elevations. The bigger problem with the South Rim in summer is that because it is much closer to Phoenix (3 hour drive) and the major highways, it is much more crowded year round and especially during the summer. Expect lines getting into the park during the peak day time hours, difficult parking, and also hard to get reservations either in the park or at the hotels in Tusayan (just outside the gates). Flagstaff (1.5 hours away) is the nearest place with large amounts of hotels.
The South Rim is more spread out and has more things to see and do. If you get away from the central lodges area – either hiking along the rim trail or going to the overlooks on the eastern edge of the park, you can get away from the worst crowds and still enjoy a fair amount of peace and solitude.
There are more overlooks, activities and historic buildings to see and experience at the South Rim. You could probably see the main overlooks, visit the main historic buildings and take the Hermit’s Rest shuttle in a very full day, but two full days would be better. Hiking is a big canyon attraction, but I would not recommend doing any serious hiking off the South Rim in summer (temps getting hotter as you into the canyon), but short hikes on the upper portions of the trail are OK as long as you carry plenty of water and avoid the hot middle part of the day.
As for the best time of year to visit the canyon…
As mentioned above, summer is the best time to visit the North Rim (it is actually closed from mid-October to mid-May due to snow). Many people prefer spring and fall for the South Rim (Oct-Nov and Mar-Apr), but I find the winter to be quite enjoyable too… very little crowds, nice cool temps for serious hiking – snow storms tend to be short and make for some very scenic views.
Have fun!
Filed under: South Rim Guide
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I know Las Vegas is typically about 95-110 degrees in August, so I’d imagine the Grand Canyon would be about the same if not a little hotter.
References :
for lodging and camping, remember to identify the rim you plan on visiting. … Thunderstorms frequently occur during July, August, and early September. …http://www.nps.gov/grca/grandcanyon/south-rim/index.htm
… description and photo of the Grand Canyon – a travel wonder in the … Visiting the … mostly in the summer, particularly in August. Other Grand Canyon …http://www.hillmanwonders.com/grand_canyon/grand_canyon.htm
References :
End of August would be an excellent time to visit the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. It is at 8000 feet elevation with quite nice summer temperatures (Aug highs in the 70s). Also, the North Rim is much less developed than the South Rim (there is only one lodge) and so the crowds are pretty mild on even the busiest days. I greatly prefer the North Rim to the South Rim during summer.
Because the North Rim is more remote (5 hours from Vegas, 6-7 from Pheonix), it is hard to do as a day trip. Spending two nights, with one full day at the canyon, would give you more than enough time to wander around and see the main nearby overlooks. Your biggest challenge will be getting reservations since there is only the one lodge and the nearest town with hotels is Fredonia/Kanab on the AZ-UT border (about 1.5 hours away). The lodge at the rim is ran by Xanterra and you can make reservations online (see link below).
As for the South Rim… at 7000 feet elevation, it is considerably warmer (Aug highs in the 80s), but no where near as hot as Vegas or Phoenix which are at much lower elevations. The bigger problem with the South Rim in summer is that because it is much closer to Phoenix (3 hour drive) and the major highways, it is much more crowded year round and especially during the summer. Expect lines getting into the park during the peak day time hours, difficult parking, and also hard to get reservations either in the park or at the hotels in Tusayan (just outside the gates). Flagstaff (1.5 hours away) is the nearest place with large amounts of hotels.
The South Rim is more spread out and has more things to see and do. If you get away from the central lodges area – either hiking along the rim trail or going to the overlooks on the eastern edge of the park, you can get away from the worst crowds and still enjoy a fair amount of peace and solitude.
There are more overlooks, activities and historic buildings to see and experience at the South Rim. You could probably see the main overlooks, visit the main historic buildings and take the Hermit’s Rest shuttle in a very full day, but two full days would be better. Hiking is a big canyon attraction, but I would not recommend doing any serious hiking off the South Rim in summer (temps getting hotter as you into the canyon), but short hikes on the upper portions of the trail are OK as long as you carry plenty of water and avoid the hot middle part of the day.
As for the best time of year to visit the canyon…
As mentioned above, summer is the best time to visit the North Rim (it is actually closed from mid-October to mid-May due to snow). Many people prefer spring and fall for the South Rim (Oct-Nov and Mar-Apr), but I find the winter to be quite enjoyable too… very little crowds, nice cool temps for serious hiking – snow storms tend to be short and make for some very scenic views.
Have fun!
References :
Arizona resident and frequent Grand Canyon visitor. Have been to both rims (and the bottom) many times.
Xanterra Lodging Website:
http://www.grandcanyonnorthrim.com/
http://www.grandcanyonlodges.com/
Information on avg monthly temps and rain:
http://www.grandcanyontreks.org/preciptemps.htm
To it no , into it yes.
Because of their elevations neither Rim of the Canyon gets to anything close to hot.
The S.Rim sits at about 7000′ and the N. Rim is about 8000′.
So as you approach the Canyon you do so by walking thru a vanilla scented Ponderosa pine forest and then Bang ! You are confronted with this awesome space that words can’t ever adequately describe.
So much for poetry.
My favorite time of the year to visit and hike the canyon is winter.
A lot of the tourists are gone .All the roads leading to all the trail-heads are open.
The Canyon with a ribbon of white snow wrapped around it’s upper portion is just really pretty.
Some of the lodges are closed But most are open.
My favorite place to stay when I wasn’t living in the area were the cabins at the Bright Angel Lodge .
I would say the minimum time to stay would be 3 nights – by then the Canyon will have worked it’s magic on you.
There are a lot of neat places places you can visit within a 150 radius of Grand Canyon Village
To those not accustomed to driving the big empty spaces of the American West 150 miles may seem like a great distance But by local, standards it’s not.
Another poster named sascoaz will answer this question and provide great links too
I’d wait for his answer.
References :