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Grand Canyon holiday suggestions.

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Locut0s

Locut0s

Lifer
O.K. so I've been living in Vancouver for more than 20 years and I'm embarrassed to say that despite living a stones throw from the border I've never taken a trip down the the US that was longer than a few days. This summer however it looks like we may be going to the Grand Canyon for our summer holiday. This will probably be the last holiday I take with my parents for a long time as the rest I want to do myself. My father has a trip to China with his students that might interrupt this but it doesn't look like that will go through (tough getting enough students for the project in these harder economic times). So my general question is what route do you recommend we take? Keep in mind the following:

We will probably have 2 - 3 weeks, maybe more.

We will be driving down from B.C.

I would like a trip that maximizes the number of things to see on the way down and back.

Hotel and Food recommendations are welcome but we tend to travel and eat on the cheap so keep that in mind.

One option that I am seriously looking at doing is going down the the Canyon then from there over to Los Angeles and up the coast via San Francisco on the way home. I've never been to CA and would love to be able to fit it in. This will depend on the amount of time we have available (we may have more than the 3 weeks above depending on how things work out).

Even if we can't do the California thing I would like to know what MUST see things I should plan into this vacations (besides the Canyon of course)

I know this is not enough detail to make good recommendations but I will get more specific about the trip once I know more. I just want a list of things to look for and research.

Thanks for all the suggestions!!
 
Driving up the coast on Pacific Coast Hwy is beautiful but it's a horrible drive and will take you a lot longer than if you drove another way but if you have the time then why not. Oh and the Grand Canyon is pretty awesome site to see.
 
zerocool84 said:
Driving up the coast on Pacific Coast Hwy is beautiful but it's a horrible drive and will take you a lot longer than if you drove another way but if you have the time then why not. Oh and the Grand Canyon is pretty awesome site to see.
Click to expand...

Goes off to Google Maps for a second.

Is that the Cabrillo Hwy (#1) that I see hugging the CA coastline in Google Maps?
 
I would suggest hitting Sedona, Arizona which is south of the Grand Canyon. You won't need more than a day there though, unless you plan on doing a lot of hiking.
 
Oh and if you are going through Cali as well, might as well go through the Hoover Dam and check that out...along with Vegas if there is any interest.
 
pyonir said:
Oh and if you are going through Cali as well, might as well go through the Hoover Dam and check that out...along with Vegas if there is any interest.
Click to expand...

Vegas was on my mind as well. Didn't know the Hoover damn was as close to Vegas as it is. I'll have to see how much time we will have because with only 2-3 weeks we will probably have to cut something out. Looking at this from Google Maps it seems that the geography and location of the Canyon + roads that access it might make it difficult to cram all that into the itinerary.
 
Take the helicopter tour. I took one from the airport on the south side and it was great. I think there is one that covers the Canyon and Hoover Dam also.
 
You've got 2-3 weeks, which is pretty generous. Instead of thinking about the Grand Canyon as the focus of your trip, you could think of it as just one destination.

I'm going to second Yellowstone. It's gorgeous - the basins, its own canyon, geysers, etc. You may want to head there first. I'm going to say it's the most phenomenal national park I've been to - there's a reason it was the nation's first.

If you like, you can swing through the Grand Tetons, then, Craters of the Moon monument.

Swing through Utah. There's 5 national parks I know of: Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Zion, and Bryce Canyon. My picks are Arches and Bryce Canyon. Arches is a bit out of your way, but since Bryce Canyon is pretty much en route, it would be awesome to check out.

As far as the canyon, you'll have to plan on whether you want to go to the north rim or south rim (or do something like a helicopter tour). From what I read, the south rim has the better view because it is a bit lower in elevation and you get to see more of the other side.

Depending on which rim you visit, you could pass by valley of fire park or Hoover dam on your way to Vegas.

From there on out, you could see if you have time to head into California or if you'd need to make your way back.

If you go into California, aside from the usual things to do in LA and SF, you can check out Santa Barbara, Solvang (a gorgeous Danish town), and Hearst Castle if you take the 101/ CA-1 on your way to Monterrey, Santa Cruz, and the SF Bay.
 
You have to go to Yellowstone. Also consider Monument Valley which isn't that far from the Grand Canyon.
 
Ionizer86 said:
You've got 2-3 weeks, which is pretty generous. Instead of thinking about the Grand Canyon as the focus of your trip, you could think of it as just one destination.

I'm going to second Yellowstone. It's gorgeous - the basins, its own canyon, geysers, etc. You may want to head there first. I'm going to say it's the most phenomenal national park I've been to - there's a reason it was the nation's first.

If you like, you can swing through the Grand Tetons, then, Craters of the Moon monument.

Swing through Utah. There's 5 national parks I know of: Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Zion, and Bryce Canyon. My picks are Arches and Bryce Canyon. Arches is a bit out of your way, but since Bryce Canyon is pretty much en route, it would be awesome to check out.

As far as the canyon, you'll have to plan on whether you want to go to the north rim or south rim (or do something like a helicopter tour). From what I read, the south rim has the better view because it is a bit lower in elevation and you get to see more of the other side.

Depending on which rim you visit, you could pass by valley of fire park or Hoover dam on your way to Vegas.

From there on out, you could see if you have time to head into California or if you'd need to make your way back.

If you go into California, aside from the usual things to do in LA and SF, you can check out Santa Barbara, Solvang (a gorgeous Danish town), and Hearst Castle if you take the 101/ CA-1 on your way to Monterrey, Santa Cruz, and the SF Bay.
Click to expand...

How do you guys think about this map:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=U...79898,-117.641602&spn=22.521747,39.506836&z=5
edit: (oops, didn't save it as some point...missing Jackson and Yellowstone)


It's got SF, Yosemite, Monterrey, a "taste" of the central valley (that's all you want anyway), coastal hwy 1, CA central coast stuff (like Hearst Castle, SLO, Pismo, Solvang), SB, LA, SD, Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, Vegas, Zion, Arches, Grand Tetons (literally Great Tits), and Yellowstone.
 
Last edited:
Ionizer86 said:
You've got 2-3 weeks, which is pretty generous. Instead of thinking about the Grand Canyon as the focus of your trip, you could think of it as just one destination.

I'm going to second Yellowstone. It's gorgeous - the basins, its own canyon, geysers, etc. You may want to head there first. I'm going to say it's the most phenomenal national park I've been to - there's a reason it was the nation's first.

If you like, you can swing through the Grand Tetons, then, Craters of the Moon monument.

Swing through Utah. There's 5 national parks I know of: Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Zion, and Bryce Canyon. My picks are Arches and Bryce Canyon. Arches is a bit out of your way, but since Bryce Canyon is pretty much en route, it would be awesome to check out.

As far as the canyon, you'll have to plan on whether you want to go to the north rim or south rim (or do something like a helicopter tour). From what I read, the south rim has the better view because it is a bit lower in elevation and you get to see more of the other side.

Depending on which rim you visit, you could pass by valley of fire park or Hoover dam on your way to Vegas.

From there on out, you could see if you have time to head into California or if you'd need to make your way back.

If you go into California, aside from the usual things to do in LA and SF, you can check out Santa Barbara, Solvang (a gorgeous Danish town), and Hearst Castle if you take the 101/ CA-1 on your way to Monterrey, Santa Cruz, and the SF Bay.
Click to expand...

Yeah we're probably going to make it just one stop instead of the whole focus. Thanks for the suggestions!
 
rockyct said:
How do you guys think about this map:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=U...79898,-117.641602&spn=22.521747,39.506836&z=5
edit: (oops, didn't save it as some point...missing Jackson and Yellowstone)


It's got SF, Yosemite, Monterrey, a "taste" of the central valley (that's all you want anyway), coastal hwy 1, CA central coast stuff (like Hearst Castle, SLO, Pismo, Solvang), SB, LA, SD, Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, Vegas, Zion, Arches, Grand Tetons (literally Great Tits), and Yellowstone.
Click to expand...

Wow nice thanks!
 
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