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2 days at Grand Canyon South Rim - what to do (1 Viewer)

T J

T J

Footballguy
I'm going to be with my wife and 2 teenage sons (13/15) for two days staying at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. I've never been. I'm willing to pony up a little if it seems like it'd be worth it. Suggestions? Any tours or adventures that are "musts"? Or just take it in ourselves? I'm not a big outdoorsman so a short hike is ok, but I'm not doing any all out treks or anything.

TIA

 
Watch that first step...

Make sure you are on good terms with the wife before any hikes...

 
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Don't eat shrooms and park to close to the rim.  You might get a visit from a park ranger who looks a lot like Barney Rubble 

ETA:  nm...that's the North Rim

 
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We had a great time hiking down about 45 minutes into the south rim. It was last year so my kids were 13, 11 and 9. You could keep going for hours but of course have to walk back up.  The south rim parking area has lots of shops and stuff and is really clean and nice. 

You could easily make most of a day of just that. Get there in the morning before the crowds and hot ### mid day sun.

 
I don't do anything other than hiking at GC, but I wouldn't think a rafting trip would work with a two day stay at the South Rim. It's a long way down to the Colorado. 

And if you do decide to hike down a ways, keep in mind that hiking down is super easy and hiking up is super hard. Can't tell you how many people we see who have completely underestimated the difficulty of the hike back up. Even for just a couple miles. 

 
bigbottom said:
And if you do decide to hike down a ways, keep in mind that hiking down is super easy and hiking up is super hard. Can't tell you how many people we see who have completely underestimated the difficulty of the hike back up. Even for just a couple miles. 
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Myself and 2 friends found this out the hard way in our early 20s. We made the trek down to the Colorado River and back up and out in one day. Would not recommend.

 
I think the South Rim is also pretty close to Williams, Arizona. If you guys get tired of hiking or checking the canyon out--Wiliams is a pretty eclectic town.  You could definitely spend a couple/few hours there.  

 
   We rafted for 2 days in the canyon. The Haulapai tribe has I believe one of 2 ways that the Colorado can be reached by truck/bus.  We were driven into the canyon and boarded our rafts guided by Haulapai.   We stopped a few times to hike and explore.  at the end of day one we had dinner, and slept on tarps under the stars.  Had a great time and it was fantastic seeing the canyon from the inside.

    There was also an old abandoned mining town nearby, that had wild donkeys roaming the town (Jerome? on route 69?).  There were a few locals that ran the saloon, store, and sold donkey feed to us tourists for picture opps.  (The donkeys that worked in the mines were just set free when the mines closed.)

 
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It's not a bad place to hang around for a while.  If you're running out of money, you can always get a little rim job.

 
parasaurolophus said:
Just go see the grand canyon. Then get to vegas. Still tons if cool sights and hiking within 40 minutes of vegas.
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Hiking the Grand Canyon in one of the specific things that they want to do.

We've been to Vegas a ton.  GC/AZ sites are the focal point since we have never been there.

I'm trying to figure out if there is a full day worth of stuff to do around the GC.  Hoover Dam is an option on the way back

 
3 days LV
3 days GC
3 days Palm Springs.

Staying 3 days at B&B in Williams, AZ.
What's the best things to do at GC?

 
jvdesigns2002 said:
I think the South Rim is also pretty close to Williams, Arizona. If you guys get tired of hiking or checking the canyon out--Wiliams is a pretty eclectic town.  You could definitely spend a couple/few hours there.  
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Play golf at Elephant Rocks. 

 
Getzlaf15 said:
3 days LV
3 days GC
3 days Palm Springs.

Staying 3 days at B&B in Williams, AZ.
What's the best things to do at GC?
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We're staying at the North Rim, Phantom Ranch, and South Rim next week.  Super excited but due to a recent knee surgery I'm a little out of shape and worried about the hike.

 
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Random said:
We're staying at the North Rim, Canyon Ranch, and South Rim next week.  Super excited but due to a recent knee surgery I'm a little out of shape and worried about the hike.
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Also, if you’re hiking from Phantom Ranch to South Rim in one shot, I’d suggest doing some training beforehand to make sure you are in shape for the ascent. Also watch the descent from the North Rim. If you’re not careful, you can inflame that knee of yours. And then the hike across and out will suck. There is ice at phantom ranch if you need to ice your knee (also the best lemonade I have ever tasted in my life).

p.s.  You’re late June so it is going to be hot as hell at the bottom of the canyon. 

 
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Getzlaf15 said:
@kutta  see posts above please.  Wifey is thinking Sedona one day also.  Margaritas???
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Would love to see you guys but I don’t think I can make it. My son’s birthday is the 26th, and I may be out of town on the 25th. Let me know for sure the dates you’ll be in Sedona and I can try to see if I can make it up there.

Have a great trip!

 
kutta said:
Would love to see you guys but I don’t think I can make it. My son’s birthday is the 26th, and I may be out of town on the 25th. Let me know for sure the dates you’ll be in Sedona and I can try to see if I can make it up there.

Have a great trip!
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thanks... We will be there Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday next week.

 
Mile High said:
Myself and 2 friends found this out the hard way in our early 20s. We made the trek down to the Colorado River and back up and out in one day. Would not recommend.
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Me and two friends, also in our early 20s, found this out as well. There are plenty of signs telling you not to hike down and back in a day, but we (mostly me) were young and stupid. I remember passing the signs thinking, meh, that’s just for old people. I also remember a sign suggesting at least a gallon of water per person,  per day, looking down at the 20 ounce squeeze bottle we had between the three of us thinking, that’s just for thirsty people. 

It took us a little over an hour going down. My one friend, who happens to have a heart condition (leaky valve), insisted we turn back. I wanted to press on to the Colorado river, which was another 3 miles away. We had four hours more daylight, after all. But thankfully he dissuaded me, and we started back up.

In contrast to the steep descent, going uphill was sloooooowwww. And the sun was baking us. Almost immediately we were running out of water. Feeling sheepish for egging my friends on most of the hike, I stopped drinking to save water for my friend with the heart condition. But that didn’t make him hike any faster. He was able to walk only 50 feet or so before becoming extremely winded and needing to rest. 

After a couple hours, I contemplated stopping with my winded buddy while the third friend went for help. Truthfully, I was feeling pretty sh!tty as well, likely from dehydration. But we pressed on, eventually making it back to the rim just as night fell. 

As soon as we got back to our campsite, I downed a two liter bottle of Dr. Pepper. While it tasted great, the body is not designed to drink so much carbonation and sugar so quickly. Unlike the hike, it came up much faster than it went down.

While we all survived, the moral of the story is, pay attention to the signs, and don’t attempt to hike to the bottom and back in a day.

 
T J said:
Actually two days Grand Canyon and 4 days Vegas. 
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I’d spend a few hours at the Grand Canyon, and the rest of the day at Antelope Canyon nearby in Page, AZ. It really only takes a little while to take in the massiveness of the GC before you’ll get bored, unless you plan on a multi day trek/camping or rafting (which must be reserved way in advance.)

Id also consider a day in Zion NP, which has way better day hikes and is only a couple hours away. I’m sure your kids would enjoy it more than Vegas.

Red rock canyon 15 minutes outside of Vegas is also pretty cool. It’s a world class rock climbing destination, but driving the scenic loop just takes a half hour or so.

ETA Maybe this advice is a little late for the OP  :kicksrock:

 
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If you raft at the bottom, how cold is the water in October? Would I freeze my ### off?

My wife wants to do that but it's like a 15 hour excursion from the strip hotel.

 
Terminalxylem said:
Me and two friends, also in our early 20s, found this out as well. There are plenty of signs telling you not to hike down and back in a day, but we (mostly me) were young and stupid. I remember passing the signs thinking, meh, that’s just for old people. I also remember a sign suggesting at least a gallon of water per person,  per day, looking down at the 20 ounce squeeze bottle we had between the three of us thinking, that’s just for thirsty people. 

It took us a little over an hour going down. My one friend, who happens to have a heart condition (leaky valve), insisted we turn back. I wanted to press on to the Colorado river, which was another 3 miles away. We had four hours more daylight, after all. But thankfully he dissuaded me, and we started back up.

In contrast to the steep descent, going uphill was sloooooowwww. And the sun was baking us. Almost immediately we were running out of water. Feeling sheepish for egging my friends on most of the hike, I stopped drinking to save water for my friend with the heart condition. But that didn’t make him hike any faster. He was able to walk only 50 feet or so before becoming extremely winded and needing to rest. 

After a couple hours, I contemplated stopping with my winded buddy while the third friend went for help. Truthfully, I was feeling pretty sh!tty as well, likely from dehydration. But we pressed on, eventually making it back to the rim just as night fell. 

As soon as we got back to our campsite, I downed a two liter bottle of Dr. Pepper. While it tasted great, the body is not designed to drink so much carbonation and sugar so quickly. Unlike the hike, it came up much faster than it went down.

While we all survived, the moral of the story is, pay attention to the signs, and don’t attempt to hike to the bottom and back in a day.
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Yeah, when our group does the Rim to Rim hike and we're coming out and see people strolling down with just a water bottle, a couple of the people in our group take it upon themselves to have a conversation with them to warn them about this very issue.  And these aren't young 20-somethings like you and your friends. We're talking about folks who are older and look fairly out of shape.  It's just that the stroll down is so easy and beautiful.  But you're right, It's no joke.  People die every year in the canyon from heat exhaustion and dehydration.  It varies wildly of course based on your fitness level, but as a general rule for most people, it takes about 3-4 times as long to hike up and out as it does the same distance to hike down.

 
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