Taking a Group to the Grand Canyon
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The Grand Canyon is one of those few things on earth that you just can’t fully appreciate from pictures. The enormity and the beauty of the Canyon has to be experienced in person. Luckily, the National Park Service makes it easy to groups to visit the Grand Canyon and enjoy its many wonders in a number of ways.
The South Rim
The South Rim of Grand Canyon is the most popular visitors’ center along the Canyon. Located about 60 miles from Williams, Arizona and about 80 miles from Flagstaff, the South Rim offers a variety of activities and services, including museums, ranger-guided nature walks, over 100 miles of hiking trails (both to the base of the canyon and along the rim). This was the first portion of the Canyon to have facilities for visitors and many of the buildings here date back to the 1920s.
Taking a Mule Trip at the Grand Canyon
Groups can opt to take a mule ride from the South Rim to the base of the and Canyon or to Plateau Point, about half-way down the Canyon and back. The roundtrip one-day trip takes about seven hours and costs $148.35, including a box lunch. Overnight rides stay the night at Phantom Ranch, a rustic lodge at the base of the Canyon along the Colorado River. One night rides are $401.16 and include accommodations, breakfast, lunch, and a steak dinner. Two-night rides are also offered.
As you might imagine, the mule trips are very popular and spaces fill up quickly. Reservations may be made 13 months in advance through Xanterra Parks & Resorts Web site. maximum group of ten riders can be accommodated on the one-day ride and a maximum of twenty may take the overnight ride.
Grand Canyon West and the Canyon SkyWalk
The newest visitors’ center just opened in March of 2007, west of the South Rim Visitors’ Center, in the Hualapai Indian Reservation. The spectacular centerpiece of this area is the SkyWalk, a glass-bottomed horseshoe, cantilevered 70-feet out from the rim, 4000-feet over the Canyon. The Grand Canyon West Visitors’ Center is located about 216 miles from Flagstaff and about 120 miles from Las Vegas.
The North Rim
The North Rim is the most remote of the Grand Canyon Visitors’ Centers. It’s about 250 miles from Las Vegas, but only accesible from around mid-May until November or December, depending on the weather. Facilities there include hiking trails and a lodge.
Staying at Grand Canyon
Xanterra, the official hotel concessionaire at the Grand Canyon, offers discounts and special services for groups booking ten rooms or more at a number of the South Rim Hotels, including Bright Angel Lodge, the Kachina and Thunderbird Lodges, and the historic El Tovar. Contact Xanterra for reservations.
(photo credit flickr cc)
(photo credit flickr cc)
(photo credit flickr cc)
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