Making the most of a VERY Short Grand Canyon Visit?

[stevemarcus]

I'm going on a short buisness trip to Phoenix next week and have time

for about a day and a half trip to the Grand Canyon. I'm taking an

early flight to Phoenix Tues., arriving there around 8 AM, then taking

a rental car to the Grand Canyon, where I'll spend the remainder of the

day, that night, and most of the next day before driving back to

Phoenix sometime after sunset Wed. evening.

 

It'll be my first visit to the Grand Canyon and I want to make the most

of the photo opportunity. My question is, what will be the most bang

for my buck? Is a drive to the North Rim worth the effort, perhaps

going straight there from Phoenix for late afternoon shots, then

shooting from the south rim Wed. morning? Is a hike to or toward the

bottom of the Canyon worth it?

 

Any advice would be GREATLY APPRECIATED!

[tom_suter]

I am afraid you will be limited to the South Rim if you will be visiting the Grand Canyon in March. The North Rim is closed in winter due to the higher elevation and snowfall. The North Rim normally opens toward the middle of May, but I am not certain that the exact time it opens is a fixed date. If you are interested, there is some good information available at the Park Service web site at:

 

http://www.nps.gov/grca/

 

It is a shame that the the North Rim will not be open when you are there, as I personally think it is well worth the much longer drive from Phoenix. However, if you have never been to the canyon before, even the South Rim should leave you in awe and provide plenty of photo opportunities. If you are fortunate, you might encounter some winter weather over the canyon, which would give you some shots that most people do not have. Good luck.

[marek_fodor1]

A drive to the North Rim is not worht the effort given your time constraints. Stay on the South Rim. If you are reasonably fit you can make the hike to the bottom and up in one day because the temperatures are much better for hiking than in the summertime. But even if you do not get to the bottom the hike has a lot of added value.

 

Make sure you have at least one sunset and one sunrise on the vista points on the Rim. If you have time visit several of them so that you can decide which ones you prefer more for morning/evening session.

 

Enjoy.

[thomas_jakubowski]

Steve,

 

If you are younger than 25 yrs, I can understand all your chasing around. The truth be told, relax and enjoy your trip. Drive to Superior, AZ, instead, and visit the Boyce Thompson Botanic Gardens. Lots of picture material in a short time. Another possibility is Sedona, AZ. Really wonderful shots of huge red mountains and green vegetation.

 

If you still insist on the Grand Canyon, limit your activities to the South Rim; the North Rim is another 250 miles (one way), and probably will not be open until sometime in April. I preferred driving AZ route 180 northwest of Flagstaff. Check in at the Ranger Station ASAP; they can tell you quickly what's do-able and what isn't. If you routinely compete in IronMan events while packing all your photographic gear, then allowing a full day's hike in and out of the canyon MAY be do-able.

 

Sunrises are spectacular from the South Rim; just make sure everything is ready, because once you blink, it's over. The further east you go along the rim road, the better; most tourists position themselves on a outcrop about 1-2 miles east of the lodges. Inquire locally for more secluded spots. Be prepared for lots of reddish orange casts to the west and very sharp shadows during sunrise. I wasn't prepared for it, and lost a grand opportunity to experiment.

 

Depending on time of month, you might want to try your hand at astrophotography if you have a very stable tripod and long lenses. There's plenty of heaven to see if the moon is in its darkest phase; the Grand Canyon is generally considered to be the darkest spot on the North American Continent at no moon. Even with a full moon, you may be able to position yourself so that you can shoot under moonlight. Lots of possibilities. Bring along different sets of UV/Haze filters and a good polarizing filter - if there is dust in the air, you will need them to bring more clarity and drama to your photos.

 

El Tovar Hotel is the premium lodging property on the rim, with Bright Angel Lodge a distant second, but on the rim as well. Don't expect a swimming pool at either. Breakfasts at El Tovar are expensive but wonderful. The concierge may even hook you up with one or two people looking for that "different shot."

 

You can probably tell from my writing that I loved it there. I lived in Tucson for 18 months many moons ago, and would go back in a heartbeat if an income opportunity presented itself.

 

Luck with your plans !!

[alex_lofquist]

Even a short trip to the Canyon is worthwhile: It shows what can happen if you don't practice erosion control.

[richard_ditch]

Steve:

 

You have lofty goals, but I question the reality of such a trip. Assuming you have your luggage and your rental car by 9:00 AM, you can't be at the South Rim of the GC until 1:00 PM at the earliest. You will have barely enough time to make brief stops at all the pullouts on the western portion of the Rim Drive before dark. Much of the pleasure of a visit to the GC comes from slow contemplation of the magnitude and the solitude of this natural wonder, and you will be short changing yourself with a rushed visit trying to make the most of the photo opportunity.

 

You must also consider the weather. We are having a late series of winter storms in northern AZ this year, and the next one that I know about is due on Sunday. The storm last week shut down I-40 on both sides of Flagstaff for many hours due to 2 or more multi-vehicle crashes involving about 35 cars and big rigs. The same storm resulted in four fatalities just south of Page when a van ran into a police cruiser that was responding to another crash, killing the policeman and three from the van. 50 miles of route 89 just south of Page was detoured onto routes 98 and 160 as a result. Be sure to check your favorite web weather report on Monday.

 

Consider the other options suggested: Sedona, Boyce Thompson Arboretum, etc. You could try the Apache Trail east of Phoenix,

or US 60 north of Globe where it crosses the Salt River (like driving down into and up out of the Grand Canyon in many people's opinion). Or, check out the Joshua Tree forest along route 93 NW of Wickenburg.

 

AZ is a big state, with lots of great scenery and photo opportunities that get ignored because the Grand Canyon is so spectacular.

 

Rich Ditch, Phoenix, AZ

[dan_smith]

Are the best views still marked with the signs "scenic view" and have a nice place to stand to be in the picture while you get another tourist to click your photo with your camera?

[ShunCheung]

Steve, I am planning a trip to the Grand Canyon myself and I am planning to spend 3, 4 days there. Thomas and Rich as right, if you have one day and want some good nature photography, there are better places to spend your day near Phoenix. Otherwise, you'll be spending most of that one day driving from Phoenix to the South Rim and rushing through some stops at the Grand Canyon with little time left for photography. As you know, (landscape) photography takes time. To me, it would only make sense to visit the Grand Canyon in one day if you somehow have to be there or you are using it as a scouting trip.

[craig_gillette]

Go to the Canyon if you want. Don't expect to make photography the prime object of that short a trip. There is a reason there is a large parking lot where the highway meets the rim. The first views are stunning. Enjoy the Canyon and shoot a few but it is too big and too variable to do much more than scouting for spots on a trip that short. Enjoy the changing light, the different views, the El tovar and Hopi House. Do a little walking along the rim. Don't really try to do much down and up.

 

Take the weather advice seriously. The northern plateaus are about 7000 ft. If it is bad, you will not be able to get there. Be prepared for extremes in weather if storms are in the area. We were there the first week of April a couple of years ago and the snow problems were bad. 4 days in a row I-40 was closed till noon or later. I-17 closed as well. Multiple accidents and several fatalities. Although we finally got to the Canyon via the train (which was point of that part of the trip), visibility was almost zero into the canyon. Freezing rain icing up on trees and blowing off as ice, major wind-chill, etc. Consider alternatives such as Sedona, etc. if the weather is bad. We even had snow in Oak creek Canyon and there was a low ceiling and snow in the Red rocks at Sedona. There are other options in the Verde River area like Montezuma's Castle, Camp Verde, etc which may be "fun" and photogenic as well if the weather is too bad further north.

[marcnh]

First of all take everyone's advice on the weather. It can be dangerous and unpredictable. Also, if you'll be driving on 180 at night, watch out for elk! I've had 18 friends in 8 different cars at 8 different times hit an elk there (or ran off the road because of one). I used to live at the south rim.

The drive from pheonix to gc os 217 miles. I recommend doing a day hike to plateu point. That's 12 miles round trip, and you can look over the point down at the colorado river. The last 1.5 miles to the point is all flat. When you hike down it's a totally different perspective. Don't take everyone's advice about skipping it. I spent ten months there, and I really miss it. Check to see if there is water - it may be turned off this time of year.

go visit my cheesy web page:

http://members.theglobe.com/marcjt/2.html

[stevemarcus]

Thanks, everyone, for your generous advice. I'm keeping a close eye on the weather and will consider one of the several suggested alternatives to the GC if the foreacast there is not good (as of tonight, it looks very good).

 

Thanks again!

 

Steve Marcus