A Guide to Visiting The Grand Canyon
/The best way to see the Grand Canyon is to hire a car, pack your walking boots and get ready for some of the best sunrises and sunsets you will ever see. That’s exactly what I did in the summer of 2015. Two days of incredible scenery, moments of calm and memories that I will cherish forever.
Before seeing the Grand Canyon, I visited Monument Valley and the Horseshoe Bend, which were both only a few hours drive away. I highly recommend them both as part of your trip. There are also many other National Parks in driving distance to make it a trip of a lifetime.
Horseshoe Bend
From the Monument Valley, we joined the AZ-98 West towards Page, which is where the Horseshoe Bend is located. This part of the journey took just over 2 hours and it was a nice way to break up the day. We arrived in Page and followed the signs to the Horseshoe Bend. There is a car park located just off the main road which is where you have to pay $10 to park up. It’s a half a mile walk to the viewpoint, over the sandy terrain which felt a lot longer under the hot sun! Remember to take water with you if you’re travelling during the summer months!
Can you spot it? The Horseshoe Bend is a 1000 foot deep trench naturally made by the Colorado River. The river flows through 7 US states and 2 Mexican states. It also flows through the Grand Canyon which is just 9 miles from this point.
This is one of the most incredible places I’ve ever been to in my life. The view is breathtaking! I’d love to come back here in the future to kayak on the Colorado River and around the Horseshoe Bend. We spent a good hour here taking photos and stretching our legs. Oh, and getting very sandy!
Horseshoe Bend to The Grand Canyon
The route to The Grand Canyon is incredibly scenic. The combination of the quiet, wide roads and the mountainous landscape from every angle, made this part of the road trip so epic! It took around 2 hours to get to the Desert View which is on the South Rim of Grand Canyon - just in time for sunset! The entrance fee to the National Park was $35 per vehicle and was valid for 7 days.
We couldn’t have timed it more perfect! Watching this sunset was one of the best moments of my life. The sky was a mixture of fiery red and hot pink. The atmosphere was silent. We felt very lucky to witness this natural beauty
with not many people around.
After marvelling at the sunset aftermath for more than an hour, it was time to find some dinner. Luckily the café inside the gift shop at the Desert View was still open. We looked at the souvenirs and ordered pizza - it was a perfect way to end the day.
Our hotel was located in the village of Tusayan which was another 40-minute drive on the windy roads - I could finally say that I had driven through the Grand Canyon! We arrived at the Grand Canyon Plaza Hotel around 9pm and couldn’t wait to relax and look back through the photos we had taken so far.
After a much-needed sleep, we woke up feeling fresh and ready to take on the GC! We drove to the Grand Canyon Visitors Center which is located in the Grand Canyon Village, just a 10-minute drive from the hotel. This was the view that awaited us… wowwwwww!
The BEST view is undoubtedly from the South Rim! There are many viewpoints within walking distance from the Visitors Center. You can also trek through the Grand Canyon by yourself or with tour groups - of course, taking care on the rocky paths. Even though our time here was limited, we certainly made use of it. We walked along the paths from the Visitors Center and marvelled at the surroundings from many of the viewpoints. We also followed a steep path down the side of the canyon which led us to be surrounded by the most incredible scenery.
