Yet another grand canyon question

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Peggyy

Peggyy

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Joined
Jul 5, 2016
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884
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Winter springs fl
In planning for our big trip out west next year, we simply do not know how long we need to plan to be at the Grand Canyon.  We are going to try and stay at railroad rv park in williams az.  But how long do we actually need to see what we need to see there?  One week, two weeks, three nights, etc.  we are not hikers so there will be no outings of that nature.  Any of you that have been, please share your thoughts.  Thanks!
 
I used to live there every summer for a month at a time and that was never long enough for me. Staying in Williams is a poor choice for seeing the canyon, it is an hour and a half away, meaning three hours of driving per day just to get there and back. There is a nice RV park in Tusayan called Canyon Village and it has a free park shuttle stop right at the entrance to the RV park. If you have never been to the canyon I would suggest at least a week.
 
SeilerBird said:
I used to live there every summer for a month at a time and that was never long enough for me. Staying in Williams is a poor choice for seeing the canyon, it is an hour and a half away, meaning three hours of driving per day just to get there and back. There is a nice RV park in Tusayan called Canyon Village and it has a free park shuttle stop right at the entrance to the RV park. If you have never been to the canyon I would suggest at least a week.
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Ok thanks! I thot i had read that railroad park in williams was the closest to the canyon.  Good to know.  I will check into tusayan.
 
My wife and I went there years ago and stayed at El Tovar.  I want to say we were there for two nights.  It was winter so crowds were light and that makes a difference.
But I would say that gave us enough time to "ooo and ahh" at a few of the overlooks, visit the gift shops, have a nice dinner or two, sat through a ranger program on the formation of the canyon
I hiked down in a mile or so while DW took a nap (she was sick), and we together hiked a shorter way down a different time.
and then on the way out we drove out East to see Desert View

We didn't do it all, but it was enough to get a good taste.
I am somewhat of a hiker & I would have liked to do more of that, and I would love to do a trip to havasupai falls.....
    but otherwise I'd say 2-3 nights can be enough for a casual trip just to see it.
especially if you want to also spend time seeing other places out that way...Sedona, or some of the many Indian ruins as examples


Why not try to stay at Trailer Village in the park?  We were planning a three night visit this summer, but plans changed and I had to move the date and give up our trailer village reservations....so I'm now looking at SeilerBird's suggestion same as you!
 
I don't know the area well at all, so take this for what it's worth...
but as far as I can tell the only reason to stay in Williams would be if you specifically want to take the train up to South Rim
  or i suppose you had some other draw to the town itself, such as family or friends there.

Camper village seems to me to be the choice if you want electric hook-ups unless it's this summer, in which case you're not likely to get in now....
or if your rig is small enough (less than 30ft) and you don't need hook-ups for a couple days try for mather CG or Desert View CG
  The village, mather, and desert view are right there, so you can maximum your time on-site
Otherwise you have to start looking outside the park
 
There is a shuttle bus that goes to most of the major sites along the rim. It is an easy way to get around without lots of hiking. A full day wondering along that route then another day wondering around the hotels, museums, and the east entrance road makes sense to me. As for where to camp, others have mentioned some alternatives. I would never stay in Williams unless you particularly like trains. Luckily we are small enough to fit in Mather Campground in the park itself, but that is only a possibility if you aren't committed to AC (hard in the middle of summer but perfectly doable fall and spring).
 
Hi Peggy

We managed to do all the viewpoints in a day but didn't do any walks. We did do the helicopter trip from Tusayan and I would recommend it. Book in advance and check if refundable if weather bad. Look out for the condors they are incredible no doubt Tom can point you to his photos  :D

You are also very close to Flagstaff and there is a lot you can see/do from there too.

See this post if you are interested

http://www.rvforum.net/SMF_forum/index.php/topic,104388.msg940483.html#msg940483
 
SeilerBird said:
I used to live there every summer for a month at a time and that was never long enough for me. Staying in Williams is a poor choice for seeing the canyon, it is an hour and a half away, meaning three hours of driving per day just to get there and back. There is a nice RV park in Tusayan called Canyon Village and it has a free park shuttle stop right at the entrance to the RV park. If you have never been to the canyon I would suggest at least a week.
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I agree with this.  The reality is you could spend a life time at the GC and not see it all.  There are many who drive through the park in a day, stopping at some of the overlooks and are happy, though this is not my choice, then there are others who are able to devote an entire season and everything in between.  If it were me I would look at what time you have available for your trip, factoring in travel etc. and figure out how long you are able to devote to the GC and do and see what you can in that time frame and be happy.  Another factor to consider in how long is what you want to do while in the park ie. do you just want to drive to the overlooks and if so is it for a quick look-see or do you prefer to linger, are you interested in hiking and would that be a half-day, full day or overnight hike?  As for Williams, there are only two reasons I can think of to stay there for a GC visit, as a stop over for a night on your way to GC or if you want to take the train to GC.  Other than that as SeilerBird indicated it is really too long a drive to be feasible to stay there and commute back and forth.  You also need to decide do you want to see only the South Rim, the North Rim or both?  If the North Rim is on your itinerary, be prepared for a lengthy drive either to the N. Rim from the S. Rim or to the S. Rim from the North Rim.  IMHO having been to both if I had to choose between the two, while seeing the S.Rim is certainly worthwhile I would choose the N.Rim in a heart beat.  If you can arrange to see both while there, so much the better.
 
Trailer Village is a great place and has full hookups.  Sites also now have asphalt camping pads.  A big advantage is that there is a shuttle stop there, but the best part of this campground is that the elk come every morning to munch of the shrubbery.  I saw 13 cows there last May and am planning on spending 8 days there this June. 

Besides seeing the Canyon, there are several historical buildings at the Canyon and some of the best paved biking trails around.  They go not only through the woods but directly along the canyon east of the visitor center.  If you don't ride a bike or hike, try dinner at the El Tovar Hotel.  You can easily spend 4-6 days there and not be bored.

Staying directly in the national park is a LOT better than driving those three hours every day.  Please do not just take a peek at the canyon like so many people do and then drive on. 
 
We stayed in Williams when we were there and didn't find it a bother at all.  Nice drive.  We spent a week at the RV park and made 3 or 4 trips up.  One was to hike, spend the night and hike back up, but they have great trams where you board, and when they stop at a destination, you wan walk to the next boarding point or stay on the tram.  You can get closer to looking down if you walk. We also went up late one afternoon to enjoy the sunset---it was spectacular. If you are a morning person, I would ask them where the best point is to see the sunrise and take advantage of that. The museum/gift shop was really neat too. If you want to sit back and relax in-between, you can stay longer.  There is also a neat day trip up and back by train from Williams.  We didn't take it as we had just done a train ride the about 3 weeks prior in another state but fellow RV'ers said it was neat..  Others prefer to stay closer to the canyon and that's fine too.  We did drive around to the {I think it was } east rim and while not as spectacular, was quite enjoyable and an easier walk.  I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Hugs, Di 
Peggyy said:
In planning for our big trip out west next year, we simply do not know how long we need to plan to be at the Grand Canyon.  We are going to try and stay at railroad rv park in williams az.  But how long do we actually need to see what we need to see there?  One week, two weeks, three nights, etc.  we are not hikers so there will be no outings of that nature.  Any of you that have been, please share your thoughts.  Thanks!
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Sedona is a short drive to the south from Flagstaff. Very scenic area. Take the toad, the road is not rv friendly. To the north of the Grand Canyon is Page Arizona. I think its about a two hour drive. It has the slot canyons, horseshoe bend in the Colarado River, as well as the Glen Canyon Dam. The dam is within a few feet of being as big as Hoover Dam. Not far from Page, you are into Utah which has Monument Valley, and lots of National Parks like Zion and Bryce canyon. When we went to the Grand Canyon, we had three days scheduled. Next time I go back, Im going to make it at least a week. Of our 6000 mile tour last year, the Flagstaff-Grand Canyon area was the most scenic.
 
Williams is a nice quaint little town.  BUT is is a bit of a drive, albeit a nice drive, up to the park.  If you take the train to the park, then Williams is your departure point.  If not taking the train, there are MANY better choices.  Even Flagstaff is a bit of a drive to the park, but they have many more places to eat or shop, and a better choice.
 
We recently stayed at Grand Canyon Camper Village in Tusayan.  It had easy access to the shuttle and we had no problems with the park.  It has been sold though, and I don't know how available it would be next year.  We were there 3 nights and for us it was probably 1 too many.  We did bike on the trail, and check out the viewpoints, but since I am afraid of heights, all the hiking trails were off limits to me.  We did Zion and Bryce after and I enjoyed both of them more than Grand Canyon. 
If you stay in Williams and take the train you will have limited time to explore the Grand Canyon
 
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