Day trip from Vegas strip to hoover dam and Grand Canyon?
Aug.08, 2011 in
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I’m going to vegas in early march and wanted to take a trip on the last day to hoover dam and Grand Canyon. I fly out Saturday morning at 12:35am so I have all day Friday to go out and get back by around 10:30-11pm friday night. I dont want to do any tours, I’ve been to the Dam but wanted to take my girlfriend, its not interesting enough to me to take a tour just amazing to walk around and look at it. Never been to the Grand Canyon but I think the South Rim is the way to go??? Let me know what you think of my plans, honesty is appreciated. Thanks
Tags: Canyon, dam, day, day trip, fly, Friday, friday night, girlfriend, grand, grand canyon, honesty, hoover, hoover dam, March, Saturday, saturday morning, south rim, strip, trip, vegas, vegas strip
August 8th, 2011 at 5:36 pm
You are right, the South Rim is the way to go. I always say if you have to go to the Grand Canyon, head to the South Rim. The only problem with your plan is that the South Rim is a 5 hour drive from Las Vegas and there is no way you can make that in one day unless you go on an helicopter tour. The West Rim on the other hand is a 3 hour drive but little to see there.
My recommendation is to do Hoover Dam and Lake Mead with a stop at Bonnie Springs Ranch. Then visit the Grand Canyon next time you have more time.
http://www.lasvegas-how-to.com/las-vegas-day-trips.php
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August 9th, 2011 at 12:36 am
Since I’ve driven LAS>GCNP>LAS in one day many times I respectfully disagree with the guy above.
While the trip is entirely do-able it is also one very long day on the road and at end of the day the 50 or so miles of US 93 from Kingman to the top of the switchbacks above the Dam makes your tired brain think about running triple digit speeds to get it the frog over with. DONT!!!
Before you commit yourself to this trip check weather over GCNP
It would kind of suck if you drove all that way and you couldn’t see the Canyon because of weather.
Here’s a more detailed explanation from another answer of mine
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AhxaKUmz50n1zQsqmvjg8B3sy6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20100118202422AANXEj7&show=7#profile-info-aI0nBuHZaa
The best routing is to get out of LAS before the sun and head for Kingman.
Get Gas
I-40 E to Williams and SR 64
SR 64 into GCNP
Breakfast at the Bright Angel Lodge
Free shuttle bus from the BA out Hermits Rest
Back to the BA
http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/shuttle-buses.htm
Drive over to the visitors center
Exit the Park by finding SR 64 /East Rim Drive out to Desert View and hit everything that says “Point “on it on the way out to DV especially Grandview and Lipan Points -my favorite spot to view the Canyon -
Downhill from DV to the Junction of US 89 @ Cameron AZ
If you make a left , go 300 yds and make another left you will find yourself in the parking lot of the Cameron Trading Post
http://www.camerontradingpost.com/
The CTP is not only a good place to get gas and an early dinner But it also has the cleanest bathrooms for many a mile
Leaving CTP
Make a right
South on US 89 to I-40 W
Gas at exit 48 Kingman and back to LAS
Dress warm and enjoy the Canyon
Btw:
I don’t know how “girly ” your girlfriend is when it comes to things like peeing in public
Some women are OK with if the idea of pulling off of an exit opening the door and squatting to pee by the side of the road
While other women not only need a real bathroom But a clean one at that .
Given the emptiness of the area and the scarcity of batrooms and gas stations throughout much of the area ,a little bit of pre planning on your part will go a long way to making your life a little easier.
Canyon hiker .who used to live an hour or so from the S.Rim
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August 9th, 2011 at 6:36 am
That is a long trip for just one day. People do it. I can’t imagine going to the Grand Canyon and not staying a few days. There is so much to see and do. If all you want to do is look over the edge and turn around a go back then you will miss out on the real enjoyment of the Canyon.
Canyon hiker .who used to live an hour or so from the S.Rim
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August 9th, 2011 at 10:36 am
Unless you fly, you cannot do a one day trip to Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam.
Canyon hiker .who used to live an hour or so from the S.Rim
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August 9th, 2011 at 1:36 pm
Sounds Great. Take a helicopter to the Grand Canyon but it isn’t the part of the Grand Canyon that you have heard about. It is to an Indian Reservation at the extreme West of the canyon. If you want to see the real thing go to the South Rim of the park. BTW they dont let helicopters fly over the National Park.
There are really lots of places that you can see easily on way to the South Rim. Lake Mead http://vegasnature.com/LakeMead.htm Hoover Dam http://vegasnature.com/HooverDam.htm Colorado River http://vegasnature.com/ColoradoRiver.htm Oatman http://vegasnature.com/Oatman.htm Grand Canyon http://vegasnature.com/GrandCanyon.htm on the way back stop in Laughlin http://vegasnature.com/Laughlin.htm http://www.vegasnature.com/ has videos of each area followed by maps showing how to get there
Canyon hiker .who used to live an hour or so from the S.Rim
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