How To Spend A Day At The Grand Canyon

Above, the Colorado River continues to carve the Grand Canyon. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Okay, folks! We're now in March and the summer vacation season is a little over three months away. Now is the time to start thinking about where to go and see this summer.

One place that should be on potential vacation lists is Grand Canyon National Park. I've been there several times and there's always something new and/or different to see and do.

Columbus Underground has an article on how to spend a day at the Grand Canyon. Mind you, to really enjoy the park, you should spend more than a day there.

They begin with:

The Grand Canyon is one of America’s largest, and most popular, tourist destinations. The canyon itself is composed of peaks and slopes of layers of red rock that drop down several thousand feet. At its base, the Colorado River snakes through for over 200 miles. At different times of day, the colored rocks reflect the sunlight in a variety of colors, causing the rocks to appear purple, blue, yellow, red or orange. 

Most of the canyon is contained within Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, although some of it is part of the Havasupai Indian Reservation. Prior to receiving national park status in 1919, the area was declared a national monument by Theodore Roosevelt in 1908. Decades later, it was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979. The park covers almost 2,000 square miles. 

According to the National Park Service (NPS), the first year the park was established it had almost 38,000 visitors; 100 years later it had over six million in 2018. The NPS works with archeologists to preserve the area’s history and culture while keeping the park visitor ready. 

The Grand Canyon averages 10 miles across in diameter. It is divided into two parts, the North Rim and the South Rim. The North Rim, which sits about 8,000 feet above sea level, is closed during the winter months, making it harder to access and therefore less popular than the South Rim, which sits at about 7,000 feet above sea level. The South Rim, open year-round, offers shuttle service to trailheads as well as several ideal spots for watching the sunrise and sunset. However, both offer campgrounds, restaurants, and visitor centers during operating hours.

To read more, go here.