Basic Grand Canyon questions

[dustyroad1]

We love taking Amtrak for our trips instead of driving. We live in eastern Illinois so it is a stretch for us to get to the Parks And the gas, food and lodging are so expensive, the train is the best bet for us since we get roomettes. Renting the car in Flagstaff will let us be on our own time frame for the Canyon. We won't wast our money on the train out of Williams. That is why we want to stay in Tusayan or the Park. It will all work out for us thanks to all the help I am getting here from all of you.
I can't wait to see that part of the country again.

[phetaroi]

Originally Posted by dustyroad1

Thanks for that info. I will not be able to walk to every vantage point of the south side but my friend might want to. I am hoping there will be places for me set at a few spots while she takes in the places I want to omit. I'm not disabled, just not as energetic as she is. I will look at the Canyon map so I can pick out the important spots for me.

There are websites out there that describe what you will see at every overlook. This may be the best of them: Viewpoints of the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, Arizona

[dustyroad1]

Originally Posted by keninaz

During the off season you can go west with a car on the rim but during whatever the season is vehicle access is blocked and you must take a bus which stops at the lookouts going out to the Hermit's Rest.
Going east you can take the car and stop where you want to of course. I think the buses also run east from the village but I have never used them.
We were last there catching a very nice period of sunshine in Feb and found that driving the West area had another problem in that there is really not much parking at the lookout areas.
They just left room for the bus to pull over and let people out when it's running.

Originally Posted by phetaroi

There are websites out there that describe what you will see at every overlook. This may be the best of them: Viewpoints of the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, Arizona

What a great site . Thanks.

[ABQ2015]

Looking at the Grand Canyon Lodging website, a room with 2 queen beds at Maswik Lodge South in the park will cost about $115. It is a $100 cheaper than the other rooms so assume there are some issues with it. But I would rather stay in the park especially given your limited time for visiting.

I stayed at Grand Canyon recently and made my reservations almost a year ahead of time. Xanterra accepts reservations 13 months in advance. Many people will make multiple bookings way in advance for different dates because they do not know the exact days that they plan to visit or are concerned about possible late spring or early fall snow. They later cancel the unnecessary reservations. Or they book a less desirable room just to have a room in the park and hope to upgrade before the visit. This means that about 2-4 weeks before your stay date there are likely to be cancellations so this is a good time to start checking the Xanterra website for any openings.

I have the lifetime Senior pass ("America the Beautiful") and got in the park free by showing my pass and driver's license at the entry gate. It should cover a vehicle with up to 4 people. Your pass may be different.

[dustyroad1]

Originally Posted by ABQ2015

Looking at the Grand Canyon Lodging website, a room with 2 queen beds at Maswik Lodge South in the park will cost about $115. It is a $100 cheaper than the other rooms so assume there are some issues with it. But I would rather stay in the park especially given your limited time for visiting.

I stayed at Grand Canyon recently and made my reservations almost a year ahead of time. Xanterra accepts reservations 13 months in advance. Many people will make multiple bookings way in advance for different dates because they do not know the exact days that they plan to visit or are concerned about possible late spring or early fall snow. They later cancel the unnecessary reservations. Or they book a less desirable room just to have a room in the park and hope to upgrade before the visit. This means that about 2-4 weeks before your stay date there are likely to be cancellations so this is a good time to start checking the Xanterra website for any openings.

I have the lifetime Senior pass ("America the Beautiful") and got in the park free by showing my pass and driver's license at the entry gate. It should cover a vehicle with up to 4 people. Your pass may be different.

I am taking down all the tips I am getting here and will highlight the tip about calling Xanterra for quotes and bookings. And we will be doing our calling at least 13 months out ( we are very early train and hotel reservation bookers ). I think my friend has the pass to get in the parks, but thanks for the info you offered. I am getting more and more excited about all the things to look forward to when we start booking next spring for the next early fall in 2020. I am one that has to save for a long time to go on one of our trips. . But that doesn't stop me from going!!

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by dustyroad1

Can someone tell me if it cost to get inside the park if we have a National Park Pass for all the U.S. Parks. ?? That would save us some money as well. We will pay of course if it does not qualify. Thanks to all for the tips.

In general, a National Parks pass will get you and people in your car admission into any national park and monument for a full year. However, there are several fees that it does NOT cover:

1) Cave entrance fees at Carlsbad Caverns and Mammoth Caves.
2) Transportation fees when they are imposed by the park service (i.e., Devil's Postpile NM)
3) Sites that are managed by the US Forest Service.

At $80, the fees are a screaming bargain.

[dustyroad1]

Originally Posted by jlawrence01

In general, a National Parks pass will get you and people in your car admission into any national park and monument for a full year. However, there are several fees that it does NOT cover:

1) Cave entrance fees at Carlsbad Caverns and Mammoth Caves.
2) Transportation fees when they are imposed by the park service (i.e., Devil's Postpile NM)
3) Sites that are managed by the US Forest Service.

At $80, the fees are a screaming bargain.

Thanks for great information. I don't too much about her Park Pass but I will ask her. We don't mean too sound cheap but every penny count's

[teddyearp]

Originally Posted by keninaz

Do yourself a favor and skip Sedona. It's a tourist trap and expensive.
You will not find inexpensive lodging in that area.
OK to drive through however.

If you have a couple few hours to do so. Hear the traffic is just terrible.

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by dustyroad1

Thanks for great information. I don't too much about her Park Pass but I will ask her. We don't mean too sound cheap but every penny count's

My only point is that a lot of people around here complain about the cost of the National Parks increasing. $30 to entertain a carload for up to seven days is so much less expensive than for ONE PERSON'S ONE-DAY admission to Walt Disney World.

I think that the people who USE the parks should be willing to pay their share of the costs of OPERATING the parks and that is far more than the $30/day that some parks are charging.

For the record, we carry a valid National Park Pass in BOTH the United States and Canada as well as a National Forest Pass for the local wilderness area.

[dustyroad1]

Originally Posted by jlawrence01

My only point is that a lot of people around here complain about the cost of the National Parks increasing. $30 to entertain a carload for up to seven days is so much less expensive than for ONE PERSON'S ONE-DAY admission to Walt Disney World.

I think that the people who USE the parks should be willing to pay their share of the costs of OPERATING the parks and that is far more than the $30/day that some parks are charging.

For the record, we carry a valid National Park Pass in BOTH the United States and Canada as well as a National Forest Pass for the local wilderness area.

I totally agree with you. I just wondered if the Pass for all the U.S. Parks would get us in, or if the Grand Canyon had to have a different pass. If this pass is different we will get it online ahead of time. I think people would be happy to support the Parks. We do, that is why we have the Pass and try to stay in the parks and support the businesses there. We went to Canada last year and got their Park Pass for Waterton Lake Park. It just happened to be free last yr, but we gladly would have paid for it. Some people want a 5 star hotel for a 1 star price. We are willing to pay $150-200 a night if we can get in the Canyon and be able to be right there early in the mornings and see the sunsets. Plus not have to mess with the parking every day. We can't wait to get there.