Grand Canyon National Park South Rim Scenic Driving Tour & Viewpoints in a single day

Описание: I spent a few days at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon in February 2022. I shot this footage of what you can expect from a single day driving tour. I stopped at most of the view points, but skipped a few.

This video does not include the Tusayan Museum.

I also skipped completely Yavapai Geological Museum stop, which includes Yavapai Point.

To do the south rim in a day is basically like a drive, hop out, take a short look and move on kind of experience for most of your stops with some time to do a couple extended stops.

If you're not planning to do any extended hikes into the Canyon you can reasonably see the Canyon in a couple days if you want. It's nice to get a chance for a sunrise and a sunset at the canyon .

If you're visiting in the winter be advise the South Rim elevation is 7,000 ft (2134 m). It can be cold and snowy. If you plan to hike into the canyon bring traction devices for your shoes (YaxTrax, microspikes, crampons, etc).

If you're up for a challenging day hike I have hiked to Plateau Point and back using Bright Angel Trail as a day hike. It's about 13.3 miles (21km) round trip, with an elevation loss (and subsequent gain) of about 3400 ft (~1035m). All Trails Link: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/ar...

It's a wonderful hike if you can hack it and you're rewarded with stunning views of the Colorado River below at Plateau Point. If you're interested in backpacking (permit required) the Grand Canyon it is truly a surreal experience to be at the bottom of the Canyon by the river.

During my visit I backpacked using South Kiabab trail and stayed over night at Bright Angel Campground, hiked up to Indian Gardens campground on the Bright Angel trail the following day and stayed, and on the 3rd day hiked on out. It was a great experience and I'd recommend it to anyone capable. I will have a video of this coming out soon, so be sure to check that out.

There is additional lodging and camping outside of the park at Tusayan. I personally stayed in the National Forest (dispersed camping (near Tusayan) for free during my visit. There is also some opportunity for dispersed camping on Desert View Drive, and back south on some Forest Service roads, soon you exit the park and there are places you can camp. Camping within the park is restricted to the developed campgrounds. Camping below the rim requires a backcountry permit (needs advanced planning, especially for peak seasons).

If it's within your budget and you are only at the park a short time I would recommend staying in the park if possible for the convenience factor.

The South Entrance station can get quite busy even in the off season weekends mid-day for instance. If you plan to visit many parks an American the Beautiful Interagency pass will pay for itself in 3 visits or 4 at the most depending on entry fee. If you're a senior absolutely buy a lifetime one. If you don't want an annual pass you can purchase the regular entry on recreation.gov in advance.

This video does not cover the North Rim at all. It's closed in the winter (8000 ft elevation ~ 2440 m).

If you're headed from the South Rim to the North Rim during summer, be advised that though you might be able to see it 10 miles away, it's an approximately 4 hour drive to cover the 215 miles (346 km) from the South Rim visitor center to the North Rim visitor center (assuming not stopping on Desert View Drive).

Mistakenly credited Grand Canyon Conservancy for operating Lookout Studio and Hermit's Rest; they are operated by Xanterra.

Additional Links: Grand Canyon NPS website: https://www.nps.gov/grca/index.htm
South Rim Pocket Map and Services Guide: https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/u...
Hiking & Backcountry Info (includes distances, elev, times): https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisi...
Park Operated campgrounds (Mather, Desert View): recreation.gov
Trailer Village RV Park & Yavapi Lodge (operated by Delaware North): https://www.visitgrandcanyon.com/
All other park hotels - El Tovar, Bright Angel, Kachina, Thunderbird, Maswik (operated by Xanterra): https://www.visitgrandcanyon.com/

0:00 Intro
0:50 Entrance Fee
1:30 Campground information
2:44 Yaki Point/South Kiabab info
3:11 Grandview Point
3:46 Moran Point
4:40 Lipan Point
5:27 Navajo Point
6:26 Desert View Tower Info
7:47 Desert View Views
8:39 Mather Point
9:48 Rim Walk at Village
10:15 Verkamps Store
10:34 Hopi House
11:03 El Tovar Hotel
11:55 Hotel Prices
12:15 Kachina and Thunderbird Lodges
12:30 Bright Angel Lodge
13:00 Lookout Studio
13:57 Terrace Views
14:30 Kolb Studio
15:50 Bright Angel Trail
16:57 Train Depot
17:36 Hermit Road
18:52 Maricopa Point
19:20 Hopi Point
20:17 Mojave Point
21:14 Pima Point
22:07 Hermit's Rest
24:10 Wrap up Tips
25:22 Bonus footage of Grandview Lookout tower starts (tips continue)
26:27 Favorites discussion

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