Grand Canyon / Page AZ - TravelPUNK Backpacker College Student Budget Travel Message Boards!

devilwoman · 06-02-2003, 11:55 AM

Going to GC and Page AZ in November, any suggestions on what to see, fees, guides that are inexpensive. Anyone been to Page? I hear there are cool canyons to hike...if you've been either place or have any info please let me know. Thanks

**travelpunk** · 06-03-2003, 03:21 AM

Welcome to the boards D!

I have been to the Grand Canyon and it is absolutely amazing! It´s nothing short of breath taking and when you´re standing on any given edge looking down, and across, and side ways, you are in a state of shock and awe! I didn´t take any tours, but wish I had(no time). I gather that the next time I go, I will.
Flagstaff and Sedona are also quite beautiful and colorful too.
But my favorite place in Arizona was a little town about an hour (south east?) of Tucson called Tombstone. The old west. I dig history and the stories of the old west and when I went to Tombstone, famous for the infamous gunfight at the OK Corral with Wyatt Earp and Doc Holiday, I got to revisit the countrys past. But if thats not your thing, don´t bother with the drive. It´s a bit way off the beaten path.

This lady, Denise Taver, has a site and enjoys helping people out with questions on the Grand Canyon- Hit the Trail. she has a nice "tips and tricks" section where you might find some valuable information. On her site, she suggests that you email her with any questions, but due to the volume of email that she gets, it could be a while before she can get back to you with a personal response.

other links to check out-The Canyon, GC Tour Company

Hope it helps!

gargg · 06-21-2004, 01:51 AM

I'm planning to go to the Grand Canyon later this month (yes, I know its going to be very hot but I'm leaving the country soon) and I wanted to know how to get there from LA.

I've heard that Amtrak has trains from LA to Flagstaff and then a bus service to the GC. Has anyone done this?

I'm traveling on a low budget so please keep that in mind before dishing out advice.

**tumblezweedz** · 06-21-2004, 05:22 AM

I did the train to Flagstaff, it was totally straightforward. Planned to take the bus, but my future hubby drove out and met me, so we drove up instead. The bus connects with the Amtrak service though, so the info is available on Amtrak's website, and they're ususally pretty easy connections. (I did the rail/bus connection from Albuquerque to Santa Fe on the same trip, it was totally painless).

We camped outside the park the first night, then moved into the official campsites next day, which is the cheapest way to go if you've got the gear. Since I was planning to go it alone, there must have been a fairly cheap lodging option in the canyon, but I don't recall now. There will be up-to-date info at the national park website, and I know they're trying to reduce car traffic into the park, so I'm sure they'll have links to alternate ways of getting to the park (ie. train/bus).

Due to a sprained ankle (dangerous sport, soccer), we didn't climb very far down the canyon, but there are a number of hikes you can do, either with a group or on your own - all different lengths, all pretty challenging. Even if you're travelling alone, you might try hooking up with another single hiker, just in case, and take plenty of water if you're going into the canyon! It's a longggggggg way down, and even longer coming up! The mule rides are pretty expensive and didn't look especially comfortable to me, but I guess if that's your fancy, go for it!

Most of all, walk a little further than the "recommended" viewpoints, to get away from the crowds and get a real sense of the grandeur of the place. Especially, be at the rim at dawn, sunset and right after a storm, if you're lucky enough to have one - the light is magical.

**voyd** · 06-29-2004, 08:28 PM

What's in Page, AZ? Thanx for the links, Tone - I may be roadtrippin' out west in a few weeks here.

Bus, eh? Hmm, I wonder if I could work a route from TX to Kali on that?

Central TX to Abilene on I-20 W to 84
84 to 380 NW to Roswell

Roswell on 380 W and 54 S to Alamogordo
Alamogordo on 70 SW to Las Cruces
Las Cruces on I-10 W to Tuscon
Tucson on I-10 NW to Phoenix/Scottsdale
Check out Sedona (I-17 N)

I-10 W to L.A.

I-40 E to Flagstaff

Flagstaff to Albuquerque

I-40 E to Amarillo
Amarillo on 287 SE to Wichita Falls
Wichita Falls on 287 S

If anyone has suggestion for cool places to stop or see along this route - let me know! Thanks!

**LaurieL622** · 07-23-2004, 04:18 PM

Hi everyone!

I'm from So Cal but live 9 mo's out of the year in tucson, az as I go to school out there. Someone mentioned something about traveling to the grand canyon from LA....I think the cheapest is by way of car...it's about 6-7 hours away from LA I believe. Flagstaff is nice, esp. around the winter time as the snow makes for great skiing. Anyone headed out to AZ this summer...enjoy the heat!! Phoenix gets to be about 110 F during the days and at least 90 F at night

. I'm glad i'm back home for summer

If ur headed out to southern az after august, let me kno and we'll grab a drink!

bakwoi · 07-26-2004, 09:13 AM

hey voyd-

im headn out west in a couple weeks and on the way back will also be takn
I-40 E to Flagstaff

Flagstaff to Albuquerque

I-40 E to Amarillo

but isnt route66 which paralells 40 supposed to have crazy stuff on it to see???

**TheJake** · 07-29-2004, 08:03 PM

ok so i live in phoenix and can probably help more than anyone.. STAY AWAY FROM PHOENIX!! it sucks... im a hoosier/chicago boy and phoenix is hotter than all get out. (woke up yesterday at 7am and it was 100 degrees outside) im just bummin room and board off the old folks for awhile.. Anyway the canyon rocks.. there are a couple of sweet hostels up in flagg that can hook you up with transportation to the hole. Grand Canyon Hostel Sedona is major beautiful and if you are a mountain biker I suggest hitting broken arrow trail... sickest piece of dirt ever... anyway if you dig those spots you should hit up monument valley just northeast of the canyon. Some sweet rocks there. forget page... hit up havasu falls on the indian reservation up there... thats the place to be...

**TheJake** · 07-29-2004, 08:05 PM

oh and i think the canyon park fee is 20 bones per car...

**omisan** · 07-29-2004, 09:10 PM

Jake's advice is solid. I did a road trip from LA to Flagstaff last year, and it absolutely rocked. We based out of the Grand Canyon hostel in Flagstaff...

The first day, we flogged the rental car and drove it somewhere near 300 miles to Monument Valley, UT and back. Absolutely worth it. Offroading in a white Chevy Malibu rental 'til it became pink was.. mmm.. Monumental.

Day 2: Sedona & environs. The town of Sedona itself is quite pretty, but climbing up Cathedral Rock was spiritual, to say at the least. If you believe in new agey stuff, then you'll believe it when they say there's an "energy vortex" up there. I don't know what that means, but there was something, I tell ya.

Day 3: Partying in Flagstaff. It's a college town. There's good, cheap microbrew and live music. The staff & people @ GC Hostel knew how to have a good time.

Day 4: Grand Canyon. WOW. WOW. WOW. Yeah, it's about $20 a car to get in, but a lot of people at the hostel buy a ticket and leave it on the bulletin board for whomever wants to use it next - they're good for several days.

On the way in, we checked out Havasu. Nothing special, but the original London Bridge is there, and you can see where everyone goes for Spring Break. On the way out, it was Vegas, baby, Vegas!

Seriously one of the best road trips ever.

**TheJake** · 07-29-2004, 10:06 PM

havasu is the party city... havasu falls on the other hand is a couple mile hike into a gorgeous waterfall and several small turqouise pools.. absolutely stunning i'm told... its just northwest of flagg

**voyd** · 08-06-2004, 09:32 AM

I went through that area on my roadtrip.

We skipped the Grand Canyon (been there) and actually went up to Lake Powell and Antelope Canyon.

The Grand Canyon gets all the press - but plenty of the surrounding sites are very scenic as well. We drove through Zion National Park at night and it seemed (and smelled) gorgeous. Bryce Canyon looked incredible from brochures too - although we didn't have time to go there.

As far as Phoenix - I didn't see too much there. But, I was pissed to later learn that Frank Lloyd Wright's home and museum are actually there and I missed out (I'm a big fan)!

bakwoi · 08-10-2004, 08:58 AM

Does anybody know if its possible to hike down the Grand Canyon to the tiver then back up the same day???

**omisan** · 08-10-2004, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Does anybody know if its possible to hike down the Grand Canyon to the tiver then back up the same day???

Although I've heard a few people brag about doing it (and I have a hard time believing them), it's not recommended, either by the park authorities, nor by experienced hikers. I'm a fairly seasoned hiker, and even in the somewhat cooler springtime (i.e. snow at the rim) going down to the just the first waypoint and back was pretty brutal. The downhill can be just as tiring as the up, what with streams of muddy mulepiss, etc. making it a precarious hike down, so it's not like you're saving much energy on the way in

**bellelass** · 08-17-2004, 01:33 PM

I went to the Grand Canyon while visiting my g-parents in Mesa a few summers ago. Pop took us up to GC the long way, showing us reservations and neat things like http://www.nps.gov/moca/ montezuma's castle along the way. They are these cliff dwellings, don't remember how far from GC, but worth visiting. Go with a guide, they tell you all about it, and the guided walks leave every half hour or something... Rather fascinating. And HOT.

At GC, we wandered around and tried to evade crowds and took tons of photos. My grandfather gave us a running commentary, but in the absence of a loquatious, brilliant old man (how I love him!

), either read up or go along with a guide, at least for a little while... I'm one of those who likes to know the stories behind the sites, lore and whatnot.. If you aren't then skip it I guess.
Didn't hike down to the bottom, just a little for fun with my cousins.. It was hot as hell in July (duh

). It snows up there, quite a bit I understand. But november should be quite lovely... If you can, look around on the Indian reservations, they sell awesome jewelry and so forth, and are interesting to talk to as well. I believe there is a large Navaho res in N. Az...

**tumblezweedz** · 08-25-2004, 12:02 PM

Bryce Canyon is gorgeous, and more accessible (physically and intellectually) than GC, which I liked but it's so amazing I couldn't really take it in. We went in Oct, and camped - woke to a good inch of frost on the tent and everywhere, so be prepared for the cold! It warmed up and was beautiful for hiking later, it was just really hard to crawl out of the sleeping bags in the morning!

**omisan** · 08-25-2004, 01:26 PM

Here are some of my favorite pics from the area...

**TheJake** · 08-25-2004, 07:09 PM

NICE PICS! very nice omi... i would just like to point out that phoenix does NOT look anything like this..