Christmas 2 day trip

Hi everyone I wonder if you would have any recommendations for me.

I'm travelling with husband and 2 teenage daughters to Las Vegas for 5 days over Christmas and we are keen to get out into the wild and see the Grand Canyon. We arrive on the 22nd and plan to pick up an RV on the 23rd. We'd like to spend Christmas morning in the Canyon and need to be back in Vegas by 11am on December 26th. I'd also fancy seeing the Hoover Dam on the way back. Do you have any top tips, must sees or recommended parks on this route for me? Have never been to this part of America before so any advice most gratefully received.

Thank you

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

I think you can have a fantastic trip in front of you, but I will say, between the relatively short timeframe and the time of year you'll be traveling, I would strongly advise against using an RV for this trip. The Grand Canyon is at an elevation of about 7,000 feet, and your overnight temperatures are going to be well below freezing. Because of that, the RV will have be winterized and you won't be able to use any water features. RVs are also not well insuated, so it's going to be difficult to keep the inside of the RV warm enough to be comfortable overnight. Throw in the fact that it's going to take you longer to get on the road in an RV, and will be more difficult to handle if you see snow and or ice, and doing this trip by car and hotels just seems like a much, much better option.

If you stick with the RV, I'd say you're pretty much limited to seeing the Canyon and some of the other things right in that immediate area. By the time you pick up the RV on the 23rd and get on the road, you wouldn't be able to get to the Canyon until after dark (these are also the shortest days of the year). You could spend the 24th exploring the Canyon, and wake up there on the 25th, but if you have to be back on the morning of the 26th, you really need to start making your way back towards Vegas on Christmas day.

There are several other parks around the Flagstaff and Sedona areas you might look at exploring. You could also consider a loop, where you head up past Valley of Fire SP, towards Zion NP in Utah, and then back down to the Grand Canyon South Rim, and back via the Hoover Dam. However, I don't think that loop would work if you're in a more time-consuming RV.

As much as I love RV's, I'm going to agree with Michael and say that this is a trip for a car and a motel. I have the experience of being in a trailer up there at 7000 ft in mid-winter, and NO, you can't use any of the facilities that make the RV lifestyle: no sink, no shower, no bathroom. Furnaces in the rental-type RV units are not very productive, probably for the very reason that Michael mentioned: insulation.



Donna