south rim vs. north rim - advise please

[wade]

Planning a trip July 16-26. Flying into San Diego (visiting family for 2 days) and driving directly to either of the plans below. Any comment / suggestion on the itineraries would be greatly appreciated.

1 - Drive to Grand Canyon (South Rim), Lake Powel, Zion, Bryce, Vegas.

2 - Drive to Bryce/Zion area and visit the North Rim of the canyon - skipping the south rim and L. Powell.

ps. - how long of a drive from Zion/Bryce area to the North Rim of the Canyon?

[wade]

Planning a trip July 16-26. Flying into San Diego (visiting family for 2 days) and driving directly to either of the plans below. Any comment / suggestion on the itineraries would be greatly appreciated.

1 - Drive to Grand Canyon (South Rim), Lake Powel, Zion, Bryce, Vegas.

2 - Drive to Bryce/Zion area and visit the North Rim of the canyon - skipping the south rim and L. Powell.

ps. - how long of a drive from Zion/Bryce area to the North Rim of the Canyon?

[wade]

Planning a trip July 16-26. Flying into San Diego (visiting family for 2 days) and driving directly to either of the plans below. Any comment / suggestion on the itineraries would be greatly appreciated.

1 - Drive to Grand Canyon (South Rim), Lake Powell, Zion, Bryce, Vegas. One big loop.

2 - Drive to Bryce/Zion area and visit the North Rim of the canyon - skipping the south rim and L. Powell and hit Vegas on the way back.

Also two questions on travel time. 1 - how long of a drive from Zion/Bryce area to the North Rim of the Canyon? 2 - how much travel time will the big loop take us.

[Mark Sedenquist]

Your question is actually more complex that you might have envisioned (kinda of like life in general...). The north rim is higher in elevation and set in the middle of a climax evergreen forest. It receives about 75% less visitors, has a great lodge in the style of the last century and is one of our favorite destinations, but vistas are not the sweeping gorge that you may associate as being "The Grand Canyon." The south rim affords those magnificent views and has a few hundred more visitors on any given day. So the question is more suited to what "Grand Canyon experience" are you seeking? If you put "Grand Canyon" into the search function on this page, there are some really good ideas from other roadtrippers.

Travel time? Fastest time Bryce to Zion to North Rim -- it could be done in about 4.5 hours, but if you take the time to actually see some of those first two parks, I would allow two days minimum.

#1 Option is not a loop, but if the loop were San Diego - Blythe (pick-up Oatman and Route 66?) -- Needles -- Kingman -- Flagstaff -- South Rim -- Vermillion Cliffs -- Kaibab -- Bryce -- Zion -- Las Vegas -- San Diego. Eight days is doable, you might even get to pause long enough in a few places to get some R&R.

Go have an adventure!

[imported_Megan]

My husband and I much preferred the south rim of GC, and stayed until nightfall where we laid on the hood of the car and looked at the stars -- magnificent!! Zion is a must. Get there early enough in the day where you can drive through and see all the colors. There are tunnels through mountains without lights and is a bit scary at dusk.

[laydownthelaw]

South Rim plan sounds great.

Good luck and safe driving.


AB

[Canyongirl]

Last May, I hiked from the North Rim to the South Rim (about 23 miles) in a day. I loved the serenity of the North Rim, with its big lodge, little cabins, hiking trails and relatively few tourists. Reservations were a must for dinner at the lodge, but well worth the relaxing meal. On the other hand, the South Rim was a huge disappointment. After hiking for 14 hours (eating only trail mix) we arrived on the South Rim for dinner, only to find it so crowded that none of the restaurants could accomodate us. The only meal to be had was chili in the bar, where they were not equipped to cook (microwave) for 6 hungry people. We were all very unhappy and tired, made even more so to be stuck in the tourist trap of the South Rim, bogged in by hordes of people.

It depends on what you want, but the South Rim is more accessible, and thereby more crowded. If you're gonna take the time to go, I say you hit the North Rim and enjoy the amazing majesty of the canyon in the serenity of nature.

I would chose Editor's #1 Option.

Trust us, it's a great trip!

Utahtea