On the road to Tusayan & the Canyon
After 2.5 great days in Tucson, we set the GPS for for Tusayan, Arizona, the town just below the entrance of the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. The 5-hour, 333-mile route cuts right through Phoenix and several smaller towns including Flagstaff, where we made a pre-planned lunch pit stop at Culver’s. From there, we took a small detour off Interstate 40 to hit a portion of Historical Route 66. Portions of this stretch aren’t paved and our sedan was not the right rental car for the job but we nonetheless made it to our Route 66 destination: Parks in the Pines General Store
This little roadside shop is a true gem of an experience in the middle of nowhere. There are limited offerings in the shop but it makes up for in character, starting with the stove in the middle of the room and the old non-functional gas pump out front. Great and friendly service.
Grand Canyon Visitor Center & iMax in Tusayan, AZ
Weirdly, as it turns out, the Tusayan Visitor Center is vastly better than the one actually in Grand Canyon National Park. There are plenty of souvenirs, fast food options, and a neat iMax theater is here. The iMax holds nearly 500 people and never sells out according to the clerk. So, it is safe to show up and buy tickets any time generally (look them up ahead of time for good measure). The film is 37 minutes and I would recommend it. While it is not the greatest film, you will learn some history and get some cool views of the Canyon. It is a great primer if the opportunity presents itself. We saw the last showing of the night at 8:30pm on the evening before heading into the Canyon.
Visiting THE CANYON
At this point, we couldn’t wait to try to get a look at the Canyon. Even though it was 9:30pm and dark, we decided to venture into the park. I have never been a place so dark in my life. We were able to navigate into the main parking lot, get a quick view of vast darkness at the Mather Point overlook, and then attempt to find our way out of the park in the car through the vast darkness. It is difficult to convey, as the driver of the car, how little confidence I had in seeing 6 feet in front of me let alone the way out. Thankfully, we eventually figured it out and made it back to the Red Feather Inn in Tusayan.
The following morning, a cold Wednesday in mid-March, we stared over and rolled up to the South Rim entrance to the Grand Canyon and the listed wait to enter the park was 1 hour and 45 minutes. Quite a crowd! It’s worth noting that the North Rim Visitor Center this time of year is closed.
Our first stop was the park’s visitor center. We were a bit surprised to find only a small amount of information about the canyon and recommended spots to check out — it was a good thing we did the iMax video in the Tusayan Grand Canyon visitor center. The gift shop, however, did not disappoint and fortunately I had done research on a plan of attack in advance.
Mather Point
From the visitor center, you are near the famous Bright Angel trail into the Canyon (which I’d love to do someday) and it’s also a 5 minute walk to one of the most popular lookout points and an obvious first stop: Mather Point.
I suspect this is many people’s first time (and sometimes only time) setting their eyes on the Canyon, and it certainly was for us. Mather Point doesn’t disappoint with its panoramic view and puts some immediate perspective on what the Grand Canyon experience holds.
The immediate takeaway is the size of the canyon and how difficult it is to fathom what you are seeing. The overwhelming size feels impossible to grasp.
After a few minutes of bewilderment taking in the view and wandering the Rim Trail for a couple minutes, we head to to the car to carry on to check out overlooks via Desert View Drive beginning with our farthest destination, the Desert View Watchtower.
Desert View Watchtower
The Desert View Watchtower was our furthest and first stop after the South Rim Visitor Center. This stop is a popular one because the Watchtower is photogenic and gives an elevated view of the canyon.
They only let a certain number of people into the tower at a time and we instead focused on taking in the views from the base of the tower and checking out the Tower’s gift shop, the nearby Trading Post as well as the Desert View Marketplace.
Moran Point, Duck on a Rock
Duck on the Rock may be the most fun overlook point of the South Rim. This outlook looks directly at a rock formation resembling a duck.
I was really hoping to get a good vantage of the amazingly pointy formation and this stop provided it!
Grand Canyon Village Market & Deli
I love a market, general store or trading post in the middle of nature! And wow, this one really has it all! Grocery store meets camp store meets deli!
Contrary to the lackluster cell service, I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of food and supplies available through the south rim of the park.
Yavapai Tavern
During my research, the Yuvapai Tavern caught my attention as a good food option after exploring Desert View Drive. It provided us weary travelers with the late lunch and early dinner we needed before hitting the road and heading to Phoenix. While the food was not particularly notable, I liked the atmosphere of this spot and would happily go back if the opportunity presents itself.
Final thoughts on the Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon is really remarkable — from any vantage, it fills the entire range of what your eyes can see and more than your brain can fully process. I need to hike down into it some day — it’s possible to hike rim to rim in a day or two. While intense, that may be the only way to feel what the Canyon truly is, at least a little more. I feel like that’s the only way to help grasp the scope. I thought it would take many more years before I checked out the Canyon and I’m excited I already had this chance.
Next Stop
The next day would bring a full day exploring Sedona’s amazing rock formations + a couple amazing stops around town!