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Gay Horney
Feb 10, 2013

by Reene
I'm trying to plan a road trip from Salt Lake to the Grand Canyon. I've heard a little bit about the differences between the North Rim and the South Rim. Obviously the North side will be significantly easier to get to but will I feel like I haven't gotten the whole Grand Canyon experience if I don't see the South Rim? I would rather avoid the extra 4 hours of travel time if it's not that big of a difference. We'll have about a day and a half of play time and will be camping, hiking, etc. The site says it's about 5 hours by car between the north rim campground and the south rim campground.

Beyond that are there any hidden gems or anything cool about the Grand Canyon we should know? Has anyone else done this? How was your trip, what would you change or do differently, etc.?

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Xaris
Jul 25, 2006

Lucky there's a family guy
Lucky there's a man who positively can do
All the things that make us
Laugh and cry
How long are you going to be gone for?

Honestly, I think it's a MUST that you should stop by Zion National Park on the way from SLC to the Grand Canyon. It's easily one of my all-time favorite National Parks. But it's probably a 2-3 day stop ideally at the minimum. You should probably also hit up Bryce Canyon for less than a day and then head down to it if time permits.

I don't remember much from the South Rim but I really feel you'll get about everything from just going to the North Rim. It's a pretty nice area, but going around and seeing from the other side isn't going to improve the experience imo.

LogisticEarth
Mar 28, 2004

Someone once told me, "Time is a flat circle".
The North Rim is both less crowded and more interesting, in my opinion. I've been there twice and you will totally get the whole experience.

The things that makes the South Rim different from the North are: 1) Steeper drop from the rim to the Colorado River; 2) The South Rim is at a slightly lower elevation than the North, so the canyon seems slightly larger, but at the same time the North feels a bit "deeper"; and 3) The North Rim is heavily forested.

Point 1 doesn't really make the canyon more or less impressive, the scale is so large you're not going to be paying attention to the slope of the sides. Point 3 is actually a huge plus for the North Rim in my opinion. It's a bit cooler, and the variety in the landscape is really enjoyable.

The only real downside of the North is that it's closed during the winter.

kedo
Nov 27, 2007

LogisticEarth posted:

The North Rim is both less crowded and more interesting, in my opinion.

Agreed. The crowds are pretty ridiculous on the South Rim, especially if you stop at any of the popular overlooks. The North Rim is just as beautiful without so many jackasses wandering around. There are a few attractions you won't see (such as the watchtower), but honestly you're there to see the canyon.

In addition to Zion, Bryce Canyon is one of the most beautiful places in the southwest and also on the way from SLC.

LogisticEarth
Mar 28, 2004

Someone once told me, "Time is a flat circle".
Bryce is nice (:haw:) but it has really, really gotten swamped with crowds. I was there in the early 90's as a kid, and it was a totally different experience. Having been back a few times since then, I'm always disappointed at the size of the crowds. Too close to Vegas for it's own good.

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Xaris
Jul 25, 2006

Lucky there's a family guy
Lucky there's a man who positively can do
All the things that make us
Laugh and cry

LogisticEarth posted:

Bryce is nice (:haw:) but it has really, really gotten swamped with crowds. I was there in the early 90's as a kid, and it was a totally different experience. Having been back a few times since then, I'm always disappointed at the size of the crowds. Too close to Vegas for it's own good.
That's kinda weird, I've been to Bryce twice (last time was... 6 years ago?) and it wasn't too bad. It's only really a day trip at most too.

But you can really say that about almost all of the UT/NZ/AZ/(CO) parks and monuments. I used to go to Zion a ton in the early 90s and it was great and felt very desert+forest wildernessy with a lot of mystique, and it's still amazing, but like a lot of those areas, they lose some of the awe inspiring lonesomeness now that they've been built up to accommodate shitload of people with signs/big rear end parking lots/cafes/bus stops/a spa/whatever. There's something that makes them very memorable when there's almost no one and very little infrastructure around to guide you except for a dingy visitor center.

I think it's time to plan another SW trip again myself.

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