THE THOMS SUNDAY TRAVEL SECTION.
The Grand Canyon National Park covers more than 1900 square miles in northwest Arizona.
There are two significant viewpoints you can reach by car. To the south is the Grand Canyon Village, and on the north, Grand Canyon North Rim Visitor Center. From here, there are several viewing points you can reach by car. The north rim has approximately 22 miles of paved road between the Visitor Center and Cape Royal Lookout. The rest of the North Rim is on foot.
The South Rim has Desert View Drive (Highway 64). It stretches 25 miles from the village to Desert View Point, with several more canyon viewpoints. All of the North Rim closes in the winter.
Just past Desert View is the park’s east entrance. It connects, via Highway 64, to Highway 89, approximately 30 miles to the east. This exit can save you 70 miles between Page Arizona and the park’s south entrance.
Please note that in wintertime, snow may close parts of Desert View Road. There is no notice at the turnoff from Highway 89 to Highway 64 of the road’s closure.
On my last visit, I did not know this until I reached the park entrance. The entrance is 30 miles from Highway 89. Each-way.
A sign would be more guest-friendly than the ranger’s “You should have known” look at the window.
I have never sounded more like my father as I did on those 30 miles back to Highway 89.
The Canyon’s South Rim.
The South Rim can handle mobs thanks to the Santa Fe Pacific Railroad and the Grand Canyon Railroad.
Well, as much as you can handle mobs. The wait at the South Rim entrances can be up to two hours in the summer.
It will take you over four hours to drive from Las Vegas to the South Rim (Grand Canyon Village) Visitor’s Center.
South Rim Access.
Unlike the North Rim, the South Rim still has a train service.
In the late 1800s, there were tracks reaching mines in the area, but they were hardly for sightseeing.
The Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway would complete the first track from Williams, Arizona, to the rim in 1901. A 65-mile train trip is an excellent option to the eight-hour one-way stagecoach ride from Flagstaff. There were no paved highways to the canyon in those days.
The railroad turns the area into a great destination.
They hire Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter to design many of their buildings. Her first assignment is to create the flagship El Tovar Hotel.
She applies her Pueblo Indian architecture style to the Hopi House, Bright Angel Lodge, Lookout Studio, and more. Today, they are all landmarks on the South Rim.
They hire the Fred Harvey Company to manage their hotels and restaurants at the canyon. The Harvey company also operates the hotel and restaurant at Williams, where you board the train to the canyon.
The train will survive until 1968, when interstate highways and cars finally put an end to rail travel.
Luckily, Max and Thelma Biegert think the train is an integral part of the canyon’s history. So they invest in replacing missing tracks and restoring the stations and trains. Eighty-eight years to the day that the first passenger train reached the Grand Canyon, their “new” train departs Williams. Today, you can make a day trip or overnight adventure on the train.
Although you can no longer overnight in the original Fray Marcus (Harvey) Hotel in the depot, the building is open.
A newer hotel (1995) is within walking distance of the depot and pays tribute to the train’s history.
Williams Arizona.
Williams is a page out of the early train and early road trip history book.
Beginning as a stop on the A.T.& S.F. railroad, it is the location of one of the first Harvey House properties.
Luckily, the station is one of only a handful of the Harvey House structures still standing.
Another wave of travelers hit Williams post-WWII. It is along the iconic Route 66. The town, luckily, still preserves some of the train and Route 66 history. Williams is not a town to drive through.
Unfortunately, Amtrak’s Southwest Chief does not stop in Williams for the authentic 1900s experience.
However, they offer a bus transfer from the train station in Flagstaff less than an hour to the east. The Southwest Chief runs from Chicago to Los Angeles, taking approximately 43 hours. It is one of the last great train rides in the United States.
Route 66 and the South Rim.
Ready for a road trip? Interstate 40 follows, and in some places is on top of, the old Route 66. Starting as one of the original highways in the U.S., it dates back to 1926.
The original route began in Chicago, Illinois, and ended in Santa Monica, California, 2,448 miles west. It has been the subject of a hit song, 1960s television show, and appears in Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath.
If you do not have the time or interest to retrace the entire route, make a day of it.
On your way to or from the South Rim, there are several opportunities to get your kicks on Route 66.
Besides Williams, there are still a few towns along Route 66 that retain some treasures.
Ash Fork, Arizona.
The town, dating from circa 1882, was one of many springing up along the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad. It would become part of the Santa Fe Pacific Railroad in 1897.
The water tower near the railroad track still sports the Santa Fe logo. A drive down Lewis Avenue will give you a glimpse back into 1950s Arizona.
Unfortunately, most of the mom and pops have “for sale” signs in the window.
Seligman Arizona.
Back out on I-40 west, in less than 30 minutes, you are at exit 140 for Seligman. But I suggest you take exit 139 Crookston Road just west of Ash Fork and turn right. Here there are about 20 miles of Route 66 stretching to Seligman. Is it scenic? Not really. However, except for occasional glimpses of the interstate, you can experience 1950s-60s Arizona.
Seligman celebrates its Route 66 culture.
With the opening of I-40 through this corner of Arizona in 1978, tourism in many towns died overnight.
So a group of shop owners in northwest Arizona came together to form the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona. The association now has members from Flagstaff to Topock near the California state line. But it began in Seligman, “The Birthplace of Historic Route 66”.
Here you can find Burma Shave and Texaco, and Phillips 66 signs from when filling stations had attendants. Expect tour buses in front of the Route 66 gift shop, and Triple AAA can still recommend original motels. Many of them have amenities not found in the 1950s, air conditioning, and WIFi.
Trains and the South Rim.
Kingman Arizona.
Near Kingman, I-40 and Route 66 turn south towards Lake Havasu before heading west into California. Highway 93 heads north to Las Vegas, just under two hours away.
People make the turn but miss Kingman. If you are a fan of Route 66 or the Santa Fe railroad, that would be a mistake.
Arizona Route 66 Museum.
This museum is in the Powerhouse Visitor Center, in the 1907 Desert Power & Water Co. Electric Power Plant. The building alone is pretty interesting. However, a visitor’s center and museum are extra whip cream.
Mohave Museum of History and Arts.
This non-profit museum centers on the presentation of northwest Arizona’s history and arts. There is also a small collection of actor Andy Devine’s memorabilia. The comic western star grew up in Kingsman. Each year they have a rodeo and festival in September to honor him. The museum is a block west of the visitor center.
Kingman Railroad Museum.
For train enthusiasts, this museum is in the original Santa Fe train depot. It is also the current Amtrak station, although the Southwest Cheif trains stop very late at night. Inside are several model railroad layouts and interesting train artifacts.
Nearby is Locomotive Park at First and Andy Devine Avenue. Here you can see the A.T. & S.F. steam engine #3759. The 1927 locomotive would rack up over 2.5 million miles for the railroad before retiring.
If trains or Route 66 do not thrill you, Kingsman has a brewery, distillery, and two wineries nearby.
Page Arizona.
This town is two and a half hours (if the east gate is open) from the Grand Canyon Village. It is a great base for numerous nearby natural sites.
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.
Covering more than one million square acres, the area has numerous trails to hike and awesome natural sites. A few of these include:
Glen Canyon Dam.
Just northwest of town is this immense dam on the Colorado River. It creates Lake Powell that stretches north into Utah. Boat trips into its many canyons can be breathtaking.
Horseshoe Bend.
What some people call the East Rim of the Grand Canyon, it is worth seeing. South from the dam, the Colorado River makes this sweeping horseshoe-shaped canyon. It is beautiful any time in the day. However, as the lookout is on the east side, sunsets can be spectacular. There is a good 20+minute walk including climbing and uneven terrain from the closest parking area.
Antelope Canyon.
This slot canyon is on Navajo land east of town. The canyon has two separate sections, Upper Antelope and Lower Antelope Canyon. It is not as well-known as other canyons in the area. Possibly because it was not open to the public until 1997. As it is private Navajo land, you must tour through one of their touring companies.
The Upper Canyon does not require any climbing and has many areas where the sun shines in during the summer. The Lower Canyon is longer and more narrow in some places than the Upper. It also requires climbing several sets of steep metal steps to access. It is more popular with photographers.
From Page, you are less than 90 minutes from Kanab Utah, gateway to the Canyon’s North Rim.
South Rim Summary.
Absolutely, see the Grand Canyon from the South Rim. But give it, and the surrounding area the time it requires and deserves.
The Grand Canyon is not a day trip, it is a destination. And there are many things to see and do along the way.
On my last trip, I began in Las Vegas, with overnights in Kanab, Page, and the Grand Canyon Village. This was possible because it was the offseason and crowds were sparse.
It was a great trip, but still a little too fast-paced. Next time, I would tack on two additional days.
I would not try it in the summer in less than seven days.
The trip around the canyon is more than 700 miles. From Las Vegas to the village on the South Rim is almost 300 miles each way. This is not a day trip, it is not a car race.
See the Grand Canyon, but experience the South Rim area as well.
Read more about Las Vegas.
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“See the World” Continued on Page T3. “Taste the World” Continued on T11.