Arizona Archives - Just Ahead

Just Ahead’s Grand Canyon Trip Planner

June 24, 2019 Bob Howells

Welcome to Just Ahead’s Grand Canyon Trip Planner—our guide to what you need to know to plan your trip to Grand Canyon National Park. Click here to see the complete series—and be sure to download our Just Ahead smartphone audio tour of Grand Canyon before you leave. We’ll steer you to and through the park and point out its inspiring viewpoints and scenic wonders—plus we share entertaining and educational stories all along the way. It’s like having a friendly tour guide along for the ride.

The number one thing to bear in mind when you’re planning a trip to Arizona’s Grand Canyon is the fact that the magnificent gorge has two rims. The South Rim is more developed—more camping, more lodging, and more people. It’s also closer to good-sized towns such as Flagstaff and Williams. The North Rim is more remote, less developed, and far less crowded. But it’s also a 200-mile-plus drive from the South Rim, and it’s far from developed cities.

Grand Canyon from the Rim Trail. NPS Photo by W. Tyson Joye

What Are the Best Sights to See in Grand Canyon?

June 19, 2019 Alan Rider

This post is part of Just Ahead’s Grand Canyon Trip Planner—our guide to what you need to know to plan your trip to Grand Canyon National Park. Click here to see the complete series, and be sure to download our Just Ahead smartphone audio tour of Grand Canyon before you head to the park.

During the many days of field research we put into creating our Just Ahead guide to Grand Canyon National Park, we came to acquire some definite favorite places in the park, and we discovered a few overlooked gems along the way. Here’s our personal guide to the best things to do at the Grand Canyon.

The Don’t-Miss Things to Do in Grand Canyon

Drive Desert View Drive
Desert View Drive is the one rim road that you can drive year-round. It links superb viewpoints such as Lipan Point and Navajo Point with man-made fascinations such as the 12th-century Tusayan Ruins and the 20th-century marvel, Desert View Watchtower—the seven-story stone edifice designed by fabled architect Mary Jane Colter. It’s a great drive, and Just Ahead will guide you every step of the way.

Best Sights in Grand Canyon: night sky and Desert Watchtower

The night sky and Desert Watchtower: two of our favorite Grand Canyon sights. (NPS photo)

Walk the Rim Trail
When you want to stretch your legs, the two words you’ll want to remember are “Rim Trail.” Extending roughly 13 miles from the South Kaibab trailhead in the east to Hermits Rest in the west, this walkway is mostly flat and paved. But if you get tired of hoofing it, you’re never far from one of the stops for Grand Canyon National Park’s free shuttle buses.

Catch Sunrise at Hopi Point
While the Grand Canyon is a spectacular sight any time of day, sunrise bathes the canyon walls in a cool light that brings out the greens of the piñon pine and juniper trees just below the canyon rim, along with blue shadows that add a distinct sense of depth to the scene. Our favorite spot for sunrise in Grand Canyon is Hopi Point, which is on Hermit Road and the Rim Trail.

Catch Sunset at Navajo Point
Sunset brings a warmer lighting palette that amplifies the reds and oranges in the canyon walls and rims the clouds overhead in a golden glow laced with the pinks and purples of twilight. Our favorite spot for sunset in Grand Canyon is Navajo Point on Desert View Road—it’s the highest overlook in the park (7,500 feet) and often less crowded than other viewpoints.

Grand Canyon sunsets are awe-inspiring. (NPS Photo)

Where Should I Stay in Grand Canyon?

June 17, 2019 Alan Rider

When it comes to lodging in Grand Canyon National Park, you have superb options. Every lodge in Grand Canyon has the rustic feel you’d expect in a place like this. Many are historic, including the imposing El Tovar Hotel, which is older than the park itself. Then there’s Bright Angel Lodge, with its stacked-stone fireplace that matches the arrangement of the rock layers in the canyon itself. Even visitors who aren’t staying in a Grand Canyon lodge make a pilgrimage to these historic inns.

Grand Canyon Lodges—South Rim

As you might expect, the easily accessible South Rim offers the greatest number of lodging options for your Grand Canyon visit. Here’s a rundown:

El Tovar Hotel
If it’s classy digs you’re after, you’ll want to check into the stately 78-room El Tovar, just a few steps from the Grand Canyon rim. With its gourmet Dining Room and ideal location, this architectural gem offers an experience that’s top-drawer from beginning to end. For more information on the El Tovar Hotel, click here.

Bright Angel Lodge
Bright Angel Lodge’s 87 rooms and cabins are scattered around a central lodge building designed by renowned Grand Canyon architect Mary Colter in 1935. From a purely practical perspective, its location near the Bright Angel trailhead also makes it a great place for hikers who want to get an early start. Some of its rooms are genuine bargains. Plus it’s a registered national historic landmark, and its Buckey O’Neill Cabin is the most coveted lodging in Grand Canyon. For more information on Bright Angel Lodge, click here.

Where to Stay in Grand Canyon National Park: Bright Angel Lodge.

One of the historic cabins at Grand Canyon’s Bright Angel Lodge.

Where Should I Camp in Grand Canyon?

June 16, 2019 Alan Rider

It’s hard to top the thrill of camping out in Grand Canyon National Park, one of the world’s most magnificent settings. When the breeze comes up, carrying the aromatic scent of piñon and cedar, and you gaze up at a stunning canopy of stars, you’ll be glad you opted for one of the park’s campgrounds, or one of the nearby camping options. Bear in mind that Grand Canyon National Park has two rims: the more developed South Rim, open year-round, and the more remote, less developed North Rim, open May 15 to October 15. Here’s where to find the best Grand Canyon camping at and near both rims.

Grand Canyon South Rim Campgrounds

If you covet being in the thick of things in Grand Canyon Village near the visitor center, lodges, and general store, opt for one of these two:

Mather Campground: Located just inside the park’s South Entrance, this 300-plus-site campground has its own stop on the park’s free shuttle bus route. Mather Campground can accommodate RVs up to 30 feet in length, but doesn’t offer hookups. Open year-round, accepts reservations up to six months in advance.

Mather Campground - No hook-ups - 30-foot trailer or RV maximum Open year-round. Operated by the National Park Service and located in Grand Canyon Village, this campground offers tent and RV camping. Accessible campsites and restrooms are available. Pets are allowed, but must be leashed at all times, and may not be left unattended. Wood and charcoal fires permitted in provided campsite grills only. No gathering of down wood, wood may be purchased at the general store. Laundry and showers located near the campground for a fee. Reservations may be made through the National Recreation Reservation Service by calling 1-877-444-6777 or online at the http://www.recreation.gov/ Reservations are strongly recommended from March 1 through mid-November. Golden Age or Access passport holders pay only Ω price year round (passport number is needed when making reservation and passport holder must be camping at the site). Fees are $18 per site per night. A maximum of two vehicles, six people, three tents are allowed per site. (A vehicle that is towing a trailer, pop-up, tent trailer, fifth wheel, or a motor home pulling a vehicle is considered two vehicles.) Group sites are also available, $50/night, maximum of 50 people and 3 vehicles per group site. Pets are NOT allowed below the canyon rim at any time. Pets are NOT permitted on the shuttle buses. Kennels are available in the South Rim Village. During the winter, from mid-November through February 28 reservations are not available at Mather Campground and family campsites are $15 per site per night, and group campsites are $30. This is on a first-come first-served basis. There is a self-pay machine at the campground office.

Mather Campground, South Rim. NPS photo.

Visit Petrified Forest National Park With Just Ahead

February 3, 2016 Bob Howells

Old-Fashioned Travel the New-Fashioned Way

Petrified Forest National Park in northern Arizona is a compact park that you could drive through, if you wanted to, in less than an hour. But with Just Ahead’s audio tour of the park loaded into your smartphone, you’ll want to spend at least half a day there, soaking in the beauty and fascinating stories of this small but amazing desert park.

NPS Photo

It’s a perfect setting for the Just Ahead formula. Sights you’d otherwise whiz by suddenly spring to life when our narration points them out, explains what you’re seeing, and urges you to hop out of the car and have a closer look.

In the course of Just Ahead’s tour of Petrified Forest National Park, you’ll learn how trees become petrified, and where to see the most stunning examples of petrified wood. You’ll explore archeological treasures such as Agate House—a building nearly 1,000 years old made entirely of petrified wood. We’ll steer you to short hikes where you can see weird badlands and odd stone formations that look like giant teepees.

Just Ahead Joins Pure Adventures for Road Trips in the American West

November 10, 2015 Bob Howells

Just Ahead is delighted to announce an exciting partnership with Pure Adventures, a company that sets up self-guided tours in destinations all over the world.

Just Ahead audio guides will be featured on the company’s Passport to the American West trips—self-guided drive-bike and drive-hike tours that visit spectacular western national parks. Pure Adventures travelers will enjoy Just Ahead narrated tours of such parks as Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce, Death Valley, and Yosemite, as well as our Interstate 15 guide (Los Angeles to Utah via Las Vegas and Hoover Dam).

Just Ahead and Pure Adventures are a perfect match. Both companies help adventurous travelers get the most enjoyment and value possible from road trips in stunning locations.

The press release below has all the details.

For Immediate Release

Pure Adventures Announces Passport to the US West: Self-Guided Drive and Hike Vacations

Legendary Highways, Distinctive Lodgings, and Iconic National Parks Highlight Pre-Designed Itineraries

SCOTTSDALE, AZ, Nov. 11, 2015 – Pioneers of self-guided cycling vacations, Pure Adventures (http://pure-adventures.com/), announces a new high-end offering, Passport to the American West, one or two-week, self-drive and hike vacations focused on the 2016 Centennial Celebration of the US National Park Service.

These vacations that include a National Park pass, award-winning audio tour guides of visited parks, premier accommodation selections, a detailed road book and suggestions on the best hikes can also be customized to a client’s budget and interests.

With suggested travel during the best times to see the West, Pure Adventures recommends warm season tours from March through November. The deserts are very hot in high summer, but the mountains and canyons are cool. Peak visitors are expected in June-September. Ideal travel months are April, May, June and October.

Driving to Las Vegas? Check Out Just Ahead’s New Interstate 15 Audio Guide

July 24, 2015 Bob Howells

Our newest smartphone audio guide is also our most unique tour—it’s a guide to Interstate 15 from Los Angeles to St. George, Utah, by way of Las Vegas and Hoover Dam.

In other words, Just Ahead is now developing audio tours of great American roadways to go with our highly popular national park tours. Of course, in the case of Interstate 15, the route happens to link up with a couple of Just Ahead’s terrific national park tours—Death Valley and Zion—which in turn lead neatly into Just Ahead’s many other California and Utah national park guides.

For many travelers, I-15 is known simply as “the way to Vegas,” and if that’s your destination, fine. You’ll learn a great deal on the way. As you cruise along the interstate, we spin yarns about the old Spanish history of the route…its bizarre geographical highlights, including cinder cones and the San Andreas Fault…and the plant life and wildlife that flourish just outside your windows, from Joshua trees to creosote to rattlesnakes.

Naturally, this being the way to Vegas, we cover the quirky history of that one-of-a-kind city.

Grand Canyon National Park Is Just Ahead’s Newest Guide

March 18, 2015 Bob Howells

We’re thrilled to announce the release of our newest guide: Grand Canyon National Park.

Grand Canyon National Park visitors can now enjoy a hands-free, narrated audio tour of America’s most iconic geological marvel. Whether you’re driving along the rim, approaching it from any direction, or exploring any of the side trips we recommend, Just Ahead relates stories about the magnificent scenery you see as it rolls by outside your car window.

NPS photo by Michael Quinn

What's Ahead? The Just Ahead Blog

The Don’t-Miss Things to Do in Grand Canyon

Grand Canyon Lodges—South Rim

Grand Canyon South Rim Campgrounds