Tag Archives | Grand Canyon National Park

Leave Las Vegas!

Lower Ribbon Falls off the North Kaibab Trail ...

Image via Wikipedia

 

From Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon An increasingly popular road trip with couple travelers is the trek from Las Vegas to the Mecca of road trip destinations, the Grand Canyon. There is a reason why driving to the Grand Canyon can be compared to a religious pilgrimage. It might be the only place on Earth, due to its vastness and unadulterated glimpse into our world’s geological history, that will emotionally move every person who visits it and force them to contemplate the planet and their place in it, or at the very least let out a long, but meaningful “Whoa!” There is something poetic about starting off at the home of cirque du soleil, Caesars Palace and the Mandalay Bay on the strip, whose lights can be seen at night for miles, and heading to the Grand Canyon, whose natural wonder can be seen from space.

 

With Las Vegas in your rear view and the man-made city fading in the distance, there are many smaller natural wonders to see before reaching the Canyon. The roads to the Canyon are not entirely paved which makes taking a rental car a smart idea and the trip can be done in one day but if you want to spend time at the sights along the way, it’s ideally a multi-day trip. If you haven’t seen the Hoover Dam before then you should drive up to it and appreciate man’s ingenuity and the power it provides as it cuts across the mighty Colorado River. Lake Meade is a relaxing place to visit as the peaceful lake will feel like an oasis to break up the ride through the desert roads up north to the Grand Canyon. Lake Meade is a byproduct of the Hoover Dam built in the 1930s, but the Grand Canyon was created through millions of years of geologic erosion.

 

The Valley of Fire State Park is a good place to stop on I-15 after your first 50 miles to check out the beautiful red rock sandstone formations and petrified wood that give the Mojave Desert its unique look. There are people who come here to camp and hike and it is definitely offers great sites for photo opportunities.

 

Once you reach Grand Canyon National Park and the South Rim you’ll be hitting the vantage points as you first enter the South Rim, which is the area that gets the biggest group of tourists. Overlooks at Grand Canyon Village, Hermits Rest Road and Desert View Drive offer you spectacular views of the massive nature of the Canyon. The best way to really appreciate the Grand Canyon is to peer up from it and gaze it at while taking a walk down one of the canyon’s trails. Seeing the canyon from below the rim makes the geological marvel seem more real as if you aren’t looking out at a giant postcard anymore but a real, living environment with amazing wildlife. The Tonto Trail might provide the most dramatic views of the canyon and more solitude than other trails. The Tonto Trail probably is the best choice for the serious hiker and at the section that links it with the Kaibab and Bright Angel Trails is a great introduction to the unique beauty of the inner canyon’s unique character.

A visit to the Grand Canyon will open your eyes wide to our ever-changing planet and the immense beauty of a canyon formed over time. The next time you are planning a road trip to the Grand Canyon and need a rental car, visit www.rentacarnow.com. They offer the cheapest car rental prices around on car rentals from Enterprise, Dollar, Thrifty and more.