Grand Canyon National Park February 18 - 22

Updated: Sep 30, 2020

What better park for our tenth visit on our grand National Parks tour than Grand Canyon National Park?!

We were wondering if this park may have been overhyped. Would we find it somewhat boring after all the other spectacular sites we visited? That answer would be a huge nope! We found that this Arizona National Park is, in a word, impressive.

We once again allowed ourselves plenty of time to explore this park.

We slotted five days and four nights into our schedule for the Grand Canyon. One arrival day, three full days to #explore and one departure day. We found this to be a good amount of time for us, but only because the North Rim is closed during the winter, so we only had one half of the park to cover.

Our first full day of exploration we were greeted with a surprise viewing of some wild Elk roaming about. Hello surprise opportunity for some good ole outdoor photography!

After treating the elk like the paparazzi would treat Jennifer Lopez, we took the scenic drive all the way to the West side of the park as far as we could go. That led us past the only train depot that still runs through a National Park to Hermit’s Rest. There’s a little museum store front there that we checked out before hiking around for a bit. Near Hermit's Rest we found a cute picnic area as well as the trail that leads along the entire rim.

From there we started our way back East exploring as we went. We pulled off at the majority of the many viewpoints to get out, see the changing views and take pictures. Finally, we made it back to the start of the scenic drive where we stopped at Verkamp’s museum and visitor center.

There’s a cool story about this building that takes us back in time to 1898.

A man named John George Verkamp moved there from Ohio and pitched a tent from which he sold souvenirs to those traveling by. Eight years later Verkamp constructed a building just 100 feet from the south canyon rim. This same building was sold by the Verkamp family to the #NationalParkService in 2008 and still stands today.

Once we explored all there was to see on the West end of the South Rim we called it a day and headed back to our dispersed campsite in the Kaibab National Forest, just 5 minutes outside of the park’s South Entrance. We love free camping!

The next morning we headed as Far East as we could go inside the park.

Here we found the Desert View Watchtower. This building is #beautiful inside and out. An architect named Mary Colter designed it along with five other buildings in the park.

The Watchtower was built using steel beams and then was covered with rocks from the surrounding area to help it blend in with the natural environment. This was her creative style that is reflected in all her designs. Each of the four floors inside showcased something different, like a little museum, and the views from the highest point of the South Rim on the watchtower roof, spanned as far as the eye could see.

We also learned that this was the site of a horrific plane crash that lead to the start of the FAA. When we were done expanding our knowledge and marveling at the watchtower, we hiked the short trail to and from the Yavapi Geology Museum followed by a trip to the Tusayan Museum. Here we explored some artifacts and ruins and then enjoyed a nice picnic lunch before wrapping it up for the day.

Back to the campsite we went to rest up for our upcoming big adventure.

What big adventure you ask? This was the day we were all most excited about. We explored the entire South Rim of the Grand Canyon from above and now it was time to take the plunge INSIDE.

That’s right, we were hiking down to get a view from the belly of the beast.

We aren’t crazy enough to attempt the very dangerous multi-day trip all the way down to the river and back with three young kiddos, but we sure did get a good feel for a real canyon hike.

Following the South Kaibab Trail we entered the canyon. This is one of the very few canyon trails that follows ridge lines instead of side canyons so the views are unobstructed and just outstanding. The first six or so switchback passes down were pretty icy, but after that we were clear of any winter elements.

We enjoyed the excuse to take a break while we pulled over to allow for a parade of mules to pass by. Then, just under a mile down we made it to “Ooh Aah” point. Another quick stop here for pictures and removing a layer of clothing and we were back on our way continuing down the canyon.

Two hours of hiking down a 1,120 foot elevation change brought us to Cedar Ridge, our stoping point.

It was time for a rest break and some lunch. We plopped down on a few rocks, but were quickly harassed by a couple of squirrels so we had to relocate to a nearby log. Shortly after, a pack of mule came up the canyon and were also stopping for a rest. Turns out our new lunch spot was where they tie up so it was time to move again. We quickly finished our lunch and started checking out the views around us. Off the beaten path we saw a ledge that we just had to check out. It looked like the perfect photo op so out we went.

This could very well be the most #amazing place that I have stood in my adult lifetime.

We stayed put for a bit soaking it all in, but after a while it was time to pack it up and head back up the canyon. I was secretly dreading the hike up because all the way down I was taking note on how steep it was and how straight down it was. The trek back up was obviously going to be a long steep climb. It turns out that the hike up, while difficult, was quite enjoyable. With the exception of the little one, who has proven to us on this trip that she is in fact a #boss, we were all huffing and puffing by the time we finished the first pass.

Reaching the top brought us a tremendous sense of accomplishment and a five year old that was still not winded. She graciously offered to carry the kids shared backpack on the final stretch of the hike to the parking area. During the walk back we were rewarded with a viewing of some deer in the woods.

After a five hour journey we were back to the car and called it a wrap on our Grand Canyon #HikingAdventures.