One Day in Grand Canyon National Park

It’s no secret that the Grand Canyon is truly mesmerizing. It’s one of the most famous parks in the U.S.; it’s rich in geographic history, and bursts with such an intricate and colorful landscape. Everything looked straight from out of a painting! One of our first glimpses of the Canyon was truly jaw dropping.

We unfortunately encountered some really windy weather on our second day, so our weekend trip was cut short. We loved all the views we were able to see nonetheless. We were just getting back into hiking again after having Nolan, so we tried to keep all our trails/viewpoints very easy and family friendly. There’s still a few things we’d love to go back and do someday! (Will discuss more below).

HIKES

‣ Rim Trail to Yavapai Point (1.7 miles) - a super popular trail in the south rim of the Grand Canyon because it’s paved and includes a bunch of famous overlooks, such as Mather Point.

The Rim Trail itself is 13 miles long. There is a shuttle bus that can take you to all 14 lookouts.

‣ South Kaibab Trail to Ooh Aah Point (1.8 miles, moderate) - this is a great hike to start out with in the South Rim to get you out on the trail. There are several switchbacks, but the elevation gain is only 600 feet. The panoramic views are awesome, but the area down around the “Ooh Aah Point” sign can be crowded. There’s also no shade along this trail, so bring a hat and lots of water. The trail itself was not challenging to us, but the weather did have a little affect on me!

Notes - park’s free shuttle bus is required to reach the trailhead. You can also continue on past Ooh Ahh Point along the South Kaibab Trail to other stopping points such as Cedar Ridge (3 miles RT) or Skeleton Point (6 miles RT). 

‣ Shoshone Point (2.10 miles, easy) — our favorite hike and what we would recommend to anyone as a “must do!” This undoubtably had the best view in the park because there were NO crowds late in the day. Not only did we had a beautiful spot all to ourselves, but the wooded trail was mostly shaded, so we were able to take a break from the heat too.

Note - The shuttle bus does not run to this trail head. The parking lot is super small, honestly probably only 10 cars can fit there. However, we didn’t have an issue grabbing a spot.

‣ Desert View Watchtower - this iconic structure offers great views of the Colorado River. The path to it is very short and easy, and we were able to take our stroller. Unfortunately, the upper floor was closed :( but, we still got some cool views from the lower retail store.

Check here for hours of operation

LODGING

‣ Best Western Plus Inn of Williams - we wanted to get somewhat close to the Grand Canyon Friday night since we had a 3 hour drive from Scottsdale. Williams, AZ is only about an hour away from the Grand Canyon, and was much cheaper and had greater availability than Grand Canyon Village.

Best Western is one of our favorite hotel chains. This one was a little smaller and didn’t have quite as good of a room or breakfast buffet, but it worked for what we needed. If you aren’t into camping, don’t mind driving a little bit, and want to save some money, we’d recommend this hotel.

‣ Yavapai Lodge - We have to say…we kind of regret staying here. At the time, we were nervous about camping in the colder temperatures when Nolan was only 3 months old. We still wanted to stay within the park and came across this lodging option. In hindsight, it was terribly overpriced and not something we could afford on a regular basis.

The AC did not work well in our room and there was no WiFi. WiFi could only be accessed in their 24/7 lobby (which is not walkable from your room. This is more of a motel style setup). Additionally, no free breakfast included. (This was not a make it or break it, but something we usually like to have when we stay at a hotel).

Google Reviews rate this property over 4 stars, so maybe our expectations were just too high since we were spending top dollar. On a positive note, the location was convenient for those visiting the South Rim.

OVERALL THOUGHTS / WISHLIST

What we saw of the Grand Canyon was majestic, but the overall experience wasn’t what we were hoping for. We had planned to do part of the famous Bright Angel Trail down to the 1.5 Mile Resthouse, but didn’t get the chance due to the wind. This is probably the most popular trail in the park. We’d love to go back and maybe do this as part of a Rim to Rim backpacking trip (24 miles), but I’d need a little more conditioning ;)

Doing a Rim to Rim hike would allow us access to the Colorado River and a chance to visit the North Rim. The distance between the North and South Rim is 212 miles, so we weren’t able to fit that in a weekend trip. According to Google, only 10% of visitors go up there, and we’ve read it’s super peaceful because of that.

While we’re feeling incomplete about our visit to the Grand Canyon, we’re so glad we were able to see some main highlights! We loved visiting during the first week of May since the weather wasn’t extreme or packed with summer vacationers just yet.

AllTrails List

Highlight Reel

TRIP BREAKDOWN

LENGTH OF STAY: 2 DAYS

📍 Grand Canyon Village, AZ

💲 $35/vehicle for the park, or free with America the Beautiful Pass ($80/annually)

🏨 ~$340 (total for two nights)

⛽ 🍽️ : variable