Travel to Grand Canyon, some nearby National Parks and then on to New York

[robeen]

Hi ...my name is Robeen - a new member - would appreciate any advice as to the best way to do the above travel out of LA in late November/early December.

 

[RB]

Hi ...my name is Robeen - a new member - would appreciate any advice as to the best way to do the above travel out of LA in late November/early December.

Welcome to the forum. If you go to the advanced search area & just feed in Grand Canyon you will pick up a lot of older threads (some relevant & some not). I am sure you will get some great new tips & I will also link any old threads I see

 

[NM]

Note that some places (such as Grand Canyon North Rim) may be closed due to winter conditions in late November/early December. So do the research first. South Rim stays open all year round. Nearest major airport to GC South Rim is Las Vegas, which about a 6-8 hour drive. Other nat parks like Zion are on the north side of GC. Zion can be reached in a day from GC South Rim.

 

[get me outta here]

The shut down impasse is affecting things currently. Just heard on Turkish TV that Mount Rushmore is being reopened by the state govt.

 

[kelvedon]

The altitude of the rim of the Grand Canyon is nearly 7000 feet, so expect plenty of snow. I think that Phoenix AZ is the closest airport, some 4 hours from the south rim which is accessible all year round. The whole area has amazing geological sights. Zion canyon and monument valley would be on my list.

You can drive from LA to GC south rim in about 8 hours. Freeway most of the way.

 

[Mal]

The shut down impasse is affecting things currently. Just heard on Turkish TV that Mount Rushmore is being reopened by the state govt.

I saw that the grand canyon has been reopened too thanks to locals... Blows me away as to how much it costs to run, especially since a fee is charged to enter....

 

[Mal]

The grand canyon is one of the tourist sites that blew me away. I am not easily impressed and seeing it has been one of my top travel highlights.

I did the road trip from Las Vegas. Pretty much a full day drive if you want the 'real' experience. I overnighted in flagstaff and spent the next morning there.

 

[mono88]

+1. The GC is superb and as usual the Americans have things well organised there with free shuttles etc.
We stayed in Sedona Az which was about 200km from South Rim. We drove using Highway 89A (a very scenic drive), I-40 bypassing Flagstaff, then Highway 64 (you would have no idea you are near GC on this highway it is so flat). There are also bus shuttles. After staying at GC we went on to Las Vegas.

Sedona is great,an alternative New Age /artist type place surrounded by red sandstone hills. There are plenty of activities and hiking etc. A different side to the US.
Also, some interesting history with quite a few old Hollywood films made there.

 

[wunala]

Hi, I haven't gone all the way to NY by road, but that might be next year . I have done the following few trips. One thing to watch is when the parks are open. a lot that I encountered on the second trip were closing down a few days after we left. They close slowly. PM me if you want any other info, or side trips that we took. We drove everywhere (Yosemite was in a campervan), except where there are 2 airport codes. SLC was work related, hence going twice. Vegas was definately for fun.


[TABLE="width: 503"]
[TR]
[TD="align: right"]Wednesday, 12 May 2010[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]SAN FRAN[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: right"]Thursday, 13 May 2010[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]SAN FRAN[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: right"]Friday, 14 May 2010[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]SAN FRAN[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: right"]Saturday, 15 May 2010[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]STOCKTON[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: right"]Sunday, 16 May 2010[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]YOSEMITE[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: right"]Monday, 17 May 2010[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]YOSEMITE[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: right"]Tuesday, 18 May 2010[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]YOSEMITE[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: right"]Wednesday, 19 May 2010[/TD]
[TD] OAK-LAS[/TD]
[TD]LAS VEGAS[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: right"]Thursday, 20 May 2010[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]LAS VEGAS[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: right"]Friday, 21 May 2010[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]GRAND CANYON[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: right"]Saturday, 22 May 2010[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]MONUMENT VALLEY[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: right"]Sunday, 23 May 2010[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]MONUMENT VALLEY[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: right"]Monday, 24 May 2010[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]MOAB[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: right"]Tuesday, 25 May 2010[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]SALT LAKE CITY
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]


[TABLE="width: 252"]
[TR]
[TD="align: right"]Fri 14-Oct-11[/TD]
[TD]SALT LAKE CITY to Moab[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: right"]Sat 15-Oct-11[/TD]
[TD]Moab[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: right"]Sun 16-Oct-11[/TD]
[TD]Moab to Bryce[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: right"]Mon 17-Oct-11[/TD]
[TD]Zion[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: right"]Tue 18-Oct-11[/TD]
[TD]Zion[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: right"]Wed 19-Oct-11[/TD]
[TD]Las Vegas[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: right"]Thu 20-Oct-11[/TD]
[TD]Las Vegas[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: right"]Fri 21-Oct-11[/TD]
[TD]Vegas To Sydney[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

 

[coles525]

Has anyone been to or heardnof the "Crater Of Diamonds National Park"?

If I remember it's via Buffalo Regional Airport, then upto 2 hrs by car.

Ive looked it up, and am thinking of trying to strike it lucky for a day, finders keepers, excluding the entry / hire costs

.

 

[UP4014]

Over what period of time?

LAX hire a car, drive east via the Grand Canyon and drop the car at Denver. Plenty of flights form there to NY and gives you a lot of National Parks to see.