by Brenda Spiering
Las Vegas has a way of completely drawing you in. It’s easy to go there and never leave the bright lights of the Strip. With all its casinos, shows and attractions, that can be fun. But having been to Vegas a couple of times, when my husband and I returned for a conference, we wanted to try something different. So, we decided to combine it with a trip to the Grand Canyon. It was the highlight of our visit.
The first surprise was how close it was. While it takes around 4.5 hours to drive from Vegas to the main south entrance of the Grand Canyon, you can drive to the West Rim (which lies within the Hualapai Reservation) in just a little over 2 hours.
We opted for the shorter route and weren’t disappointed. Driving across the barren expanse of the Mojave Desert was surreal. It was like entering the set of a western cowboy movie – endless red plains dotted with creosote bushes and cacti, interspersed by towering rocky outcrops.
While historically there was a stretch of unpaved road leading in from the main highway to the Hualapai Reservation, the route today, while remote, is fully paved.
Upon arrival, we parked our car and visited the welcome centre where large panels provided info on the canyon and a little background on the culture of the Hualapai Tribe.
From there, a complimentary shuttle bus transported us to the edge of the canyon. And I mean to the edge. A few steps from the bus, the canyon just dropped away with no warning – and no fencing. Adventurous visitors could walk out on a glass floor suspended over the rim. If I’d had young children with me, I would have been terrified.
Indeed, no photo I’ve ever seen prepared me for the scale and grandeur of the canyon. Hiking up a trail along a ridge that projects into the canyon was truly a spiritual experience. The 360-degree view from top, with the Colorado River far below, was breathtaking. As clouds passed overhead, we watched the colours of the canyon walls shift from terra cotta to grey to deep mauve.
While it’s possible to drive from Vegas to the West Rim and back in a day, we decided to make it a two-day trip and spend the night in a bed and breakfast on the outskirts of Flagstaff. That way we could drive back to Vegas through Utah’s famous Zion National Park.
The drive from the Canyon to our B&B took around 3.5 hours with the landscape gradually shifting from dessert to pine forest. The elevation also rose significantly, and the temperature dropped along the way. (Flagstaff sits at around 7,000 feet/2,130 metres above sea level.)
One of the advantages of staying in a family-run B&B was having a host who could tell us a little about the region. Before we left in the morning, they suggested we drive to the end of their block and check out the view. Having driven through what appeared to be a regular subdivision upon our arrival, we were blown away to discover a vast expanse of desert with distant red cliffs right at the end of their street.
Returning to Vegas through Zion turned out to be as incredible as visiting the Grand Canyon. While Zion’s 8-mile-long scenic drive is closed to private vehicles from March through November, you can tour it via shuttle bus (free with your park entrance). It’s like visiting another planet, with towering red cliffs rising above striated rock formations. There are also scenic hiking trails. But pay attention to the trail ratings. We started out on what appeared to be an easy climb but ended up on a terrifyingly steep exposed slope. The view was fabulous, but for the most part I was too scared to look.
From Zion the drive back to Vegas took around another 3 hours, making it a very doable day trip with sight-seeing along the way.
Altogether, the road trip was incredible – the best thing I’ve ever done on a visit to Vegas.
Travel tips
Hoover Dam
- The Hoover Dam is around 40 minutes outside Vegas on route to the Grand Canyon and well worth a visit.
- Tour information: https://www.usbr.gov/lc/hooverdam/service/index.html
Grand Canyon
- Information on Grand Canyon West (West Rim): https://grandcanyonwest.com
- Information on Grand Canyon National Park: https://www.nps.gov/grca/index.htm
Zion National Park
- Information on Zion National Park: https://zionnationalpark.com
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