Community Forums

NWIP · 09-17-2019, 12:05 PM

Planning trip to Grand Canyon in late October and looking for input on RV Park, any recommendation on tours or things I might not to miss. Thanks for input in advance.

Jim_HiTek · 09-17-2019, 12:35 PM

I really enjoyed staying at the Grand Canyon RR park. It's all blacktop but you're there for the GC, not the RV park. The Wifi was problematic when I was there and I took a spot that had line of sight to the rooftop antenna too.

BUT...the spaces are adequate, long, pull through, there's plenty of them. The office is nice, the facilities are all newer so nice too. And you're within bike riding or walking of the train station of the GC RR. Really a fun trip to sit in comfort in a train and ride up to the canyon. I went with the expensive tickets and brought my bike (free). Nice snacks and drinks on the trip. We even had train robbers jump aboard...luckily the sheriff was aboard too.

After arriving at the canyon, there was plenty of time to get oriented, hike or bike around, visit all the little shops, take your pictures and wonder at the vastness of the canyon.

Then when you get back, there's the town of Williams to explore. They get a million visitors a year so as you can imagine, it's a tourist town with tons of trinkets. But it's also fun to have dinner or lunch there. There's a couple brew pubs too.

Out of the several RV parks near there, I like this one the best. Not the least expensive in the world, but it was worth it in many ways. I decide to stay in the area longer so crossed the freeway to another older but nice RV park on the other side. Enjoyed that one too.

twogypsies · 09-17-2019, 12:51 PM

We've always stayed inside the park itself with our 40' motorhome for the best overall experience. Trailer Village is the place. The free shuttle stops right there or you can even walk to the Rim. The shuttle makes stops at various points for shopping or restaurants and also goes along the Rim so you can get off and on whenever you want.

Parking for vehicles is very limited and walking is far. The shuttle is so easy to use.

I'd also recommend that you walk DOWN the Bright Angel Trail if only for 1/8 mile or shorter. It will give a completely different perspective of the canyon from below the Rim. Remember... you have to walk back UP so don't get carried away unless you're a serious hiker!

There are wonderful ranger programs so you can learn about the Canyon and the area. Take advantage of them.

Each national park has a great website for things to do, camping, current road information and special alerts. Check it out.

If you stay outside the park in Williams the long ride to the park is open land and I would bet you'd only do the drive once. The park deserves more time than a day.

https://www.nps.gov/grca/index.htm

NWIP · 09-17-2019, 01:42 PM

Jim HiTek

Thanks on the tip about the bikes, I probably wouldn’t have thought of that😳.

Twogypsies

Good to know about inside park from website looked like it might of been small for 40’.

winniman · 09-17-2019, 02:27 PM

There is a shuttle at the South Rim that will take you approx. 5 miles up the rim to different observation platforms. It is part of the park pass. Pets are not allowed on the shuttle. If you are in the area for a while, its a two hour drive to Page Arizona. The slot canyons are pretty neat. There is also the Glen Canyon Dam, and Lake Powell, as well as the Horseshoe corner on the Colorado River. Just over two hours the other way will get you to Sedona. It is a quite scenic area as well. Don't forget old Route 66 if you are looking for some history. Barringer Crater and the Painted Desert NP are not far from Flagstaff either.

Winepress · 09-17-2019, 08:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim_HiTek

I really enjoyed staying at the Grand Canyon RR park. It's all blacktop but you're there for the GC, not the RV park. The Wifi was problematic when I was there and I took a spot that had line of sight to the rooftop antenna too.

BUT...the spaces are adequate, long, pull through, there's plenty of them. The office is nice, the facilities are all newer so nice too. And you're within bike riding or walking of the train station of the GC RR. Really a fun trip to sit in comfort in a train and ride up to the canyon. I went with the expensive tickets and brought my bike (free). Nice snacks and drinks on the trip. We even had train robbers jump aboard...luckily the sheriff was aboard too.

After arriving at the canyon, there was plenty of time to get oriented, hike or bike around, visit all the little shops, take your pictures and wonder at the vastness of the canyon.

Then when you get back, there's the town of Williams to explore. They get a million visitors a year so as you can imagine, it's a tourist town with tons of trinkets. But it's also fun to have dinner or lunch there. There's a couple brew pubs too.

Out of the several RV parks near there, I like this one the best. Not the least expensive in the world, but it was worth it in many ways. I decide to stay in the area longer so crossed the freeway to another older but nice RV park on the other side. Enjoyed that one too.

This is a great plan. We did the same, but we took the train up, took an overnight bag and spent the night at El Tovar. Had a view of the canyon. Mule ride the next morning down the canyon was great. Took the train back the next afternoon. Lots to see and explore.

JoyfulRVer · 09-17-2019, 08:40 PM

We have a trip planned next week. We are going to stay at the Railroad Hotel RV park and take the train to the Grand Canyon. We also booked a bus tour when we get to the Canyon. Both were recommended to me by a friend who made the trip over the summer. Looking forward to touring Williams too.

hohenwald48 · 09-18-2019, 05:53 AM

Trailer Village is where I'd stay. Adequate campground and an easy walk from camp site to canyon rim. Right in the middle of things. Can be difficult to get a reservation. I was even able to get my AT&T hot spot to work early in the mornings. WiFi at Grand Canyon is hard to come by. Driving from Williams to the rim and back can be painfully boring. Seems like it's about 300 miles.

hewebb · 09-18-2019, 05:57 AM

We stayed at Railside and took the train to the park. At the park we took the bus tour. The second trip we drove to the park. Railside RV park will take care of all your tickets and provide shuttle for train and bus tour. If I had it to do over again I would take the train and plan to spend the night at a lodge, use the shuttle bus service in the park and train back the next day.

rmarling · 09-18-2019, 06:49 AM

We will be leaving Florida in May and working at the Grand Canyon Conservancy next summer. Looking forward to the adventure!

JoyfulRVer · 09-19-2019, 03:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rmarling

We will be leaving Florida in May and working at the Grand Canyon Conservancy next summer. Looking forward to the adventure!

Sounds like a wonderful adventure!

FLJOE · 09-21-2019, 07:59 AM

We visited the G-Canyon in August. We had an excellent site at the Canyon Motel & RV Park, 1900 E. Rodeo Rd., Williams AZ. It was a friendly CG with long pull thru sites and very good rates.

You can either drive to the Grand Canyon or take one of the train tours. We rode our Harley instead of doing the train tour. From what we observed it would have been a struggle getting in and out of a site inside the park even without our trailer we tow.

After visiting the National parks in southern Utah, for us two days in the Grand Canyon area was enough.

AE Wanderer · 09-21-2019, 08:48 AM

Join Passport America and stay at the Grand Canyon Railway RV Park in Williams. We stayed there for a week. With PA, you get a 50% reduction in camping fees.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NWIP

Planning trip to Grand Canyon in late October and looking for input on RV Park, any recommendation on tours or things I might not to miss. Thanks for input in advance.

NWIP · 09-21-2019, 08:51 AM

Appreciate everyone’s input. We have booked three nights at GC Railroad RV and are taking train to GC. We have 2 full days and will drive up in toad on second day if we feel like we didn’t have enough time on train day. We want to spend time in Williams as it looks like a interesting place.