Grand Canyon without a toad?

We visited the south rim in December and looked into the train from Williams, as we thought it would be kind of gun. Not only is it expensive, but As Tripalot stated, you only get about 3 hours at the canyon itself. Once at the canyon, the shuttles are great. But, if you have a car, you can take a trip to the tower at the east rim. There are lots of look out points you can stop at along the way there.

Just outside the park on the south rim is a visitors center with an excellent imax that is worth seeing.

We did the GC with no real problem car made it easy to go spot to spot. I would do the north side again as there are less crowds. In reality I liked Bryce and Zion much more.

blknomad wrote:
There is a problem finding a place to park as there is only a few hundred spots and thousands trying to get one. best bet is stay in Williams or park at the train station in Williams then ride the train to the canyon. Then ride the shuttles to all the vantage points.

I disagree with this advice. There is only 1 train a day and you only have about 3 - 4 hours at the canyon. That limits how far you can go on the shuttles. If you plan to stay overnight this is not a problem but if you have never been to the canyon, there is a lot to see and 3 or 4 hours is not enough time. There is a campground right at the canyon and a good way to see the area is to camp for a couple of nights and take the shuttles one way and then the next day, do the opposite.

we stayed at the koa in williams and they arranged a great tour van. toured all day in areas not avail. to public. it inc. a picnic lunch, binoculars, and telescopes for seeing special things.

Are you camping or just day visiting?

If day visiting get in EARLY, the parking lot for the visitor center turns into a ZOO by noon.

There is a problem finding a place to park as there is only a few hundred spots and thousands trying to get one. best bet is stay in Williams or park at the train station in Williams then ride the train to the canyon. Then ride the shuttles to all the vantage points.

Its not necessary at all. There are shuttle buses that will take you to all viewpoints. No worry about finding a place to park.