Grand Canyon without a toad?

[23hotrodr]

How necessary is it to have a car when visiting the Grand Canyon from the south side? Thanks-- Mick

[artillery6]

We also stayed at the Williams KOA(nice place) and took the tour they arranged. We got picked up at the KOA by a guide in a van. The guide was a school teacher with a spotting scope. He took us to places other tours did not go and he really knew his stuff. The spotting scope took you up close and personal. The grandkids really learned a lot and had a ball. The grandparents did too. Great sack lunch next to the train station. This was worth every penny and more.

[23hotrodr]

Thank you all for the great info!

[smacdiesel]

2gypsies wrote:
The very best option for camping without a car is to stay IN the park itself at Trailer Village RV or if you have a smaller RV and dry camping is o.k. with you, Mather campground IN the park is lovely. Both are easily accessible to the free shuttles.

Staying in Williams and taking the train is very limiting as to how much you can do in 3 hours.

I agree, the best place to stay and you can view both sunrise and sunset, the bus picks you up at the campground. Elk roam the campground as well, the best experience imho.

[2gypsies1]

The very best option for camping without a car is to stay IN the park itself at Trailer Village RV or if you have a smaller RV and dry camping is o.k. with you, Mather campground IN the park is lovely. Both are easily accessible to the free shuttles.

Staying in Williams and taking the train is very limiting as to how much you can do in 3 hours.

[rgatijnet1]

If you are looking to go now, you may find that the Trailer Village RV park in the Grand Canyon is basically empty. We always travel in the Winter and we stayed at the Trailer Village and were one of 6 rigs there in a place that can take 80+ coaches. We had deer wandering all throughout the RV parking spaces. You can drive your Class A to several places within the park at this time of year without any parking problems but there are some ares that restrict the length of vehicles to 25 feet.
If you do stay at the Trailer Village the shuttle bus can pick you up if you do not want to disconnect and drive your coach around.

[Gonzo42]

Using the shuttle system over a 48 hour period we saw everything exceot the tower at the east gate (the only place the shuttles apparently don't go). We also used the train from Williams and enjoyed every bit of both locations. Highly recommended. The dome car is the best view on the train.

[DSDP_Don]

The Grand Canyon South Rim has an RV Park, in the center of the park, called Trailer Village and books thru Xanterra. It's often full, even during the off season. If you can get in there...great. The shuttle system operates right from the campground.

If you can't get a spot there, just outside the south gate, about a 1/2 mile, is a place called Camper Village. It's not the most beautiful, but it's clean and they always have spots. It's located in the small town at the South entrance called Tusayan. From Camper Village, you can walk to the front of the campground (100 yards) and get on a free Grand Canyon shuttle. The shuttle is there to serve the town.

The problem with staying in Wiliams is that it's a 65 mile drive to the park entrance. The train is neat, but expensive as stated, and doesn't leave you much time in the park.

Lastly, if you have a small to medium RV, you can park inside the park if you get in early, probably around 7am - 8am. I wouldn't chance finding a spot for a DP.

[Dick_B]

For more reading search this Forum for Grand Canyon then search the results for South Rim.

[dsurette]

If you can get a spot in Trailer Village you will be able to enjoy pretty much everything that the park has to offer. There are free shuttles available and you will be within walking distance to the restaurant and the large convenience store. Also, the elk and deer wandering around the campground is an added attraction.

[naturist]

Having a toad at the South Rim is totally unnecessary. In fact, it is a disadvantage.

The Park Service operates a great shuttle system at the GC South Rim and you will find parking way to tight for a car to be useful. If you stay at any of the campgrounds inside the park, or even (I think) the one in Tusayan, the bus is the way to go. Buses run every few minutes and go everywhere you might want to go and they are FREE. Just hop on and hop off.

[jfkmk]

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.

[tomman58]

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.

[Tripalot]

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.

[jk31668]

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.