Grand Canyon National Park is one of the three national parks located in Arizona. This park is home to the majestic grand canyon which shows millions of years of geological history of layered red rocks. The canyon is carved by Colorado River which flows through the canyon.

Getting to Grand Canyon National Park

 Grand Canyon is located in the northwest corner of Arizona, close to the borders of Utah and Nevada which means it is easily accessible if you are traveling from those states. The park has South Rim and North Rim.The South Rim is open all year and is approximately 4 hours drive from Phoenix and receives 90% of the park’s visitation. We were camping in Sedona and drove to the South Rim early in the morning. It took us an hour and half to get there and the park was already filled with people and hard to find parking. Initially we wanted to camp at the Mather Campground in the park but it was closed due to pandemic. We  had the annual “America The Beautiful Pass” and didn’t have to pay the entrance fees of $35.

Mather Point

Mather Point is the most famous viewpoint and easily accessible. After parking we headed over to Mather Point to see the glory of grand canyon. It was flooded with visitors and hard to find a good spot to enjoy the views and take pictures. To land your eyes on grand canyon for the first time is unforgettable experience. We spent a good amount of time here and walked along the trail to experience the different views of the grand canyon.

Desert View Drive

From Mather Point, we decided to drive along the canyon on desert view drive, which is a scenic 25 miles drive from the grand canyon village. Along the way are beautiful viewpoints, pullouts and picnic areas to enjoy this natural beauty. 

Grand Canyon Village

Grand Canyon Village is a mini city, which has everything from shopping hiking and camping gears, to Indian crafts and to canyon souvenirs. The village also offers lodging options.

Helicopter Tour

The best part of our trip was the helicopter tour and in my opinion it is the best way to explore the grand canyon national park if you are only doing a day trip. We headed over to the airport which is right next to grand canyon and purchased our tickets. We got the tickets at a discounted rate of $180 each and the duration was 25-30 minutes. The views of the park, Colorado river and grand canyon is worth every penny. I highly recommend doing the helicopter tour of grand canyon.

After coming back from the helicopter tour, we headed back to our campground in Sedona with memories of this historical giant.