Colorado Through the Grand Canyon
Location: Northern Arizona, through Grand Canyon National Park (about 240 miles north of Phoenix).
Length of trips: 87 to 225 or 279 miles in 4 to 20 days.
Season: April through October but busiest from May through September. Temperatures are cooler and crowds thinner in spring and fall. The water flow usually peaks in spring.
Weather: Daytime temperatures in summer can reach 115°F, and nights can be toasty too. Theres little shade. Temperatures cool off in spring and fall but can still soar into the 90s. Thunderstorms are frequent in midsummer, especially in August.
Lodging: Excellent sandy beach campsites in many areas; campsites scarce in others. The Havasupai Indians operate a campground and lodge in Havasu Canyon.
Boats: Dories, kayaks, motorized pontoon boats, oar boats, paddle rafts.
Rapids: About 200 Class II, III, IV, and V rapids, including some of the wildest white water in the world. The water is very cold, fairly clear, and green unless muddied by tributaries.
Special features:
- One of the worlds supreme river trips.
- Unsurpassed scenery as you float past sandstone and basalt canyon walls recording two billion years of earths history.
- Superb hikes into side canyons, including Havasu Canyon, the ancestral home of the Havasupai Indians.
- Wildflowers usually bloom in April.
- Bighorn sheep, mule deer, coyotes, ringtails, collared lizard, hawks, falcons, bald eagles, golden eagles, ospreys, great blue herons, egrets, mergansers, canyon wrens.
- Good fishing for trout above the Little Colorado (mile 61).
- Wilderness solitude in spring and fall.
- Some sections are suitable for first-time rafters and families.
Nearby excursions:
- Wupatki National Monument.
- Sunset Crater National Monument.
- Walnut Canyon National Monument.
- Lake Powell.
- Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.
For a list of outfitters:
- Grand Canyon National Park, P.O. Box 129, Grand Canyon, Arizona 86023; +1 520 638 7888. Ask for the Trip Planner, which includes a list of outfitters. Try to book at least a year in advance for summer trips, three months in advance the rest of the year.
For more information:
- Arizona Office of Tourism, 2702 North Third Street, Phoenix, Arizona 85004; +1 602 230 7733 or 800 842 8257, fax +1 602 240 5475.
- Havasu Canyon story in NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELER, May/June 1995. To order a copy, please click here.
- North Rim of the Grand Canyon story in NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELER, March/April 1992. To order a copy, please click here.
|