You Can Have the Grand Canyon All To Yourself
Posted: September 7th, 2008 | Author: Roger Ludwig | Filed under: Arizona | Tags: Bass Camp, Havasupai Point, South Bass trail, The Grand Canyon | 1 Comment »
The crowds at the Grand Canyon can scramble a person’s brain. There you are, wanting to take in nature’s big spectacle, having driven all those miles, stuck in traffic, gasping fumes, bus loads of foreign tourists getting their pictures taken, no places to park. Your bambinos just want to get out of the car. Your wife yells watch out for that deer. This is not the vacation you had in mind.
Four million people visit the Grand Canyon every year, most of those on the South rim, most of those between June and August. That’s a lot of people. The North Rim is quieter. And off season is an improvement. But what’s a person to do if your trips are planned around the school’s calendar?
Do you have an SUV or 4-wheel drive? If so, here’s an answer. The tourist side of the Canyon runs along Arizona 64, Desert View Drive, from the Desert View watchtower, past Grand Canyon Village and on to Hermit’s Rest (via the Shuttle Bus). But that’s not even half of the South Rim. The Canyon continues to the west for miles and miles without an inch of asphalt.
So how do you get there? There is one road, Forest Service 328. It’s dirt. It’s rutted. It’s bad. And for that reason, you can have it all to yourself. If you are accustomed to 4 wheel drive roads in the Snowies, there is nothing to it.
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