Frommer's National Parks of the American West - Don Laine [177]
After the thunderstorms taper off in mid-September, fall is a great time to be anywhere in the park. Highs on the South Rim average 76°F (24°C) in September, 65°F (18°C) in October, and 52°F (11°C) in November. The North Rim has highs of 69°F (21°C) in September and 59°F (15°C) in October. (It closes in mid-Oct.) The Inner Gorge remains hot in September but cools off considerably, to an average high of 84°F (29°C), in October. The first winter storms can hit the North Rim as early as mid-October.
In winter, the North Rim is closed, and drivers to the South Rim should be prepared for icy roads and occasional closures. When the snow isn't falling, the South Rim warms up nicely, with average highs of 41°F (5°C) in January. Hiking trails remain open during winter but are often snow-packed and icy.
SEASONAL EVENTS
For 3 weeks every September, world-renowned musicians gather for the Grand Canyon Music Festival, P.O. Box 1332, Grand Canyon, AZ 86023 (☎ 800/ 997-8285 or 928/638-9215; www.grand canyonmusicfest.org). Most of the offerings are chamber-music concerts, and all are at the acoustically superb Shrine of the Ages Auditorium on the canyon's South Rim. Tickets for the 7:30pm concerts cost $25 for adults and $8 for children (park admission not included) and are available in advance through the festival office. To ensure that you receive the tickets you want, order by early July.
For up-to-date information on other special events, consult the park's newspaper, The Guide.
If You Have Only 1 Day
After stopping at one of the information centers to get your bearings, hike a short distance down the Bright Angel or North Kaibab trail in the morning. (If the weather is hot or if your condition is not top-notch, a rim trail may be preferable.) At midday, attend a ranger presentation; The Guide lists times and locations. Later in the day, go on a scenic drive. On the South Rim, your best choice on the first day is Desert View Drive, which remains open to cars year-round and offers expansive views of the central and eastern canyon. On the North Rim, travel the Cape Royal Road. To complete your scenic drive, watch sunset from Lipan Point on the South Rim or from Cape Royal on the North Rim. The scenic drives and corridor trails are detailed later in this chapter.
Exploring the Park by Car
Hermit Road
This 8-mile road from Grand Canyon Village to Hermits Rest is open to private cars Dec–Feb only, when shuttles aren't running.
Your first stops are at Trailviews 1 and 2. Looking north from these view points, you can see straight down the side canyons that formed on either side of the Colorado River along the Bright Angel fault. Below, you may spot lush vegetation growing around a spring. This area is Indian Garden, where Havasupai Indians once farmed.
The next stop, Maricopa Point, overlooks the old Orphan Mine, which produced some of the richest uranium ore in the Southwest during the 1950s and 1960s. Below and to the west, you can see the metal framework from the tramway used to move ore to the rim from 1956 to 1969.
Continue to the Powell Memorial, which honors John Wesley Powell, the one-armed Civil War veteran thought to be the first non-native person to float through the canyon. From atop the memorial, you can get an especially fine view 60 miles southeast to the San Francisco peaks, including Humphreys Peak, which at 12,633 feet is the highest point in Arizona.
Because the next stop, Hopi Point, projects far into the canyon, its tip is the best place on Hermit Road to watch the sunset. As the sun drops, its light plays across four of the canyon's loveliest temples. The flat mesa almost due north of the point is Shiva Temple. The temple southwest of it is Osiris; the one southeast of it is Isis. East of Isis is Buddha Temple.
The next stop, Mohave Point, is a great place to observe some of the Colorado River's most furious rapids. Farthest downstream (to your left) is Hermit Rapids. Above it, you can