Grand Canyon in August- bad idea?

[Anonymous]

So a million moons ago my husband and I did a 3 day rafting trip in the Grand Canyon in May--I remember it being HOT!. Fast forward to now and we would like to take our 9 and 13 year olds next year on the same trip. The trip would have to be at least 5-6 days in my opinion, flying in/out of Vegas, then you take a small plane to a ranch, spend the night there, then helicopter into the canyon, raft and camp for 2 days and one night, flight back to Vegas, etc. So if I vividly recall being hot and dehydrated in May, won't it be horribly hot in August?? I am wondering if we should go over Memorial Day and take them out of school for a couple days (before DD gets into high school when it gets even harder). June and July are taken up with school and swim team. Thoughts?

[Anonymous]

We did the north rim in August once. I don't recall it being miserably hot.

[Anonymous]

We hiked to the bottom and back up in May and it was horribly hot. Can't imagine August.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So a million moons ago my husband and I did a 3 day rafting trip in the Grand Canyon in May--I remember it being HOT!. Fast forward to now and we would like to take our 9 and 13 year olds next year on the same trip. The trip would have to be at least 5-6 days in my opinion, flying in/out of Vegas, then you take a small plane to a ranch, spend the night there, then helicopter into the canyon, raft and camp for 2 days and one night, flight back to Vegas, etc. So if I vividly recall being hot and dehydrated in May, won't it be horribly hot in August?? I am wondering if we should go over Memorial Day and take them out of school for a couple days (before DD gets into high school when it gets even harder). June and July are taken up with school and swim team. Thoughts?

Yes...it will be hot and extremely crowded. If you can take them out of school it may still be hot(could be cool also), but there will be so many less people around it will be worth it!

[Anonymous]

Down at the river level it will be incredibly hot.

Stay up on the rim and it will be pleasant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Down at the river level it will be incredibly hot.

Stay up on the rim and it will be pleasant.

This. PP who said it was miserable forgot it's not miserable on the rim. It's 7000 feet, people!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Down at the river level it will be incredibly hot.

Stay up on the rim and it will be pleasant.

I've never understood why anyone would go all that way and not hike down in, at least partially.

If all you do is stand on the rim, that's about 30 minutes of your vacation. Then what?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Down at the river level it will be incredibly hot.

Stay up on the rim and it will be pleasant.

I've never understood why anyone would go all that way and not hike down in, at least partially.

If all you do is stand on the rim, that's about 30 minutes of your vacation. Then what?

We did, because we had a 9 month old with us and it was January and the Bright Angel trail was icy. There's more to do up top than stare down.

[Anonymous]

August is great! But, if you want to go to the bottom, then it is 30 degrees hotter -- so definitely not a good idea.

We did Bryce, North Rim, Page AZ (antelope slot canyons, Colorado River float trip, and Glen Canyon Dam was an added treat), then Zion. Started on Aug. 21 and came back 7 days later. Was plenty of time. We didn't hike down. Frankly, I was freaked out enough with Bright Angel trail -- no railings and 200-300 ft drops if you misstep. We enjoyed our hike into Bryce and especially enjoyed the different scale of the activities in Page, AZ. Even the drives b/t the different stopping points were beautiful.

August is definitely do-able.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So a million moons ago my husband and I did a 3 day rafting trip in the Grand Canyon in May--I remember it being HOT!. Fast forward to now and we would like to take our 9 and 13 year olds next year on the same trip. The trip would have to be at least 5-6 days in my opinion, flying in/out of Vegas, then you take a small plane to a ranch, spend the night there, then helicopter into the canyon, raft and camp for 2 days and one night, flight back to Vegas, etc. So if I vividly recall being hot and dehydrated in May, won't it be horribly hot in August?? I am wondering if we should go over Memorial Day and take them out of school for a couple days (before DD gets into high school when it gets even harder). June and July are taken up with school and swim team. Thoughts?

Yes...it will be hot and extremely crowded. If you can take them out of school it may still be hot(could be cool also), but there will be so many less people around it will be worth it!

Just remember that schools in AZ and a lot of the southwest get out in mid-may, so you might not be avoiding many crowds.

[Anonymous]

I hiked to the bottom of Bright Angel Trail (Colorado River) in May. At the top it was nice weather, at the bottom is was so hot I could barely stand it. I had to put a wet bandana on my head to just tolerate the heat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So a million moons ago my husband and I did a 3 day rafting trip in the Grand Canyon in May--I remember it being HOT!. Fast forward to now and we would like to take our 9 and 13 year olds next year on the same trip. The trip would have to be at least 5-6 days in my opinion, flying in/out of Vegas, then you take a small plane to a ranch, spend the night there, then helicopter into the canyon, raft and camp for 2 days and one night, flight back to Vegas, etc. So if I vividly recall being hot and dehydrated in May, won't it be horribly hot in August?? I am wondering if we should go over Memorial Day and take them out of school for a couple days (before DD gets into high school when it gets even harder). June and July are taken up with school and swim team. Thoughts?

Yes...it will be hot and extremely crowded. If you can take them out of school it may still be hot(could be cool also), but there will be so many less people around it will be worth it!

Just remember that schools in AZ and a lot of the southwest get out in mid-may, so you might not be avoiding many crowds.

OP here. I'm not worried about crowds since we would be on an organized tour with a limited number in the group- it is a specific trip we are looking at, unlike just touring around the area where the crowds would be a factor. I am more concerned about the heat. Thanks for all the responses!

[Anonymous]

We did the north rim in August. You have to be very aware of how much water you have. It was well over 100 degrees during the day, cooler at night - depending on whether you are above or below the rim. We had to carry and stash water to ensure we had enough as there was no way we could carry the amount we needed for the entire hike. Be very aware of the conditions. You will see warnings at the ranger station but lots of folks don't take it seriously. A relative of mine regularly hikes and camps in the Grand Canyon and August is the only month he won't go - he says that its for "fools and tourists" with that said I think it depends on what you plan to do.